Released in 2019, Total War: Three Kingdoms is a critically acclaimed, historical video game developed by AAA studio Creative Assembly (henceforth CA) which mixes both turn based strategy and real-time battles. Set in ancient China during the fall of the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), the game depicts a time of great social and political upheaval in which the authority of the emperor was subverted by the great provincial warlords of the crumbling empire.³ It is a period whose history and personalities are well documented through the survival of the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms,⁴ and brought to near soap-opera levels in Lo Kuan-Chung’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a sixteenth century dramatization of the events of the Chronicles. In order to “launch a game that’s both historically accurate and culturally authentic,” the developer consulted both of these historical works alongside ongoing discussions with the leading Sinologist of the period, Dr. Rafe de Crespigny.⁵ From these discussions, two distinct “modes” were created. Firstly, a “romance” mode, “based on the romanticised history”, where Lo Kuan-Chung’s characters are imbued with superhuman abilities and able to “hold their own against hundreds of rank-and-file warriors”.⁶ Secondly, a “records” mode, based on the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, where players could expect a more “classic Total War experience” with generals that are “only human, and will march into battle at the centre of a bodyguard unit.”⁷ These differences, alongside changes to character appearance, the rate of battlefield fatigue, and the depiction of events in the game, are the only differences that exist between the two modes. The representation of history, gender and, importantly, that of women, does not change between these game modes.

It is precisely this tension between representation and historical authenticity which has attracted criticism of the developer’s integrity from a vocal part of the online fan community on the Total War Forums.⁸ This study analysed 30 separate discussions from this forum that directly referenced the representation of women within the game and counted a total of 477 comments that contributed to the discussion.⁹ We will focus on the 258 (54.1 percent) comments that were coded in data analysis as “negative” in that they directly expressed, or stood in agreement with, opinions that the representation of women is historically inaccurate and negatively impacted their enjoyment of the game. It should also be noted that 219 (45.9 percent) comments were coded as “positive” or “neutral” in that they did not outwardly express or agree that the representation of women negatively impacted their experience of the game, yet constraints on space meant that a secondary analysis of these comments was not possible. As outlined, these comments represented three distinct themes that this paper shall analyse after a brief historical overview.

Individuals participating in video games are, as Malpas suggests, firmly embedded in the non-virtual world surrounding them, including being subject to external discourses that shape their views and assumptions. Extensive researching into gaming and communities of gamers are indicative of this understanding, particularly when it is revealed that videogaming is considered to be the prerogative of the white, middle-class male “gamer,” that has led to an ideology of exclusion within gaming communities against those who do not fit this narrow demographic mould, termed by Fron et al. as the “hegemony of play.”¹² In reflection of this ideology, studies have revealed that, similar to other online message boards and social media, gaming forums and lobbies are hotbeds of racist, homophobic, and misogynist abuse.¹³ Thus, we cannot help but see issues and prejudices of the non-virtual world played out in virtual theatres. Along these lines, Shaw comments that it is critical we view video games within the “larger cultural discourses” of the contemporary world in order to understand the permeation of problematic perceptions of race and gender more clearly.¹⁴ Braithwaite further echoes this observation, adding that gamers are firmly “embedded within everyday ideologies of gender, power and privilege” that is solidified and actively encouraged via positive feedback from other users.¹⁵ Thus, it is important to remember that larger social discourses, particularly along sexist, homophobic, and racist lines, are constantly part of virtual discussion.

Alongside this, CA’s representation of women in Total War: Three Kingdoms can be viewed as one evide...