While most publishers are afraid of releasing a new game near Grand Theft Auto 6‘s Nov. 19 release date, it seems that Space Marines fear no one. Deep Silver and King Art Games have delayed Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 from Sept. 17 to Dec. 3 (only two weeks after GTA 6).
However, moving Dawn of War 4 closer to Rockstar’s upcoming release might not be a bad move considering it frees the strategy game from one of the most packed Septembers in a long time: Control Resonant, Marvel’s Wolverine, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Blood of the Dawnwalker, Silent Hill: Townfall, and more are all coming out that month.
As for why the team is delaying its upcoming Warhammer 40,000 game, game director Jan Theysen explained in a video that King Art Games needs “the extra weeks to get more of your feedback into the game, to fix bugs, to improve the performance, and polish the experience.” Theysen affirmed that the fan response from community play tests has been quite positive so far, but he and his studio need a bit more time.
They also explained that Dawn of War 4’s post-launch roadmap is being revised, with its biggest updates pushed to 2027, including its Crusade Mode, Mission Editor, and map packs. The Blood Ravens Story Prologue DLC will arrive in spring, and the Aftermath campaign expansion will be out in the summer. The game will launch with four factions: Space Marines, Adeptus Mechanicus, Necrons, and Orks.
Dawn of War 4 will be the first Dawn of War game without involvement from Relic Entertainment. The studio released Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War in 2004 and followed it with two sequels in 2009 and 2017. The first two games received critical acclaim for their engaging RTS gameplay and well-considered utilization of the Warhammer universe. However, Dawn of War 3 was much more divisive. It currently has only 47% positive reviews on Steam, with players criticizing it for still being riddled with bugs nine years later.
King Art Games is taking the reins after impressing publisher Deep Silver with its previous RTS, Iron Harvest. As always, there are many other Warhammer games and projects in the works, such as an animated TV series from Amazon and Saber Interactive’s Warhammer: Space Marine 3.
