Immortal Empires Is Going Free For More Players
If you love huge strategy campaigns or you have ever bounced off Total War because you did not want to buy every single game, this is the moment to jump back in. As part of the 25th anniversary celebration for Total War, Creative Assembly is giving away one of its biggest and best campaigns to a lot more players.
Starting December 4, anyone who owns Total War: Warhammer 1 or Total War: Warhammer 2 on Steam will see a new surprise in their library. Total War: Warhammer 3 will show up as a playable title. It will not be the full game, but it will unlock some very cool content.
With this version you get access to two things:
- The Immortal Empires mega campaign
- The Lost God prologue campaign
So while you are not getting the complete third game for free, you are getting the most ambitious Total War Warhammer experience without having to buy Warhammer 3 itself.
Immortal Empires is the real star here. It is a gigantic campaign map that stitches together the worlds from all three Total War Warhammer games into one enormous strategy sandbox. You can march armies across an entire fantasy continent, clash with legendary factions, and rewrite the fate of the Warhammer world in absurdly long and dramatic campaigns.
The best part is that you can encounter every faction and every legendary lord that Creative Assembly has released so far, whether you own their DLC packs or not. They exist in the world as enemies or allies, which makes the map feel busy, dangerous and alive.
How The Free Version Works And What You Can Buy
Owning Warhammer 1 or 2 will automatically give you this limited version of Warhammer 3, focused on Immortal Empires and the prologue. You can launch it straight from your library, set up a campaign and start conquering without spending anything extra.
There is a smart twist here. You can test drive almost every faction in the game as opponents first. If one of them really grabs your attention, you can then buy that specific DLC and unlock them as a playable faction in your Immortal Empires campaigns.
This setup comes with a big upside for players:
- You do not need to buy the Warhammer 3 base game before grabbing its DLC packs.
- You can build your collection piece by piece, only picking the factions and lords that actually interest you.
- You can wait for Steam sales, especially around the holidays, when these packs are regularly discounted.
It is a much more flexible way to get into the series. Instead of dropping cash on a full game and then more on extra content, you can just assemble your own custom roster of favorite armies over time.
If you decide you want the full Warhammer 3 experience, including the main story driven campaign Realms of Chaos and the base game factions, you will still need to buy an upgrade. Creative Assembly is preparing a dedicated upgrade pack that unlocks the full content of Warhammer 3 for people who came in through this free Immortal Empires route.
That means your options break down like this:
- Stay free and play Immortal Empires plus The Lost God prologue.
- Buy individual DLC factions and lords that you enjoy using in Immortal Empires.
- Pick up the upgrade pack if you want the full narrative campaign and base factions.
If the main Realms of Chaos campaign simply does not appeal to you, you never need to touch the upgrade pack at all. You can live entirely inside Immortal Empires, focusing your money on the armies you actually love.
Which Expansions Are Worth Grabbing First
With so many DLC options tied to Warhammer 3, it can be hard to know where to start once Immortal Empires has hooked you. While just about every faction brings something cool to the table, a few expansions are often recommended as top tier picks.
The Thrones of Decay set is a major highlight. It adds three powerful leaders and their factions, and they slot extremely well into the Immortal Empires sandbox, expanding your strategic options and giving you some very flavorful campaigns.
Other standout expansions include:
- Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs for a dark industrial fantasy vibe with brutal war machines and a focus on economy and slavery systems.
- Champions of Chaos if you enjoy monstrous chaos worshiping warriors and want more variety in the Warriors of Chaos roster.
- Ogre Kingdoms for something completely different with lumbering ogres, meat based economy and a very unique playstyle.
All of these are popular picks for players who want factions that feel distinct, powerful and fun to learn. You can start with just one pack that fits your style and expand from there if you are still hooked.
Between Immortal Empires going free for more players and the new upgrade path, the Total War Warhammer trilogy has never been more approachable. Whether you are returning after a break or looking at the series for the first time, December 4 is shaping up to be the perfect time to dive into one of the biggest strategy sandboxes on PC.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/if-you-own-any-total-war-warhammer-game-youll-get-the-best-part-of-total-war-warhammer-3-for-free-on-december-4/
