Owlcat Games’ Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is coming to an end with its upcoming DLC expansion, Processional of the Damned. As the DLC nears release, many developers are now moving over to work on its successor, Dark Heresy.
Currently in playable alpha, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy is a very different game from Rogue Trader. While still a CRPG, the successor has a “much more personal scale” than the spacefaring, system-jumping adventures of Rogue Trader.
Speaking to FRVR ahead of Processional of the Damned’s release date, Owlcat brand manager Anton Emelyanov confirmed that many devs are moving onto Dark Heresy as the DLC wraps up. While some devs will remain on Rogue Trader for additional updates, Owlcat is ramping up the team size for the next game.
“Dark Heresy is naturally one of our major priorities moving forward,” Emelyanov said, “and we’re incredibly excited about what we’re building. We’ve learned a great deal throughout Rogue Trader’s development and post-launch support, and we want to carry that experience forward”.
Emelyanov explained that “the team behind Rogue Trader’s DLC has gained invaluable experience in enriching the game long after its initial release”. While Owlcat has not officially announced any official DLC plans for Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, they teased that Rogue Trader’s team will help specifically support post-launch expansions for the game.
“That knowledge will play an important role in shaping Dark Heresy’s future,” Emelyanov told us in an interview.
Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, while currently playable in alpha, doesn’t have a specific release date at the time of writing. While scheduled for sometime in 2027, the game will seemingly launch between April and August 2027.
Afterwards, the CRPG will likely be subject to a number of DLC expansions in the same style as Rogue Trader. This means that the game will most probably be subject to new stories, companions, enemies, locations, and more after launch.
