Summary
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is returning in 2025 as a Definitive Edition remastered for modern hardware.
- The remaster will include all prior expansions, nine playable armies, higher resolutions, improved textures, and new UI.
- The game's re-release aims to revitalize the series, inject new life into the community, and attract a wider gaming audience.
The classic real-time strategy game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is returning for contemporary audiences to play in the form of a new "Definitive Edition" remaster. Originally released in 2004, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War was one of the most successful early Warhammer 40,000 games.
Though it's been a fixture of the tabletop scene and geek culture for decades, recent years have seen the Warhammer 40,000 franchise gain a lot of attention in mainstream circles, thanks in part to the cultural rise of tabletop games in general. That rise has been accompanied by a glut of new and interesting video game adaptations, such as the incredibly successful Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Many of these new game-based success stories would be significantly less likely without Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. Relic Entertainment's 2004 real-time strategy game was a pioneer of sorts for 40K, introducing the franchise's over-the-top warfare and deep lore to a wider gaming audience more than 20 years ago.
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Now Dawn of War is coming back in the form of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Definitive Edition, a remastered version of the game. The new edition will take advantage of modern PC hardware and include support for higher resolutions, improved textures and effects, and an updated user interface. Developer Relic Entertainment will release the game via Steam and GOG in 2025. The announcement confirms earlier leaks hinting at a Dawn of War remaster.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Definitive Edition Includes All Previous Expansions
In addition to bringing modern hardware compatibility to the experience, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Definitive Edition will include all previously released Dawn of War content. As a result, players will be able to choose from nine different playable armies, including fan favorites like the Tau, Necrons, and Sisters of Battle. It's an amount of playable content that not even Dawn of War's sequels, the RPG-like Dawn of War 2 and the divisive Dawn of War 3, were able to match.
The Dawn of War Definitive Edition also collects the single-player campaigns for all three Dawn of War expansions, each of which makes for a different experience. Where the base game followed the Blood Ravens Space Marine chapter in a story-based campaign, the Winter Assault expansion followed the Imperial Guard (renamed to the Astra Militarum in subsequent Warhammer 40K revisions). The Dark Crusade and Soulstorm expansions introduced more new factions and adopted a freeform campaign map structure, adding a sense of strategic breadth reminiscent of series like Total War and Stellaris.
Though it doesn't have a release window more specific than 2025, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Definitive Edition could revive the fortunes of the series. The remaster could also inject new life into the game's community thanks to more modern support and spruced-up visuals.
- Released
- September 20, 2004
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Relic Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Relic Entertainment
- Engine
- essence engine
- Franchise
- Warhammer 40K
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
