Summary
- Recent leaks hint at the return of Dawn of War, a beloved Warhammer 40,000 RTS game, potentially signaling a remaster or remake.
- The Dawn of War series had a rough history, with each game deviating from the last, until support for the series ended in 2017.
- Games Workshop's annual Skulls showcase may reveal news of Dawn of War's revival, exciting longtime fans of the strategy game.
Fans of Warhammer 40,000 have been treated to a couple of big leaks this week when some new photos made their way onto the internet. While one of these leaks was confirmed to be intentional on Games Workshop’s part, the other leak isn’t so clear, and neither are the photos depicting it. Among the blurry details are some tabletop plastic kits, some counters, and most mysteriously of all, a very familiar logo for fans of one Warhammer 40,000 RTS game.
Warhammer’s popularity has skyrocketed in recent years, with 2020 being a particularly big year for new fans to jump on board. Games Workshop has also been increasingly expanding its digital library of video games through third parties, introducing many classic action game fans to the IP through Space Marine 2, an unexpectedly big hit. One of the longest-running Warhammer tie-in series has been languishing without any support for almost a decade now, though, and besides Total War’s fantasy setting, Games Workshop does not have an active RTS for its science-fiction IP, but that could all be about to change.
May 22 Will Be a Huge Day for Warhammer Fans
May 22 is going to be a big day for Warhammer fans, bringing a wide variety of news and some deep discounts on numerous video games.
Leaked Warhammer Images Hint at the Return of Dawn of War
In one of the leaks coming out of Games Workshop lately, a booklet has been spotted with the familiar Dawn of War logo on it. Shown with a red plastic sprue of Space Marines, some fans have speculated it could be part of a limited-run board game, similar to the Space Marine 2 board game. Unfortunately, there aren’t any more details to go by, although the logo is curious, as it has no number attached to it, indicating this could be Games Workshop signaling a remaster or remake of the beloved original game.
The Rocky History of Dawn of War
For many long-time fans, Dawn of War was either their introduction to the hobby, or a fond memory from way back. And it really was way back, because the first Dawn of War game was released in 2004, bringing the grand tabletop battles to PC with an immediacy and tactical depth that was unseen before in the IP. Developed by Relic Entertainment, the game featured Space Marines, Chaos, Orks, and Eldar all battling it out with incredible detail for the time, and even today, the game’s expansions have retained a budding community thanks to mods.
In 2009, Relic released Dawn of War 2, a successor that divided fans somewhat by reducing the scale of game’s fights significantly, focusing instead on more microplay and unit management. It was controversial for removing base-building entirely, and this created a rift in the fan base up until today. But this doesn’t mean it wasn’t well-received broadly, and while it wasn’t for everyone, plenty of fans came to appreciate Dawn of War 2’s differences, and both games have enjoyed fondly remembered legacies. Many successful mods, such as the Dawn of War 2 Elite mod, have kept this game thriving, delivering new content long after the developers moved on.
Dawn of War 1 and 2 both received multiple expansions, whereas Dawn of War 3 never did.
The third installment is where everything changed, however, as in 2017 Relic launched Dawn of War 3, deviating notably from its predecessors once again. The game took on a far more stylized appearance, with more exaggerated animations. Base building returned in some form, but there were many complaints from the community about the game’s direction, and struggling against a poor reception and rapidly dwindling population, Dawn of War 3 ended support before its first expansion. Since then, the IP has remained dormant as Games Worskhop found success with Total War: Warhammer, and until now, it wasn’t certain that Games Workshop would ever reference the venerable RTS series again.
There Could Be News About Dawn of War’s Revival Soon
Games Workshop’s annual Skulls showcase will be taking place on May 22, showing off updates to existing titles, but crucially, revealing some new games. With the leaked suspected Dawn of War board game shown off, and the RTS series passing two decades, the timing would seem right for an announcement regarding a revival. Fans will have to tune in to the livestream to find out, but whatever it ends up being, it’s a sign that a fan-favorite strategy game has not been forgotten.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 77 /100 Critics Rec: 58%
- Released
- April 27, 2017
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Relic Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Engine
- Essence Engine 4.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Warhammer 40K
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
