Total War Warhammer 40k drops on PC and consoles with four factions, apocalyptic weapons, and campaign tools that make burning a planet feel strangely normal.
The Total War series has crashed into the 41st Millennium, and Total War Warhammer 40,000 looks exactly like the loud crossover everyone has been waiting for.
Creative Assembly and Games Workshop made it official at The Game Awards, with Stranger Things actor David Harbour walking out to confirm the new Warhammer 40k Total War project and his part in it.
If you have ever stared at your painted army and thought, “I want this, but as a full galactic grind,” Total War just walked in and said, “Bet.”
What Was Shown For Total War Warhammer 40k At The Game Awards
Updated on December 25th, 2025, by Rob Baer with the latest reveals.
Cinematic Trailer and First Gameplay Tease
The reveal trailer for Total War: Warhammer 40k lays it on thick. Ultramarines gun down Orks, Astra Militarum rolls in with tanks, and we get quick looks at massive real-time battles. War-torn cities, orbital shots, planetary zooms, all pointing to a campaign that runs across entire systems instead of one map with a fancy coastline.
Short gameplay snippets show classic Total War formations, only this time it is bolters, choppas, and artillery punching through gothic ruins. It feels like someone zoomed your tabletop game out until you could see the whole warzone.
Platforms And Release Status
The new Warhammer 40k Total War game is confirmed for
- PC
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox Series X|S
So console players finally get to join the “everything is on fire but tactically” experience. The Total War Warhammer 40k release date is still under wraps, so for us, it currently lives in that mental folder labeled “coming at the worst time for my free evenings.”
Why Total War 40k Actually Gets the Setting
This is Creative Assembly playing the long game with 40k instead of slapping bolters on their fantasy framework and calling it a day. Everything here is built around how the galaxy actually works: planets matter, fleets matter, and wars never politely end, so the map can reset.
It is layered, mean, and very 40k, in the best possible way, and it already feels like the most ambitious Total War project they have ever attempted.
Total War Warhammer 40k The Emperor’s Galactic War Map
Era Indomitus As A Total War Setting
The game sits in the Era Indomitus, right in line with the current tabletop timeline. The galaxy is tearing itself apart, and Total War Warhammer 40k, The Emperor basically gives you the strategy view of that mess.
On the campaign layer, you
- Command iconic 40k factions
- Move fleets across a star map
- Capture and build up planets
- Run a war economy that feeds your armies and war machines
It is the classic Total War structure, just stretched across the stars, with the Emperor silently judging every misclick.
Factions In The Warhammer Total War 40k Game
Space Marines: The Emperor’s Armored Sledgehammer
Space Marines in Warhammer 40k Total War are few in number and absolutely stacked with gear. You get elite infantry, heavy walkers, and tanks that can carry a fight on their own.
Expect smaller stacks packed with high-value units, powerful heroes, and a focus on timing charges and abilities. Perfect for players whose real army is “two squads, one Dreadnought, and a lot of faith in power armor.”
Orks: WAAAGH Cranked To Maximum
Orks in the new Warhammer Total War 40k game bring classic green tide energy. Endless mobs, ramshackle guns, scrap-built war machines that probably should not function but absolutely do.
They look built for momentum and aggression. Stack Boyz, roar forward, and let the WAAAGH mechanic carry you straight into someone else’s bad day.
Aeldari: Fast, Fragile, And Very Angry
Aeldari bring an ancient, fading empire into Total War Warhammer 40k, leaning on speed, precision, and psychic power. Units hit hard, move fast, and do not appreciate getting shot in return.
This is the faction for players who like glass cannons, skimmers, elite specialists, and the thrill of knowing that one bad engage might cost half the roster.
Astra Militarum: Steel, Bodies, And Artillery
The Astra Militarum, or the Guard for the old heads, is the big army faction in the game. Rows of infantry, walls of Leman Russ tanks, and artillery raining shells across the map.
Perfect if you enjoy gunlines, overlapping fields of fire, and ordering one more squad to sprint into a meat grinder so the rest of the army can win the objective race.
Campaign Scale In Warhammer 40k Total War
Multi-Planet Warfare And System Control
Warhammer 40k Total War does not stop at a single campaign map. Battles and politics spill across multiple planets, each with its own terrain, biomes, and strategic value. You grab key systems, build up your worlds, and try not to get pincered between a Crusade fleet and a roaring Waaagh.
It feels like old Total War provinces got stretched into entire planets, and nobody complained.
Orbital Firepower And Ground Battles
Combat unfolds in two layers. From orbit, you move fleets, bombard enemy worlds, and strip away defenses. Then you drop to the surface for real-time battles over hives, fortresses, ports, and industrial zones.
That loop connects the high-level map game to every fight on the ground. One good orbital strike can make a ground assault far less painful, or at least less expensive in tanks.
Exterminatus In Total War Warhammer 40k
Apocalyptic Weapons And Planet Wipe Options
On top of all that, the game includes apocalyptic weapons that can erase planets from the campaign. That fits 40k energy perfectly.
If a threat grows too big, you do not just break the siege; you delete the entire world. Big red button energy for late-game stalemates.
Building Your Force In Total War Warhammer 40k
Match Your Digital Army To Your Minis
One of the most hobby-friendly touches in Total War Warhammer 40k is the army personalisation. You can
- Name your warband, chapter, regiment, or craftworld
- Pick color schemes
- Add iconography and heraldry
So your cursed teal Ultramarines, hazard-striped Ork mobs, or red-and-bone Guard regiment can show up on screen the same way they look on your painting bench.
Traits, Wargear, And Playstyle Tweaks
Beyond color schemes, the game lets you tune how your forces actually fight. You combine traits, tactical abilities, and wargear to push each faction toward a style you like.
Think custom Chapter tactics, regiment doctrines, or warband quirks. Maybe your Marines lean harder into shooting, your Orks stack speed, your Aeldari lean into psychic nonsense, or your Guard grow even more stubborn on defense.
Battles In Warhammer 40k Total War
Big Armies, Walkers, And War Machines
On the battlefield, Warhammer 40k Total War leans into spectacle. You get rank upon rank of infantry backed by elite squads, towering walkers, Stompas, and heavy armor grinding across the map.
It is the sort of thing that lets you live out all those Apocalypse dreams without needing three tables and a full day off.
Destructive Terrain And Battlefield Abilities
Artillery strikes, bombing runs, and laser blasts carve up the battlefield mid-fight, shifting cover, opening gaps, or erasing that one flank that overextended.
It feels like a mashup of tabletop stratagems and RTS superweapons, with timing and positioning doing most of the heavy lifting.
Quick FAQ For Total War Warhammer 40,000
What is Total War Warhammer 40,000?
It is a grand strategy and real-time battles title where you command major 40k factions in multi-planet campaigns. You move fleets on a star map, manage planets and resources, then drop into massive fights with Space Marines, Orks, Aeldari, and Astra Militarum on the ground.
Which factions are in the Warhammer 40k Total War game at launch?
The Warhammer 40k Total War game starts with four factions
- Space Marines
- Orks
- Aeldari
- Astra Militarum
Each one has its own roster, mechanics, and campaign flavor.
What platforms will Warhammer 40k Total War release on?
Total War Warhammer 40k is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. So both mouse-and-keyboard players and couch commanders get in on the action.
How close is Total War Warhammer 40k to the tabletop experience?
Total War Warhammer 40k pulls its factions, units, and Era Indomitus setting from the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game, then rebuilds that in a grand strategy format. The rules are built for Total War, not for one-to-one tabletop simulation, so you get the look, tone, and feel of 40k wrapped inside a full campaign.
Final Thoughts On Total War Warhammer 40k
For tabletop fans, Total War Warhammer 40k feels like someone zoomed the camera out from your gaming table until you could see whole systems locked in war. Space Marines, Guard, Orks, and Aeldari each get room to shine, your custom paint schemes matter, and the Emperor finally gets the sprawling strategy game he always deserved.
For now, it’s time to finish that half-painted army, and wait for the day the Warhammer 40k Total War game lands so you can test your favorite list ideas with orbital bombardments, walkers, and a very handy pause button.
What do you think of the new Warhammer 40k Total War reveal? Will you play this one?
