Total War: Rome 2 reveals Rise of the Republic DLC, release date set

See its shouty trailer inside.

Hot on the gladiator sandal heels of its Empire Divided DLC and Cleopatra-starring Desert Kingdoms culture pack, Total War: Rome 2 has announced Rise of the Republic. Out August 9, it depicts the events surrounding Rome in the 4th century BC and is a prequel to its base game.

With swords and shields and big banging bass drums, Rise of the Republic has a trailer. Here's that:



Focused on Italy and its neighbours, Rise of the Republic adds nine playable factions—including Syracuse, the Gallic Senones and, of course, Rome. New region-specific dilemmas allow players to reenact historical events by the letter, or devise their own timelines; and new Government Actions let you activate unique bonuses. Rome wasn't build in a day, so goes the famous adage, but I could likely make a go of destroying it in similar time with those features.

Alongside the premium campaign pack—priced £11.99/$14.99—comes the Ancestral Update which introduces a Family Tree to all Rome 2 campaigns.

"This visual representation of your family and nobles enables you to interact with and manipulate characters, forge bonds and alliances with other factions, and engage in intrigues to further your aims," says publisher Sega. "The Ancestral Update will initially launch as an opt-in beta and is available now."

More on that lives here, while more on Rise of the Republic can be gleaned from its Steam page. Again, the latter is due on August 9, 2018.