With GW possibly ramping back up to 2 codex books a month, let’s take a look at the possible 9th edition 40k new release roadmap.
With GW revamping their production with five straight weeks of releases there’s a high chance we see them go back to the original plan of 2 codexes a month. That means people will actually be able to get updated books for 9th Edition 40k. We know the next book will probably be for Adeptus Mechanicus, but after that, there are some good clues as to what’s coming next.
Taking a look back to the start of 8th Edition in 2017 perhaps we can see some pattern in how the 9th Edition codex release lineup will go?
TL;DR The first Xenos codexes releases for 8th Edition were:
- Craftworlds October 2017
- Tyranids November 2017
And the first non-Marine Imperial books were:
- Adeptus Mechanicus September 2017
- Astra Militarum October 2017
Unfortunately for both Craftworlds and Tyranids, they don’t seem too close right now. But, Ad Mech is getting a book, so they may be trying to follow somewhat of a pattern.
8th vs 9th Edition 40k Codex Release Roadmap!
Here’s where we stand right now. The Ad Mech book has been revealed, tons of Sisters minis have been shown, and there have been Ork previews for moths, a coin spotted in the wild, and the new riders!
Now let’s see how the start of 9th compares with the start of 8th Edition:
8th Edition 40k: Year One
- Space MarinesJuly 2017
- Chaos Space Marines August 2017
- Grey Knights August 2017
- Adeptus Mechanicus September 2017
- Death Guard September 2017
- Astra Militarum October 2017
This is the first six, so it’s very similar to what we have currently for the 9th edition. Roughly looking at it here there are 4 Imperium codexes and 2 Chaos vs 9th edition’s 4 Imperium, 1 Chaos, and 1 Xenos. Relatively similar patterns trading in one Chaos release for a Xenos release. It just looks like the Astra Militarium book will be replaced by the Sisters book.
- Craftworlds October 2017
- Tyranids November 2017
- Blood Angels December 2017
- Dark Angels December 2017
- Adeptus Custodes January 2018
- Chaos Daemons January 2018
- Thousand Sons February 2018
- Tau Empire March 2018
- Necrons March 2018
- Drukhari April 2018
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Looking at the list after 10 more releases raising the count to 16 total the ratio of Imperium-to-Chaos-to-Xenos changes a bit. The totals after 16 releases are 7 Imperium, 4 Chaos, and 5 Xenos books respectively. Drukhari jumped the line this time around, but let’s hope some of the really old books like the Craftowrlds and Tyranids get a book soon.
- Harlequins May 2018
- Deathwatch May 2018
- Imperial Knights June 2018
- Space Wolves August 2018
- Orks November 2018
- Genestealer Cults February 2019
Going up to 22 codexes the totals move up to 10 Imperium, 4 Chaos, and 8 Xenos, skewing the balance even moreover to Imperium and Xenos. Granted Xenos has entirely different races comprised in them, while Imperium and Chaos are generally speaking different flavors of the same core faction with a few exceptions like Knights and/or Daemons.
After about 2 years of the new edition, they circled back what I think we can safely say are their big sellers- Marines. But they’ve already hit up a decent amount of Marine supplements, but there are plenty left for them to work on.
- Chaos Space Marines (2nd Edition) March 2019
- Chaos Knights July 2019
- Space Marines (2nd Edition) August 2019
- Ultramarines (Space Marines) August 2019
- White Scars (Space Marines) August 2019
- Iron Hands (Space Marines) September 2019
- Ravenguard (Space Marines) September 2019
- Imperial Fists (Space Marines) October 2019
- Salamanders (Space Marines) October 2019
- Adepta Sororitas November 2019
Finally tallying 32 total Codex/supplement releases we have the full 8th edition lineup in view. The final totals are 17 Imperium, 5 Chaos, and 8 Xenos making a smooth 30 books for the full lineup. However, 6 of the last Imperium additions were just supplements for Space Marines.
Hard to believe that was literally two years ago right? Heck, the 9th Edition Space Marines codex was announced less than a full year had passed since the second 8th Edition one had been released.
8th Edition Narrative Expansions
- Imperium Nihilus: Vigilus Defiant (Ultramarines) December 2018
- Imperium Nihilus: Vigilus Ablaze (Black Legion) April 2019
- Psychic Awakening: Phoenix Rising (Craftworlds, Drukhari & Index: Ynnari) October 2019
- Psychic Awakening: Faith & Fury (Chaos Space Marines & Space Marines) November 2019
- Psychic Awakening: Blood of Baal (Blood Angels & Tyranids) December 2019
- Psychic Awakening: Ritual of the Damned (Dark Angels, Grey Knights & Thousand Sons) January 2020
- Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good (Tau, Astra Militarum & Genestealer Cults) February 2020
- Psychic Awakening: Saga of the Beast (Space Wolves & Orks) March 2020
- Psychic Awakening: Engine War (Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Knights, Chaos Knights & Chaos Daemons) June 2020
- Psychic Awakening: War of the Spider (Adeptus Custodes, Sisters of Silence, Assassins, Death Guard & Agents of Bile) June 2020
- Psychic Awakening: Pariah (Adepta Sororitas, Necrons & Index: Inquisition) July 2020
The narrative expansions took place over the course of nearly 2 years and offered minor updates and changes to 29 factions and sub-factions, Some of which like Agents of Bile was brand new! These books also served the purpose of accelerating the 40k story forward as it was relatively still during the course of the edition up until this point sans the Vigilus storyline.
Now, they are releasing the Charadon books alongside the releases. So this is a new way to go about it, instead of waiting until most of the books are out, they are just giving small rules updates along with the new books.
What’s Coming Next for 9th Edition?
Although it’s impossible to say for sure, (past the three most obvious we showed above) it looks like the most likely releases to come are going to be Xenos and Chaos focused with a constant sprinkle of Imperium books. They have stated they want an Imperial book with a non-Imperial one. Meaning we could see Orks with Sisters, and maybe Tyranids with another Marine book? Or they may just not follow at all what they said and just release whatever factions they feel like.
Seeing as Chaos Space Marines are a core faction and haven’t gotten a 9th edition codex, they are probably a safe bet after the next two or three books, but if they move up to 2 a month, that shouldn’t be too long from now.
What do you think the next releases announced will be? Do you want a particular faction to be updated next?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures. Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including the Adepticon Team Tournament and American Team Tournaments, and is on a first-name basis with almost every major company in the space.
He’s all gaming all the time. With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. He advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1908s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
