Via Adam Freeman, Creative Assembly has officially delayed the upcoming Tides of Torment DLC for Total War: Warhammer III. The anticipated DLC was initially thought to release this summer of 2025, but due to the company stating that the new DLC didn’t quite meet their standards. New factions and updates to Norsca, Slaanesh, various fixes, and a newly announced High Elves faction has had fans excited after a relatively slow start to the 2025 year. No new release date has been confirmed, but Creative Assembly says the expansion will arrive “later this year”.

In a community blog post, the development team acknowledged that internal playtests clearly didn’t have the content where it needed to be. Instead of rushing forward to meet the original timeline, they’ve opted to delay and refine. One might assume that the Total War community was upset by this news, but surprisingly the news has been met with a level of understanding, with many just glad that the time is being taken to release a full and polished product.

What makes this delay sting a little less is that Creative Assembly is still keeping a pipeline of content moving in the meantime. July will see updated siege mechanics are coming to the Proving Grounds; a long and supremely welcomed addition in a game that has had its siege combat struggles. Patch 6.3 is slated to drop in September with quality-of-life updates and balance changes for the Tomb Kings, Lizardmen, and Greenskins.

This delay did come with the confirmation of Sea Lord Aislinn, a High Elf Legendary Lord, as the third major figure in Tides of Torment. The inclusion of a naval-oriented High Elf could suggest new mechanics or campaign considerations tied to coastal and sea regions. He joins Dechala (Slaanesh) and Sayl the Faithless (Norsca) as the trio are really helping out factions that have not received a lot of love over the years. The last major update to the High Elves was Imrik in 2020, and the last time Norsca has been touched was the faction’s release date in 2017!

Creative Assembly also hinted at future content beyond Tides of Torment, including a shift toward “smaller-style” Legendary Lord releases. These smaller DLCs could allow the studio to introduce Warhammer characters who might not warrant expansions of their own. This is a model we’ve seen work well in other games, but time will tell what sort of response this will bring from Total War fans.

Finally, a major expansion is still planned for 2026, which the studio says will be one of the largest updates in the trilogy’s history. That release is set to coincide with Total War’s 25th anniversary, and while details remain scarce, the long-term roadmap suggests Creative Assembly still sees significant life left in Warhammer III. In the meantime, fans will be left waiting, but if the result is more polished and meaningful DLCs, the delay may prove to be a worthwhile move.