Total War: Warhammer 40,000 — Everything We Know

It was just a matter of time before Total War and Warhammer 40,000 became one. Both are two different IPs by the same company, brought together by the fans. They are set in different universes. But depending on who you ask, they might argue that they are connected in some shape or form. 

But that’s not the point. The point is that it’s finally here. A Total War game based on Warhammer 40K. Games Workshop listened and is giving us a new Total War game set in the grim, dark, far future Warhammer 40K universe we all love. 

Get ready to launch ‘Total’ space warfare, invading multiple planets and controlling varied factions of Space Marines, Orcs, Eldari, and Astra Militarum. It’s about to go down, but first, here’s everything we know about Total War: Warhammer 40,000.

What is Total War: Warhammer 40,000?

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is an upcoming turn-based grand strategy and real-time tactics game by Creative Assembly and SEGA. While its gameplay will borrow from the Total War series, the setting will take you to the sci-fi grimdark far future universe of Warhammer 40K. 

Massive battles will be taking place across the galaxy, incorporating resource management, tactical strategies, and orbital, aerial, and ground Total War. You’ll control different factions already familiar to longtime fans, customizing your war machine, and jumping headfirst into epic battles that span a bloody carnage across the stars.

Story

It’s the 41st millennium, and the world has gone to shit. The sci-fi universe you’re thrown into is plagued by darkness and endless war. Everyone is surviving, joining different factions that gear up in war machines and fight to the death. 

Four iconic factions will be joining Total War: Warhammer 40,000. Each has unique lore, weapons, machines, and gameplay. You have the famous Space Marines, relying on genetic enhancements for their armor and weapons. 

The Orks use brute force to wage war. Their numbers allow them to launch into battlefields in endless mobs, wielding unpredictable weapons and war machines. The Aeldaris are an ancient, depleting race, once ruling the stars, but now relying on their elusive agility. 

And finally, the Astra Militarum, formed by legions of soldiers, using tanks and artillery to grind enemies to dust.

Within the factions are sub-factions and warlords needing customization. Alternatively, you might prefer customizing your own army. Either way, there will be plenty of options to name your warband, pick your preferred colors, regiments, and iconography. You’ll choose and upgrade your tactical abilities, signature traits, and arcane wargear, creating individual campaigns and battle strategies for your army. 

Gameplay

It starts small, with a sizeable army, which you’ll gradually grow into an empire. The battlefield is a galactic sandbox, where you capture planets, upgrade your fleets, and manage your army’s resources and economy. Your goal is to dominate the stars, winning rounds of battle at a time.

It’s a deeply strategic combat system that forces you to utilize every trick you’ve got up your sleeve. Whether it’s setting up strongholds, unleashing attacks on enemies from orbit, or engaging in ground warfare. These are real-time battles that spread across entire planets. Still, you can use your last apocalyptic resort to wipe out entire planets from existence.

Battles take place across distinct biomes, different battlefields, and with different types of environmental destruction. You’ll recruit units within your chosen faction, controlling skilled soldiers, elite squads, towering walkers, and massive war machines. And you can always call in reinforcements, which ties to resource management of your units wisely.

Tactical abilities vary, including laser-powered strikes, artillery bombardments, and aerial strafing runs. And when launched, their impact is so massive that it reshapes terrain or creates new cover, enhancing opportunities for tactical advantage.

Good news, you’ll have both single-player, local, and online multiplayer. Nothing is holding you back from pledging total war among the stars.

Development

At the forefront of development is Creative Assembly, while SEGA handles publishing. It’ll be the first time Total War makes its way into the sci-fi, futuristic apocalyptic universe of Warhammer 40K. And that could come with some level of pressure. The devs promise to heed fans’ beloved features from both Total War and Warhammer 40K. The deep strategy you’ve enjoyed all these years, cinematic battles, and impactful decisions. The devs’ goal: “to create the ultimate strategy experience for the Warhammer 40k universe.” 

Also, after launch, you’ll have plenty to look forward to, as the devs plan to continue evolving the universe into a massive, galactic battlefield. We do have juicy details about the key features to come. But the devs assure us that even more exciting details will be revealed throughout the marketing campaign. Expect massive scale, drama, and intense battles, just as previous Warhammer 40K games have delivered. And after Total War: Warhammer 40,000, assuming its successful launch, the devs tease that there may be more entries to come for the new chapter of Total War meets Warhammer 40K.

Trailer

At the Game Awards 2025, Stranger Things’ David Harbour surprised everyone with a fresh announcement of the World Premiere trailer for Total War: Warhammer 40,000, including the tantalizing detail that he will be featuring in the upcoming game. He will apparently play a “mysterious, yet-to-be-revealed character” that we can’t wait to find out. It’s a truly ecstatic trailer, switching seamlessly from glorious annihilation of entire armies to top-down tabletop turn-based gameplay.

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

It’s unclear when Total War: Warhammer 40,000 will launch. But fans are sure excited, with the number of wishlists on Steam already over 1 million. Besides PC platforms, you’ll also play the new game on current-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. 

As for editions, they aren’t confirmed yet. This is a new chapter for both the Total War and Warhammer 40K franchises, one we knew would come, but never knew it would be this soon. Excited, much? Keep track of all future updates via the official social handle here.