Total War: Warhammer 3 pushes the giant tiger people button next week

For a game series that revels in realizing the obscure and ephemeral pieces of the Warhammer Fantasy setting as in-game units, Total War: Warhammer has left the interests of one specific player segment unfulfilled: the furries.

As countless intersecting player subcultures are no doubt celebrating, that changes next week when giant tiger people become playable in Total War: Warhammer 3. Creative Assembly has announced that the Bhashiva and the Tiger Warriors character pack launches on May 21.

The Tiger Warriors are a bit of rarely-seen Warhammer Fantasy flavor that players have been hoping to see in gameplay since Grand Cathay—itself something that had largely existed in Warhammer’s periphery before its Total War incarnation—was first announced as a playable faction in 2021. The reason is self-evident: It’s cool to see a big tiger man hit somebody with an axe.

Sadly, their presence in Warhammer 3 until now has consisted of a settlement named “Village of the Tigermen” in the Broken Lands of Tian Li province. But once the Bhashiva character pack drops next week, players can field Tiger Warrior armies of their own, including the titular White Tiger of Shang-Yang herself as a legendary lord.

A mercenary sworn into the service of Zhao Ming, Bhashiva will be able to field a spellcasting tigerman hero unit and a trio of Tiger Warrior infantry types. She’ll also be able to complete missions to earn Zhao Ming’s favor, allowing her to access the more conventional troops of Grand Cathay.

Creative Assembly first announced the upcoming inclusion of the Tiger Warriors in February, and describes their playstyle as “a force built around agility, stalking, and sudden ambushes.” As someone who prefers a thoroughly dwarven strategy of covering a mass of infantry in enough armor that they can simply march unbothered into the middle of enemy armies, that’s a departure from my usual tactical playbook—but again, giant tiger guys hitting things with axes. It argues for itself.

The Bhashiva and the Tiger Warriors character pack will be $5 when it launches on Steam on May 21.