Right while players were buzzing at the amazing release of Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition, the stars aligned to give even more reason to be excited – with the immense news that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 is a reality.
Announced at Gamescom: Opening Night Live 2025, a short trailer got people up to speed on what to expect – including a return to a more standard RTS format, sync kills returning and four exciting factions including Space Marines (duh), Orks (yay), Necrons (sweet) and the Adeptus Mechanicus (eh, fine).
Players were expecting to see Relic Entertainment behind the new title, especially considering Relic was behind the recent (and very well received) Dawn of War Definitive Edition, but this is not the case. Instead, King Art Games will be bringing the brutal battlefields of the far future to life – hot off their efforts on their 1920’s era RTS Iron Harvest.
The Steam page for the game is live, and delves into more information on precisely what players can expect – and shut down any worries that the game might end up like Dawn of War 3:
- The series returns to its roots with classic Dawn of War gameplay and a combat system designed to bring Warhammer 40,000’s bloodthirsty combat to life like never before. Grow your force, build your base of operations specialise your squads, and savour an expanded Sync Kill system that delivers an unprecedented degree of melee combat detail.
- Take charge of four unique Warhammer 40,000 factions: the Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, and the Adeptus Mechanicus in their Dawn of War debut. Each faction grants you total control of a unique collection of Commanders, units, buildings and gameplay mechanics that dramatically alter the feel and flow of Warhammer 40,000’s endless, brutal warfare.
- Enjoy an endlessly replayable collection of game modes, including the return of fan-favourite Last Stand! Fight highly-configurable AI battles in Skirmish, or take on the world in 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 multiplayer. Wherever you’re waging war, use the Painter tool to stamp your own unique personality on your fighting forces, as well as the option to use existing factions from the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
That is a whole lot of promising things to read – especially hearing that one of the signature hype builders of the series, Sync Kills, will be making a comeback.
Just in case you missed the memo, the original Dawn of War shocked and awed players with a unique mechanic where some units deaths would play out with a unique animation, such as your Space Marine Commander climbing up a greater demon’s body to impale them for the final blow. It was awesome, and clearly a lot of hard work – because by the time Dawn of War 3 rolled around, they were gone. Boo. But now they are returning, yay.
The game is still clearly in development, with every bit of gameplay footage dripping with THIS IS NOT FINISHED accoutrements, so keep your eyes peeled for more media in the lead up to the 2026 release of Dawn of Four.
Eager to join the fray? Wishlist Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 on Steam and tell us all about your excitement in the comments or on social media.