Creative Assembly and SEGA have officially unveiled Total War: Warhammer 40,000, marking a pivotal expansion of the acclaimed strategy franchise into the science-fantasy universe of Games Workshop's iconic property.
The announcement was made during The Game Awards 2025, bringing an end to years of speculation and careful leaks regarding the series' direction.
The franchise ventures into uncharted territory with this release, representing the first Total War title set in the far future of the 41st Millennium.
Rather than exploring the historical settings or the fantasy realms that defined the previous entries, the game immerses players in the brutal, battle-scarred galaxy where countless civilizations wage endless warfare for supremacy.
The core gameplay formula that has defined Total War remains intact, combining turn-based campaign strategy with real-time tactical battles. However, the scope has expanded dramatically. Players will crusade across a galactic sandbox, capturing planets, upgrading fleets, and managing war economies while armies clash in cinematic confrontations across war-torn worlds.
The battlefield environments themselves feature destructive terrain and diverse biomes, powered by Creative Assembly's new Warcore engine, which enables more detailed destruction and advanced ranged combat mechanics including unit strafing and cover systems.
Four playable factions will be available at launch, each offering radically distinct playstyles and strategic approaches. The Space Marines serve as the Imperium's genetically-engineered elite super-soldiers, embodying tactical precision and disciplined warfare.
The Astra Militarum represents the Imperium's regular infantry forces and mechanized divisions, balancing versatility with firepower. The Orks embrace barbaric aggression and overwhelming numerical superiority as their primary strength. The Aeldari, remnants of a once-proud alien empire, compensate for their smaller numbers with superior fighters and psychic finesse.
Customization extends throughout the experience, granting players unprecedented control over their forces. Beyond standard unit positioning and tactics, armies can be personalized from fundamental aspects such as faction titles, heraldry, and iconography down to individual details like Space Marine armor coloring.
Traits can be refined to sharpen battlefield tactics, and wargear can be customized to establish a signature style of destruction across the galaxy.
The narrative component integrates into gameplay through crusade campaigns, which appear to represent branching campaigns or sub-campaigns that impact an overarching story.
These crusades will involve all four factions and are expected to contribute to Games Workshop's official Warhammer 40,000 canon.
The cinematic reveal trailer showcased the Ultramarines engaged in brutal combat against Ork forces, with the camera progressively pulling back to reveal the galactic scale of warfare.
Gameplay footage demonstrated planetary siege mechanics, orbital bombardment capabilities, and fleet management systems spanning entire star systems. The trailer hinted at the apocalyptic scale of the game, including references to faction-specific super-weapons capable of eradicating entire worlds.
In a notable expansion for the Total War franchise, Total War: Warhammer 40,000 will launch simultaneously across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S consoles, marking the series' console debut.
This multi-platform approach represents a significant shift in distribution strategy for Creative Assembly.
Game Director Attila Mohacsi commented on the partnership: "Warhammer 40,000 is a science-fantasy setting without equal. Its galactic scale, iconic factions, and brutal battles have contributed to a universe that gels perfectly with Total War's DNA.
We've worked with Games Workshop for over 15 years and can't wait to continue that partnership with the aim of creating the definitive Warhammer 40,000 strategy experience just like we did with the Total War: Warhammer series."
The development team emphasizes that the game represents an ambitious foundation for a sprawling galactic experience designed to grow over time.
Additional factions, heroes, war machines, and richly-realized worlds are planned for future development, suggesting an evolving content roadmap beyond the initial launch.
The partnership between Creative Assembly and Games Workshop builds upon their established 15-year collaboration, which previously resulted in the commercially successful Total War: Warhammer trilogy.
That series demonstrated the developer's ability to translate the complex tabletop mechanics and aesthetic of Games Workshop's intellectual properties into compelling digital strategy games.
Wishlist functionality is now available across all announced platforms, though an exact release date has not been provided.
The project represents the culmination of Total War's 25th anniversary celebrations and signals the franchise's evolution into new territory.
