If you have purchased Empire as a digital download...

You will be able to activate your digital copy and play Empire on Wednesday 4th March from 10:00 CET / 01:00 PST.

If you have purchased a boxed copy...

You will be able to activate your boxed copy and play Empire on Tuesday 3rd March from 18:00 CET / 09:00 PST.

If you have purchased the Empire: Total War™ Special Forces Edition or received an exclusive pre-order unit via participating retail outlets, you will need to connect to the internet, redeem your code through Steam and easily activate your units for use in game.

1. Install Empire and the Steam client as per instructions included with the game.
2. Launch the Steam client and select "Activate a product on Steam..." under the "Games" menu.
3. Step through the Steam Product activation wizard, entering the product code as prompted.
4. The units will then become available in Empire’s single-player campaign/ battle modes and multiplayer under certain conditions - see "Where do these units appear in the game?" section.

To view units registered to your Steam account, visit your Games list in the Steam client and right-click on Empire: Total War. Next, select Properties, and finally the DLC tab to view your downloadable content for Empire: Total War.
NOTE: This screen won’t be visible in Steam until your game has been released!

• 3 pre order units
• USS Constitution: this unit is available when playing as the USA and your technology has sufficiently advanced. It may also be captured by opposing factions.
• Death’s Head Hussars: this unit is available when playing as Prussia and your technology has sufficiently advanced. Prussia must also hold Brandenburg.
• Dahomey Amazons: this unit is available when holding territory in North Africa.
• 6 special forces units
• Bulkeley’s Regiment: this unit is available when playing as France and/or controlling Ireland.
• Ghoorkas: this unit is available when controlling the Kashmir territory provided the territory requirements are met.
• Corso Terrestre Guerillas: this unit is available when playing as Spain and your technology has sufficiently advanced.
• HMS Victory: this unit is available when playing as Britain and your technology has sufficiently advanced. It may also be captured by opposing factions.
• Ottoman Organ Gun: this unit is available when playing as the Ottoman Empire and your technology has sufficiently advanced.
• Rogers Rangers: this unit is available in American theatre when playing as Britain and your technology has sufficiently advanced.

Once you have registered these exclusive units through Steam, they will be available in multiplayer and single player battle modes when playing with the appropriate factions.

You will need to connect to the internet to authenticate Empire: Total War™ via Steam. Visit this article on Steam Support for more information about how to play your game offline in single player mode.

If you wish to download the latest updates, exclusive units or play a multiplayer game of Empire: Total War™, you will need to be connected to the internet.

Steam activates and launches your copy of Empire: Total War™. If you don’t already have Steam installed, everything you need to play will be included on the Empire: Total War™ disc and will be installed as part of the standard, step-by-step, installation procedure.