Total War: Rome II reveals first playable faction. But who could it be?

Creative Assembly are using the Total War Wiki to roll out info on the factions that will appear in the upcoming Total War: Rome II.

See if you can guess who they've unveiled as Rome II's first faction. No hints. Definitely don't go peeking at the Total War: ROME II faction page . Just take a shot in the dark...

It was Rome! Bet you're kicking yourselves now.

"As a playable faction, Rome benefits economically from its excellence in metalwork, enjoys enhanced military development, and can exploit the masses in order to maintain public order," says the entry on Rome , the first announced faction of Rome II. "Furthermore, the player will choose to conduct the affairs of Rome as the head of one of three great Roman houses: The Julia, The Cornelia, and the Junia, each of which bring further economic, military and cultural benefits."

According to Creative Assembly, "Each faction within the game offers greater richness, depth and variety than any previous Total War title to date, and brings the ancient world to life like never before. The distinctions between cultures aren't simply cosmetic; each offers a fundamentally different style of play."

The other factions will be slowly announced in the coming weeks, nay, months. But at least we know the name-swapped follow-up to Rome: Total War will feature Rome. That seems like a solid addition.

You know when you see a word so many times that it completely loses all meaning?

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.