The Total War series has covered epic swathes of history since Shogun: Total War introduced feudal Japan to players back in 2000. Since then the series has covered Rome, medieval Europe, Napoleon, and more. But with A Total War Saga – Thrones of Britannia announced, Creative Assembly and Sega are letting you focus in on a particular time period.

More specifically, the game will focus purely on the British Isles in the year of 878AD. It’s a tense time, following the Viking Invasion by the Great Heathen Army just over a decade earlier, and the ascension of Alfred the Great to the King of Wessex, en route to becoming the dominant ruler in England.

So you’ve got the various kingdoms fighting for control across what would become the UK. And a sizeable force of Vikings who had already caused Mercia to collapse, and was now starting to move across the rest of the country with the aim to conquering and settling. In reality, this led to the establishment of Danelaw across East Anglia.

But maybe things will turn out differently?

Obviously it ties in with recent interest in historical dramas, including the Vikings TV series based around Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, who led the Viking Army to Britain to avenge Lothbrok’s death.

And most interesting is the fact that the campaign maps will obviously focus on a smaller area, enabling them to be much more detailed than in previous Total War games.

“Our aim with Total War Sagas is to explore key flashpoints at distinct places and times in history”, said Series Director, Mike Simpson. “Unlike our era-spanning titles, we’re putting defined geographical areas under the microscope, building super-detailed campaign maps with a strong cultural focus and flavour that players can dive into. This will complement our broader-scope titles perfectly”.

With A Total War Saga – Thrones of Britannia announced, you can expect it out for the PC in 2018.