The Creative Assembly revealed today the eighth playable faction for Total War: Rome II, and fans of chariot warfare and beautiful princesses with kohl-lined eyes are in for a treat, as the new entry is Ptolemaic Egypt.

Founded by Ptolemy, a general that was appointed to govern Egypt after Alexander's death, this rather modern Egyptian nation merged native religion and traditions with Hellenistic values creating a rather unique culture.

This is also reflected in the Ptolemaic military, that will bring to the battlefield solid spearmen and pikemen mixed with native swordsmen, scythed chariots, and even African war elephants. Of course Egypt has always been a maritime power, so its fleet will also play an important role in the game.

But Total War fans have another reason to rejoice today: many thought only eight playable factions were a tad too limited to represent the diversity of the period, especially in light of the inclusion of a rather secondary one like the Iceni British tribe.

Together with the confirmation of Egypt a ninth empty slot appeared on the game's official wiki, and teasing forum posts by the game's Community Manager Will Overgard definitely confirm that eight wasn't a final number for the playable factions that will appear in the game. At this stage we really have no elements to guess how many there will be. Considering that they suddenly added a ninth, they may very well add more in the future.