Total War: Tsardoms is a Total War mod for Medieval 2 that takes place between 1345 and 1448. When the Ottoman Empire first became a serious threat, and when the Ottoman Empire destroyed the Byzantine Empire.

https://www.moddb.com/mods/tsardoms-total-war

It is currently the most popular mod for Medieval 2, that says something about the quality of the mod but also of the setting.

The modification will begin in the 4th semester (in September) of the year 1345AD and it will conclude in the year 1530. The reason we decided on this timeframe is because we wanted to make a mod about the fall of the Roman Empire and the subsequent struggle of the neigbouring factions for her legacy, so this timeframe fits perfectly.

The game will begin with the Roman Empire devided into two rival factions - the "House of Kantakouzenoi" and the "Imperial Regency of the Roman Empire" - which will struggle for the guardianship of the heir to the throne - John V Palaiologos. At the same time, the Regency is allied with the Bulgarian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia, whοse King (and wannabe Emperor) - Stefan Uros IV Dusan - is besieging the city of Serrhai which, by capturing it, will allow him to be crowned "Tsar of Serbians and Greeks". On the opposing side, the Turkish beyliks of Asia Minor, namely the Ottomans and the Emir of Aydin, have taken the side of John Kantakouzenos and have already joined the fight for their own interests, harassing the eastern parts of the Empire.

In the North, the principallities of Wallachia and Moldova are trying to defend themselves against Hungary and Bulgaria and they are also looking to expand their teritorries after the withdrawal of the Tatars.

In the Meditteranean and the Aegean Sea the two maritime Republics - Genoa and Venice - are competing and attacking each other for the control of the profitable trade routes from the Middle East and the Black Sea.

In southern Italy, the Kingdoms of Sicily and Trinacria, after the incident of the "Sicilian Vespers", are attemting to enforce their authority on each other's lands. In Northern Italy, the Italian city-states are vying for power, the Swiss Confederacy, in the Alps, is fighting for Independence against Milan and the Habsburgs, who have the vision of a grand Empire...

Faction preview: https://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?349035-Tsardoms-Total-War-FACTION-PREVIEW-Principality-of-Wallachia

The 1335 campaign (Grand Campaign):

The 1448 campaign (Fall of Constantinopole):

Given that this mod is the most popular Medieval 2 mod out there, why doesn't CA just hire the modders and then make the exact same game but with better graphics?

They don't have to change anything about Total War: Tsardoms, all they have to do is release it with new engine graphics and that's it.

It's not even a saga title, for while the map is just Italy + Eastern Europe + Asia Minor the detail and the number of factions are huge. It's just too much content there for a saga title:

Factions:

Catholic factions:
01. Duchy of Austria (the House of Hapsburgs)
02. Kingdom of Hungary
03. Republic of Ragusa
04. Republic of Venice
05. Republic of Florence
06. Republic of Genoa
07. Kingdom of Sicily (Naples)
08. Kingdom of Trinacria (Sicily)
09. Old Swiss Confederacy
10. Duchy of Athens and Neopatria
11. Knights of Rhodes (Knights of St.John)

Orthodox factions:
12. Tsardom of Bulgaria
13. Tsardom of Serbia
14. Roman Empire - House of Kantakouzenoi
15. Roman Empire - Imperial Regency of the Roman Empire
16. Principality of Wallachia
17. Principality of Moldova

Kristjani factions:
18. Banate of Bosnia

Muslim factions:
19. Ottoman Beylik (later Empire)
20. Karaman Beylik
22. Aydin Beylik

Emergent factions:
23. Papacy
24. Timurids
25. Crown of Aragon
26. Kingdom of France

Cultures:

The main cultures of the mod's factions will be:

1. Greek (for the Roman Factions)
2. Slavic (for Serbia, Bulgaria and Bosnia)
3. Eastern European (Moldova, Wallachia)
4. Turkish (for Otttomans, Karamanids, Aydinids & Timurids)
5. Mediteranean (for Aragon, Sicily, Trinacria, Duchy of Athens, Knights of St. John)
6. Nothern Italian (for Florence, Genoa, Venice, Papal States & Ragusa)
7. Central European (for Switzerland, France, Hungary, Austria & Germany regions)

Wouldn't making the exact same game that is the most popular Medieval 2 mod but with the better graphics of the new engine be a safe bet?

In 1448 you can play as Vlad the Impaler :D

The thing that sucks about this mod is that it's set in Europe, but it's missing all of the French, Spanish, English, Russians, Scandinavians, and most the Germans. If CA released a game focused on Europe and literally missed every single culture that the Western audience finds most interesting... well it just seems like a silly scope to go with tbh. The only solid hits here are the Roman nations, Turks, and Hungarians (maybe Austria and Venice too). For a DLC sure this'll work, but not a main title.

I'm not saying that the rest of these cultures aren't interesting, I'm just saying that Western audiences generally aren't interested in them.

You have Vlad the Impaler.

Yeah true that single character is interesting to the Western audience, but his nation and his culture isn't (Vlachs, Wallachia).

I've never really been a fan of the TW games that focus on individual characters too much though (bar Napoleon, the only acceptable exception :P). OG total wars were about making your own characters and making your own history. I miss the sandbox aspects of Total War that we see absolutely none of these days, so mentioning individuals like this isn't even a pro to me, more of a con.