Rome 2: Total War releasing October 2013 - report

New book deal hints at the launch date for Creative Assembly's game

Rome 2: Total War is reportedly set for release in October 2013.

Book publisher Pan Macmillan has acquired the rights to four original stories set in the world of Creative Assembly's strategy title, and the first is set to be released in October 2013 to tie in with the global release of the PC game, according to The Bookseller.

Pan Macmillan and Sega are set to cross-promote the novels in a drive that will include in-game marketing.

Macmillan publisher Jeremy Trevathan said: "We are delighted to be working with one of the most successful games franchises on the market.

"What is also particularly exciting is that they have an in-built, committed community of players who are emotionally engaged with the games and who have told their researchers that they are hungry for more 'story-telling' within the games and around the games."

The first book will follow the rise of Fabius Petronius Secundus, a fictional Roman legionary and centurion whose life closely shadows that of Scipio Africanus the Younger, conqueror of Carthage in 146 BC - from his first battle against the Macedonians, that seal the fate of Alexander's the Great's empire, to those in North Africa and the Siege of Carthage.

Sega's officially announced launch window for the game is late 2013. The company told us today: "We haven't announced a release date for the game yet. That announcement relates to details around the book only". Last week Sega sent over four new Rome 2: Total War screenshots. They followed the release of the debut Rome 2: Total War gameplay trailer late last month.

CVG visited Creative Assembly in June for an exclusive first look at the sequel, and you can read every detail in our Rome 2: Total War preview and our Rome 2: Total War interview with lead designer James Russell.

By Tom Ivan for CVG UK