Creative Assembly has finally confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in video games: Total War: Warhammer 40,000.
Confirmation comes from The Game Awards 2025, where Stranger Things star and self-confessed Warhammer fan David Harbour said said he was set to star in the strategy game.
The trailer includes a flashy cinematic showing Space Marine poster boys the Ultramarines killing orks – lots of orks. We then get a brief look at gameplay, showing the sheer scale of the action. It looks like we’ll be able to campaign across multiple planets, shifting from war-torn battlefields to the galactic war. Based on the trailer, Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is set for release across PC and consoles.
Here’s all the official information we have from Creative Assembly:
Total War’s award-winning fusion of turn-based strategy and colossal real-time battles descends into the grim, science-fantasy universe of Warhammer 40,000.
In the Era Indomitus, the galaxy is aflame with endless war, and every soul’s survival hangs by a thread. Take command of iconic factions, customise your war machine, and engage in devastating battles as you carve a bloody warpath across the stars.
Lead campaigns across the void with four radically distinct factions, each forged with their own unique array of lore-inspired gameplay features, devastating weaponry, apocalyptic war machines, and methods of warfare.
● Space Marines: Genetically enhanced weapons of war, these warriors are few in number but near unmatched in power. Clad in sacred armour and wielding the Imperium’s most deadly weaponry, each strikes with devastating and unyielding precision.
● Orks: Brutish hordes of destruction, they are unrelenting, countless and live for war. Storming the battlefield in endless mobs, they brandish unpredictable weapons and clanking war machines – all driven by the primal power of the WAAAGH!
● Aeldari: An ancient and waning xenos race, who once ruled the stars, but now rail against their certain fate. Swift and elusive, they strike with psychic precision and elegant weaponry, exploiting weakness before vanishing into shadow.
● Astra Militarum: The massed ranks of humanity’s largest fighting force are a bulwark of flesh and steel. Their legions of soldiers’ march beneath the roar of battle-tanks and the thunder of artillery, grinding enemies into ruin with disciplined fury and sheer determination.
Step into battle with renowned sub-factions and warlords from the Warhammer 40,000 universe – or forge your own custom army with unparalleled set of customisation options that bring tabletop freedom to life.
● Personalise Your Army: Name your warband, choose its sacred colours, and emblazon its regiments with an array of iconography that strikes fear into the hearts of enemies.
● Modify Your Warriors: Tailor your faction’s combat philosophy for both campaign and battle, arming them with your own unique fusion of devastating tactical abilities, signature traits, and arcane wargear.
Wage war across a galactic sandbox where there is no peace, only war. Expand your empire turn by turn; capturing planets, upgrading fleets, and managing your war economy as you carve a path through the stars to dominance.
Fight to determine the fate of entire worlds. Conquer and develop strongholds, bombard enemies from orbit, and deploy your armies to the ground to engage in breathtaking real-time battles over planetary installations and regions.
And when the threat becomes too great, consider unleashing apocalyptic weaponry to erase entire planets from existence.
Command vast armies of battle-hardened warriors in brutal, tactical engagements across war-torn worlds featuring distinct biomes, battlefield types, and dynamic destruction.
Recruit from a deadly arsenal of faction-specific units, including powerful veterans, elite combat squads, towering walkers, and immense war machines. When the going gets tough, call in reinforcements to reignite your war effort.
Strategically deploy powerful abilities to dominate the flow of battle, from haphazard artillery bombardments to aerial strafing runs and laser-powered strikes. Every impact reshapes the terrain, creating new cover and fresh tactical opportunities.
Be sure to check out everything announced at The Game Awards 2025 for more, as well as the winners list in full.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
