We’re now fortunate enough to live in an era where great Warhammer 40k games outnumber the bad ones. Among those high marks, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 remains the most prolific, and it just got even better. Hot on the heels of patch 14.0, the ‘Confrontation update,’ Saber Interactive has handed the keys to the community with the introduction of Steam Workshop support, making it easier than ever to mod your game at the click of a button.
You’ve already been able to find all manner of Space Marine 2 mods across the internet, but the convenience of Steam’s built-in mod manager is hard to beat, especially since Valve’s big Workshop overhaul. In order to preserve the core experience for those that want it, you’ll be separated out from the base-game Space Marine 2 install when playing with mods.
Your progression will be handled independently from your unmodded save, and you’ll be disconnected from public matchmaking. Private lobbies are still available, with invites available through Steam or using a code. A watermark will be displayed in the corner of the lobby screen to let everyone know that they’re playing in a modded game.
Which mods should you be keeping an eye out for? While the selection is obviously limited at launch, it’s fair to assume most modders will bring their creations over to the Steam Workshop if possible. The one I was looking out for first already appears to be on its way across: the ‘Astartes Overhaul’ is a detailed, lore-focused expansion that integrates more weapons, custom classes, upgrades, and enemies into the mix. It’s updated regularly in response to feedback, so it’s unsurprising to see it among the earliest to make the jump.
Perhaps you want the action to be even bigger: ‘Deluge’ ramps up both the enemy count and the number of squad members, letting you get into ridiculous battles that are definitely not well-balanced, but are certainly fun. If you’d rather become a true force of destruction, keep watch for ‘Primarch Power Fantasy,’ which brings far more foes to face but also bumps up the power of your weapons and abilities, along with the strength of your armor.
‘Active AI’ keeps all of the computer-controlled units actually doing stuff, and does a great job of making encounters feel more dynamic, so I’m hoping to catch it among the Workshop selection soon. Other welcome inclusions to watch out for are the ‘Testing Menu’ mod that lets you easily toy around with different setups, ‘Noclip’ for enabling a much more flexible photo mode to capture the full majesty of encounters, and ‘Blood’ for, well, more of the red stuff. It’s not fancy, but it just feels right.
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2’s Steam Workshop is available now. Head here to start browsing – it’s understandably pretty sparse for now, but I imagine a lot of the heavy hitters will make their way across to the platform soon enough.
Alongside this, the Confrontation update introduces the Thousand Sons Terminus enemy, adds more Heroic weapons and armor, and delivers two new PvP maps. It also includes the final pair of Season 2 cosmetics, for the Salamanders and the Raptors.
