What we’re building with Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV

Hi everyone!

Having worked so hard on Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV for the last four years, we’re incredibly excited to be able to share more detail about what we’ve been up to all this time! In today’s post, we’re going to take a closer look at how we’re building out our own vision for Dawn of War, and what you can expect when the game launches next year.

A grimdark universe of eternal conflict

The Warhammer 40,000 universe is in a state of perpetual conflict, and we know that getting the look and feel of this world just right is absolutely crucial to the success of Dawn of War IV. It has to be grim and dark, and everything has to have a certain weight and a certain level of mayhem to it. 

We also know how important deep, well-crafted campaigns are to Warhammer video game fans, and so we’ve been working closely with legendary Black Library author John French to craft a storyline that’s fit for such a beloved universe.

We won’t give away too much right now, but in our return to Kronus you can expect the sort of manipulation, treachery and thirst for power rife in the Warhammer 40,000 universe - and expect it in spades.

Years after the events of Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, Kronus finds itself on the wrong side of the Great Rift, along with a section of the Blood Ravens Space Marines. When Cyrus and Jonah Orion visit Kronus in the hopes of finding their old chapter, they instead discover a malignant force that threatens the entire sub-sector.

To tell this tale, Dawn of War IV will launch with four distinct storylines - one per faction - with each story feeding into the grander overall narrative. Whether you’re playing as the Orks, the Adeptus Mechanicus, Necrons or Space Marines, each campaign feels uniquely of its own faction, reflecting the needs and desires of each faction in this galaxy torn asunder.

Classic gameplay powered by unprecedented spectacle

We knew from the start that we wanted our game to represent a return to the kind of classic Dawn of War gameplay that captivated all of us back in 2004. So it’s fair to say that Dawn of War IV leans hard into epic battles defined by territorial capture and command, strategic squad management and base building.

Then there are the series’ famous and much-loved sync kills, which we’ve dramatically expanded into something we call our Combat Director system. 

In previous games, sync kills would see two characters complete their final blows in a unique, choreographed combat sequence. In Dawn of War IV the Combat Director ensures that every combat animation involving every participant is given this personalised touch at all times! 

Dawn of War’s combat has never felt more brutal, grim and immersive, and we’re incredibly proud of what our artists, animators and coders have managed to achieve with this system.

Built to fuel your passion for Warhammer 40,000

We also want to deliver a game packed with content that captures all elements of the Dawn of War experience.

To do this, we’re backing up our collection of meaty story campaigns with a selection of game modes designed to keep you enthralled for dozens - perhaps even hundreds - more hours after you’re finished with the story:

• Last Stand - Everybody loves Last Stand and we’re excited to bring it back with Dawn of War IV! This horde-like mode pits you against increasingly deadly waves of enemies in a frantic scrap for survival designed to push your skills to their limits. Level up your characters and unlock new skills and equipment to stay one step ahead of the relentless threat.
• Skirmish - Skirmish gives you total control of the battlefield by letting you select the map, the factions, the difficulty settings and plenty more besides. It’s a very satisfying way to either practise your battlefield command skills away from the campaign, or get stuck into some custom-made mayhem, just the way you want it.
• Multiplayer: We’re committed to giving Dawn of War IV’s missions, characters and campaigns the love and respect they deserve, but multiplayer still matters! We’ll have 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 multiplayer support at launch, so you can take on the world.

Just like our story campaigns, all of these modes support co-op play too!

And of course, it wouldn’t be Dawn of War if you couldn’t also customise your forces. We’re shipping Dawn of War IV with a Painter tool that allows you to add your own personalised finishing touches to the units under your command, so that every battlefield feels uniquely your own.

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We hope you enjoyed this closer look at all the cool stuff we’re cooking up for Dawn of War IV! We’ll have more to show you in the weeks and months to come, so make sure you follow us for the latest developments, and don’t forget to wishlist the game too.