- 8players
- Evenings at a time
- PC
Eighteenth-century grand strategy: run a nation's trade and diplomacy turn by turn, then command musket lines and fleets in real time.
Who can play
- No split-screen on any platform.
- Same room, own screens for up to 8 players on PC.
- Online for up to 8 players on PC.
- Each player online needs their own copy.
How it plays
Most multiplayer is one-off land and sea battles for up to eight players, online or over a local network.
Two players can also share a whole campaign, each leading a nation, in a mode still labelled a beta but open to all owners since January 2025.
Real-time battles ask for full attention, and a campaign suits a patient pair over many evenings.
Each player needs a copy.
Is it good
89%
Very positive on Steam
Steam Deck Playable
Every way to play together
No split-screen. Online for up to 8 on PC. LAN play for up to 8 on PC. 89% positive of 21,000 Steam reviews.
- 8
Battles over a local network for up to eight; whether the campaign runs over LAN is not confirmed.
- 8
Custom battles take up to eight players. A two-player campaign, still labelled a beta, has been open to every owner since January 2025.
Quick facts
- Developer
- Creative Assembly
- Publisher
- SEGA
- Platforms
- PC
- Series
- Total War
- Released
- 4 Mar 2009 on PC
- Languages
- Text in 8 languages
- Age rating
- Teen (ESRB): Alcohol reference, tobacco reference, blood, language, violence, online interactions not rated by the esrb
In these lists
Answers
- Does Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition have couch co-op?
- No. Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition has no same-screen multiplayer; play it together online instead.
- How many players can play Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition together?
- Local co-op and versus on separate screens for up to 8 on PC. Online co-op and versus for up to 8 on PC.
- Do you need two copies of Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition?
- Yes. Each player online needs their own copy.
- Can you play the Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition story together?
- Yes: the main campaign is playable together online.
- Does Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition work on Steam Deck?
- Yes, with some extra steps: Steam rates it Playable for Steam Deck.
- Is Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition free?
- No, it's a paid game.
