Creative Assembly just handed Total War fans a loaded survey for Medieval 3 factions and immediately slapped a big red "no" on the one everyone actually wants. Locked-in starters like England, France, the Holy Roman Empire, Byzantines, Kingdom of Jerusalem, and Sultanate of Rum are safe, but the Papal States? Creative director Leif Walter flat-out said the unique playstyle would "reduce focus of development too much."

The shortlist drops 23 options for player votes—Venice, Genoa, Milan, Castile, Hungary, Almohads, you name it—while the survey runs until September. Community forums are already on fire with the usual "this is just DLC bait" and "Pope or bust" chants, and X is full of the same tired disappointment that Medieval 2's papal mechanics aren't getting the spotlight they deserve. Walter's three criteria (fame, unique start, mechanics) sound reasonable until you realize the one faction that breaks all three gets the boot anyway.

CA swears non-voted factions still show up on the map as AI entities, but everyone knows what "playable at launch" actually means in this ecosystem. The Pope is off-limits because it would be too special. Translation: they're terrified of doing it right and would rather sell it piecemeal later.