The Creative Assembly revealed last week that they are developing Napoleon: Total War. This has led many gamers to assume that the company will stop providing additional content for Empire: Total War, released this March.

The situation is similar to what arose when Left 4 Dead 2 was announced. Some Left 4 Dead players thought that the sequel would result in the original game being pushed off to the side. To my knowledge, Empire fans haven't formed a little boycott club yet, though.

In a letter to their player community, Creative Assembly explained their reasons for creating an entirely new game rather than simply expanding Empire. "Napoleon is a game in it's own right. It spans three full campaigns, not missions or theatres, three sperate campaigns each with their own maps, factions, missions, opponents, story and unique features. In short: It is big."

Creative Assembly also stated that they will continue to support Empire. "After the major AI upgrade patch that is coming we're going to announce another major piece of DLC for Empire, adding more content to its universe and expanding the game even further." They add that the promised multiplayer campaign is "still under development and will be coming shortly. It has not been dropped or forgotten and will be available soon."

Napoleon: Total War is slated for a February 2010 release.