After several award-winning games based on the fantasy side of Games Workshop’s toybox, Creative Assembly is finally going grimdark with Total War: Warhammer 40, 000.
Stranger Things star David Harbour took to the stage at The Game Awards to break the news on behalf of Creative Assembly, amidst heavy speculation from eagle-eyed fans. After gushing about his time spent painting minis and “dropping dice under the table,” Harbour added he’ll be involved in the game and presented the first trailer.
Since 2016, the Total War series has deviated from their historical focus to venture into the Warhammer franchise for three separate classics on PC. Not only are they branching out into the science fiction side of the franchise by switching to Warhammer 40, 000, the new title will mark their debut on consoles—arriving first on PC, then following on PlayStation and Xbox at a later date.
Featuring four iconic factions—Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks, and Aeldari—Total War: Warhammer 40, 000 will offer all the brutality of the tabletop franchise with the tactical and cinematic real-time battles Creative Assembly is known for. Dedicated miniature painters can scratch their itch as well with a robust customization engine, allowing players to shape every detail of their faction, from aesthetic touches like iconography and titles to their signature traits and tactics.
With the science fiction setting comes the ability to traverse the galaxy, and Total War: Warhammer 40, 000 is embracing all the power of the Warp. Campaigns will crusade across “a galactic sandbox,” capturing planets for the war effort or bombarding them from orbit. Battles themselves will not be confined to the ground, extending the series’ real-time gameplay over planetary strongholds
The announcement is the cherry on top of Total War‘s 25th anniversary celebrations, commemorating a quarter-century of quality strategy games on PC and over 48 million copies sold. Fans of Games Workshop’s futuristic franchise have been eagerly awaiting this opportunity since the partnership with Sega’s Creative Assembly began, so tonight’s news surely means that sales milestone will break the 50 million mark in the very near future.
Total War: Warhammer 40, 000 will arrive first on PC via Steam at an unspecified date, then follow later on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Wishlisting is available now on all three platforms.
