Total War: Shogun 2 Grand Master's Edition

The Grand Master's Edition. Even the name sounds like it belongs behind glass. Total War: Shogun 2 Grand Master's Edition on PC sits at the top of the Shogun 2 hierarchy, announced in February 2011 as the ultimate collector's package for Creative Assembly's return to feudal Japan.

This was the era when strategy games still commanded premium physical releases, and the Grand Master's Edition represented the ceiling of what a PC collector's edition could be. Shogun 2 itself is widely regarded as the tightest, most focused entry in the Total War series, a game that refined the formula before the franchise branched into orcs and vampires. The Grand Master's Edition gave that experience the presentation it deserved.

For Total War collectors building out a complete shelf, this is the crown jewel of the Shogun 2 lineup, sitting above both the standard and Limited Edition releases. Finding one complete and in solid condition is the kind of challenge that makes collecting worth the effort. It's a flagship release from a flagship studio at the peak of their historical strategy era, and the PC collector's market has only gotten hungrier for sets like this since.