Psychic Awakening book one will be on the way soon to set the stage for the advancement of the 40k plotline and rules. Here are the latest rumors.
Psychic Awakening sounds pretty straight forward, right? When it was first announced, most of us thought that it was going to be some kind of new unit coming to some factions with brand new psychic powers. However, after the latest Warhammer Community previews, nothing was really clarified.
Rumors are out there on what is next for Warhammer 40k, but let’s start with what we know right now:
Psychic Awakening
Taking a page from Age of Sigmar’s book it looks like something big is brewing in the 40k world that will bring with it new rules for the majority of 40k factions. Details are very broad at this point, however, there no word yet if this will be the rumored 8.5 edition that we had been hearing about earlier in the week…
Psychic Awakening is a monumental event that will shape Warhammer 40,000 forever, on a scale unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Across this epic event, every codex will see expanded rules as we explore the front-line war zones of a cataclysmic new conflict that makes the 13th Black Crusade look like a border scuffle.
GW may have made a mistake with their preview because this faction image has been changed from this:
To this:
Added Ad Mech, Sisters, and Space Wolves for a total of 24 factions
Every single Warhammer 40,000 faction has a stake in Psychic Awakening – so whatever your chosen army, you’ll have a moment to shine. Each Psychic Awakening expansion focusses on a different war zone, providing a new perspective to this galaxy-spanning event. The series will see plot threads that have enticed fans for decades resolved, champions new and old rise to the fore, and staggering revelations made.
Meanwhile, each book will have powerful and thematic rules updates for at least two Factions, giving you more flexibility than before.
That sounds like a multi-book format that will only update 2 or more of the 24 factions above in each one. Correct us if we’re wrong, but wouldn’t adding in a maximum of 12 books bloat the game even more than before? Especially if they extend this release out over the next year?
If that wasn’t enough, the series will also be accompanied by a whole swathe of new models, including some miniatures you’ve been looking forward to for ages – such as the first-ever plastic Howling Banshees!
Wow, those look full of promise for sure. Eldar players just got a shot of hope that their line of Aspect warriors may see new models sooner rather than later.
Speaking of Eldar, check out the rune that fades to black in front of the Inquisitor narrating the Psychic Awakening teaser video.
Rise of fall, this fate shall not be Mankind’s alone…
So What The Heck is Going On With Psychic Awakening?
At a minimum, it sounds like we’ve got this coming to us:
- A series of books for each faction(s)
- New models that may not necessarily be Psykers
- More rules across the board (because what would be the point of new books)?
- This could be narrative-focused and be geared toward fluff in mind
The questions that are still emerging:
- Will we be seeing Endless Spell-type Psychic powers like AoS?
- What will the factions that don’t have Psychic interaction like Knights, Tau, Necrons have to do with any of this?
- Will Eldar and Imperium be joining forces (even more)?
- The Main rulebook is over two years out of date and needs an immediate re-work.
New Rumors For Psychic Awakening
Here’s a summary of the latest rumors out of the Nova Open from various Industry Insiders. Remember these are only rumors until proven otherwise…
- Psychic Awakening will last about a year and be the next big supplement release for GW now that the codex books are done.
- There will be a rulebook update at some point for 8th Edition collecting up the last 2 years of tweaks to the game
- The first book in the Psychic Awakening Line will be titled Phoenix Rising and if the clues above were not enough, it revolves around the Aeldari (Eldar) and new minis for them.
The jury is still out on basically all of these things. For now, we have to trust GW when they say that something big is coming. And with the mention of EVERY faction having a stake in this next big event, we have to be watchful of extreme rules bloat. But this could be a good thing too, if it brings out new 2.0 codexes to compensate for new faction rules and several years worth of erratas.
What do you think is ahead for 40k? Would you like to see Endless Psychic powers? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and sign up to get your free hobby updates newsletter (with discount coupon codes) each morning as well!
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.
