Total War: Warhammer adds Bretonnia as a multiplayer faction

Total War: Warhammer Bretonnia

Creative Assembly has announced that the colorful human kingdom of Bretonnia will be a playable faction in custom and multplayer battles in the upcoming dark fantasy strategy game Total War: Warhammer.

The Bretonnians rely heavily on powerful armored units and overwhelming charges in battles, the studio said, backed by heavy trebuchet artillery and masses of archers. Think medieval France, essentially. They don't bring much to the table in the way of massive monsters, but their Enchantresses can unleash powerful offensive magic as well as buffs that greatly fortify the abilities of their knights.

Interestingly, it was almost exactly one year ago that we mentioned the absence of the Bretonnians, who “seem to have fallen out of favor with Games Workshop these days,” in our breakdown of the Total War: Warhammer factions. They haven't been totally absent from the action, however: They're also a playable faction in the fantasy sports sim Blood Bowl 2.

To demonstrate how the Bretonnians will play, Creative Assembly posted a 25-minute gameplay video pitting them against a Vampiric invasion of the city of Couronne. I won't tell you who wins, but it looks pretty fantastic. Total War: Warhammer comes out on May 24.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.