Craig Laycock
Craig (also known as CraigTW) is the Community Manager for Total War, so he gets to look after Total War’s Twitter, Facebook, Forum, web site and just about everything else Total War related! In addition to these noble duties, you might have seen him talking to the press when he went to Australia and New Zealand expounding the virtues of Shogun 2. He managed to bribe his way to a first class honours degree in that most noble of disciplines: journalism. After a stint in insurance communications (remarkably less fun than it sounds), he blagged his way into The Creative Assembly in 2008, working first in QA and then in marketing, fulfilling a long-held dream to work on Total War games along the way.
He travels a lot and counts Japan, the USA, Egypt, most of Europe, Australia and New Zealand among the countries crossed off in his little book of travel. He would very much like to return to Asia, with a return visit to Japan in his mind, as well as visits to Hong Kong and China.
Fact fans might like to know that Craig appeared on University Challenge way back in 2002. His university lost, but to the eventual semi-finalists – and Craig answered a question about Marmite correctly to mass applause. He’s still really proud of that moment.
Posts by CraigTW
Rise of the Samurai DLC – OUT TODAY!
As I’m sure you’re all undoubtedly aware (else we’re clearly not doing our jobs properly!), Rise of the Samurai is out TODAY on Steam. Keep checking your games list – it’ll be going live later this afternoon UK time. In the run-up to this exciting day, we invited a very select group of some of [...]
[Read More]Rise of the Samurai: Release date announced
We’ve announced a release date for Rise of the Samurai, so take out your calligraphy set, open your calendar and mark the date… 27th September! Set 400 years before the Sengoku period depicted in Shogun 2, Rise of the Samurai pits you as the leader of one of six playable clans from the Taira, Minamoto [...]
[Read More]An exclusive look at the new ‘Rise of the Samurai’ campaign map
Keen-eyed followers of upcoming DLC “Rise of the Samurai” may have noticed a few differences to the main Shogun 2 campaign map. Our artists have been beavering away at crafting a different experience for the new campaign, which is set some 400 years before the main game. As well as tweaking elements of the [...]
[Read More]Our favourite community things #1
It’s a familiar scene. While we’re busily working away on Total War, perhaps over a cup of tea, someone starts playing a video featuring one of our games. Before you know it there’s a crowd of people checking out the cool stuff playing. Our community seem to have really taken making movies in Total War to their [...]
[Read More]Ikko-Ikki DLC: What’s included?
Starry, starry night: CA nominated for Ivor Novello
There’s a red carpet buzz sweeping the corridors of The Creative Assembly. Our very own Richard Beddow is up for a prestigious Ivor Novello award for the excellent Napoleon: Total War soundtrack, and tonight will be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Tinie Tempah, Kylie Minogue, Scouting for Girls and Plan B. The Times describes [...]
[Read More]Shogun 2 infographic: revel in the stats!
Shogun 2 and Napoleon soundtracks released
It’s fair to say Total War games are critically acclaimed for a few reasons. Epic battles, engaging campaign strategy maps and award-winning cinematic soundtracks are just a few that spring to mind. So today, The Creative Assembly and SEGA Europe are delighted to announce that our latest soundtrack – Shogun 2′s powerful Japanese-inspired epic – is now [...]
[Read More]Multiplayer, The Clan Competition and You
Hi guys, To say the multiplayer elements of Total War: Shogun 2 are extensive is like saying that Neptune’s “quite far away”. We’ve overhauled the experience from top to bottom to hopefully provide hundreds and hundreds of hours of gameplay for keen Total War gamers and newcomers to the series alike. On top of the avatar [...]
[Read More]Total War: Shogun 2 – Lifting the lid on the official app
The tech-savvy amongst you might have spotted a Total War-themed gem lurking on the Apple store this week – the (free) Shogun 2 Official Companion app. In this exclusive blog, we bring you all the details from behind the scenes. Lifting the lid We developed the app to offer a taste of [...]
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