Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 finally has a release date. After its mind-blowing reveal last year, KingArt Games’ gorgeous RTS will release on September 14, 2026 for PC gamers.
As a return to form for the RTS series, Dawn of War 4 features the return of the series’ iconic sync-kill system. The new entry boasts more single-player content than any other game in the series, and post-launch expansions will add even more missions and factions to the game.
While many new Warhammer 40K fans may have been introduced to the series through the best-selling Space Marine 2, many of us were introduced to the franchise via the original Dawn of War. That’s how I was properly introduced to the tabletop game, and creative director Jan Theysen hopes the sequel will do the same for a new generation of gamers.
“It’s ridiculous how many people tell us that they came to 40K because of Dawn of War 1,” the director told IGN. “Basically every second person that we talk to says, ‘Yeah, because of Dawn of War, I’m a 40K fan.’ It would be awesome if we can do it again, basically be like a nice entry point for players.”
Theysen explains that Dawn of War 4 is “maybe a little bit less intimidating than maybe some of the other [40K] games out there.” Over the decades, 40K has spawned a lot of video games, and many of them have served as introductions to the series. Nevertheless, there are some games that are easier to parse, and Dawn of War is definitely on the easier side.
Alongside Dawn of War 4, another 40K RTS is on the way in the form of Creative Assembly’s Total War: Warhammer 40,000. A massively different, much larger-scale title, Theysen doesn’t feel threatened by its existence at all. Instead, the creative director is excited to see more 40K games on the horizon.
“We are happy the more good Warhammer 40K games are out there, because the more good games there are the more people care about it, the more people are interested in Warhammer in general,” he told the outlet. “And that also helps Dawn of War. We don’t see them as direct competition. It’s also not like players play the one game but not the other. I think many players will probably play both of them.”
Theysen explained that other games in the series simply “brings more eyes to the franchise”. One player could see Space Marine 2 and try Dawn of War 4, or see Total War: Warhammer 40K and try out Boltgun 2. The Warhammer franchise, similarly to Star Wars, has endless possibilities for games, and this has been backed by other developers as well.
As we reported recently, Space Marine 2 director Oliver Hollis-Leick explained that Warhammer 40,000 has the ability to cross every genre. “It’s perfect for so many genre that it’s been used in all of them,” they said. “And I think that’s why it’s so successful….I like the way Games Workshop manages who’s making what. You’re never, like, going against somebody else.”
Alongside Dawn of War 4, there’s a host of additional Warhammer 40,000 games in development. Owlcat is working on its next CRPG, Dark Heresy, while Saber continues to work on both additional Space Marine 2 content and Space Marine 3. Additionally, the franchise is officially crossing over with Helldivers 2 later this year.
