Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 fans are rejoicing after the developer handed modders the keys to its internal editor, sparking hope it could ‘do a Skyrim’ and last for years with user-generated content.
Game director Dmitry Grigorenko took to the Space Marine 2 modding Discord to announce what he described as “our biggest milestone yet in supporting the modding community.”
Developer Saber Interactive has released the official Integration Studio for public use. This is the same editor the developers use internally for all gameplay development. This first release lets modders work with everything from level scenarios to game modes, tinker with AI behavior, abilities and melee combo logic, user interface and HUD elements, and make much of the general modding work with Space Marine 2 faster and easier.
“Not long ago, I promised we would support the modding scene — and we meant it,” Grigorenko said. “Watching this community grow, push boundaries, and create incredible experiences has been both inspiring and humbling. We’re excited to see what you build next — whether it’s a cinematic campaign, wild new game mode, or something we never saw coming.”
To get the ball rolling, Grigorenko released jokey concept art for a “Fishing With Daddy Calgar” mini-game, below, which is technically possible now with these tools. Calgar is Marneus Calgar, the leader of the Ultramarines chapter of Space Marines.
To find out what the Space Marine 2 modding community plans to do with this editor, I had a quick chat with Tom, aka Warhammer Workshop, the modder behind Space Marine 2’s excellent Astartes Overhaul. Fresh from releasing a mod that enables 12-player co-op in Space Marine 2, Tom told me that he now has access to all the scripting tools that control what happens in any particular mission, as well as for all the different game components like weapons and abilities.
This means modders could, for example, create a Space Marine 2 roguelite mode where modders spawn in one of the swarm sequences from the campaign with nothing but a combat knife, and progressively spawn bigger and tougher enemies, with percentage chances to spawn weapons, ammo, and health on death. “Killing a Carnifex might grant you a Heavy Bolter,” Tom suggested.
As for a brand new cinematic campaign, Tom said that while a Chaos campaign would “definitely” be doable, cutscenes are trickier because modders so far do not have access to the animation tools necessary.
However, Tom is currently planning on adding new factions to Space Marine 2, including the Tau and Necrons, as the modders have the rigs that will fit those. Meanwhile, the Space Marine 2 modding community is racing to actually make the Fishing With Daddy Calgar mini-game mod Grigorenko challenged them to.
Reaction from Space Marine 2 fans is hugely positive, and with good reason. While Space Marine 2 is well-received and has gone down as one of the best-selling Warhammer video games of all time, it is relatively limited in terms of its official offering. That is to say, it contains three factions only: Space Marines, Chaos (a mix of Chaos Marines and some Tzeentch Daemons), and the Tyrannids. Players had hoped for DLC that might extend the faction roster (the Space Marine 2 campaign teased the Necrons), but can now take matters into their own hands.
“This is how you keep a game alive for years like Skyrim,” said redditor Mortwight.
It’s a particularly interesting development in the context of Saber and publisher Focus Entertainment’s announcement that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 is in development. Some Space Marine 2 fans have expressed concern about what this means for potential DLC, although both Saber and Focus have insisted they’re not abandoning the game. Still, Space Marine 2 is in a much better position now modders have the editor in hand.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
