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Total War: Warhammer 40,000 — everything we know

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is Creative Assembly's first march into the 41st Millennium — the grand-strategy series' debut in the grimdark future, and its first release on consoles. Announced at The Game Awards in December 2025, it wraps the usual turn-based campaign around real-time battles, scaled up this time to galactic conquest and fleet warfare. Four factions are confirmed for launch: Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks and Aeldari. There's no release date yet, though SEGA says it arrives in 2027, and a closed beta is open for sign-ups. Everything here is what Creative Assembly and SEGA have actually said, plus hands-on impressions credited to the outlets that wrote them. No leaks, no guesswork.

Creative AssemblySEGAPCPS5Xbox Series X|SGrand strategy

Last updated 11 September 2026

The facts

Where things stand

StatusAnnounced
DeveloperCreative Assembly
PublisherSEGA · Games Workshop licence
SettingThe 41st Millennium — the Era Indomitus
ScopeTurn-based galactic campaign + real-time battles
Launch factionsSpace Marines · Astra Militarum · Orks · Aeldari
EngineWarcore (new, proprietary)
PlatformsPC · PlayStation 5 · Xbox Series X|S
ModdingSteam Workshop at launch
BetaClosed beta — sign-ups open, launching later in 2026
Release2027 — Sega’s own word at gamescom; Steam still lists it as “to be announced”
Timeline

Updates

11 September 2026 · Hands-on
The gamescom verdicts are in — and the doubts are small ones
The previews from Hall 7 are all out now, and they agree to a surprising degree. Everyone played the same build, roughly an hour long: a tutorial fight, a slice of the Space Marine campaign and a large set-piece battle against the Orks. PC Gamer’s Fraser Brown came away saying he’d “just played the future of strategy games”. GamesRadar+ called it “a match made in heaven – for both Total War and 40K”, and GamingBible put it plainly: “It really doesn’t get much closer to the tabletop game than this.”
On how it plays, the write-ups line up. Cover changes mid-battle as walls and buildings come down, drop pods hurt whatever they land on, and units carry swappable wargear instead of one fixed job. Off-map strikes are toned down: GamesRadar+ threw bombing runs and orbital lasers at an Ork-held relay station and still lost, where in Warhammer III those abilities often settle a fight on their own. The final battle is a real test, too. Game Informer was warned that “very few demo players emerged victorious” from it. Notebookcheck noted that the early build ran without a single crash.
The criticism is about polish, not direction. TheSixthAxis found the buttons for unit abilities too small and easy to miss, and battles a little slow at normal speed, while double speed left too little time to think. It flags that as especially important with full gamepad play planned for PS5 and Xbox. GameWatcher saw the interface the other way, calling the battle HUD cleaner, with bigger buttons than earlier Total War games. Notebookcheck’s caveat is the obvious one: after under an hour, “it remains impossible to judge how well the individual systems and asymmetric factions will ultimately balance against one another.” None of it moves the date. Steam still reads “To be announced”, next to SEGA’s 2027 window.
10 September 2026 · Tokyo Game Show
SEGA puts the game on stage at TGS on 19 September
SEGA’s own TGS 2026 page lists Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 with a demo, activities, novelties and stage events, and gives it a stage slot on Saturday 19 September, 12:30 to 13:00, billed as the “Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 TGS 2026 Special Stage”. The time is printed on a Japanese page, so it is JST; we are not converting it here. TGS runs 17 to 21 September at Makuhari Messe.
This is the first playable showing since gamescom, and the first scheduled date on the calendar for this game since the Alpha Strike. It says nothing about release. Steam still reads “To be announced”; SEGA’s spoken and written 2027 window from 26 August stands beside that, not above it.
2 September 2026 · Interviews
Cover, campaign scale, and a reputation to keep
The gamescom wave kept producing after the show closed. Battle Product Owner Dave Petry explained why the campaign sits at the scale it does: “The play space needed to be the right scale, and what we settled on is that a solar system feels about the right scale. You’re able to move between planets, they’re big enough for every [faction] to get involved with all of their technology.” Cover is deliberately asymmetric — “You’re Space Marines, you’re already caked in ceramite and most of the stuff they’re firing at you isn’t too threatening” — while Astra Militarum, in his words, are squishy enough that it matters far more. On the Imperium: “Nobody likes empire-building Space Marines”, and a reputation system is being built around exactly that, so looking too powerful carries a cost. Lead designer Joy Dev confirmed the road to Armageddon branches: “It’s not just a linear path to Armageddon, you’ll get to choose to start this campaign, and then you’ll unlock two, so which way will you go? There’s different victory conditions, different rewards.” Also new: unit specialisation lets you rearm a unit type with different weapons, and the release version carries several tutorial battles rather than the demo’s single one. Space Wolves are confirmed as a coming chapter and Genestealer Cults are “on the table”. All of it is press-reported, and none of it moves the date — Steam still reads “To be announced”.
28 August 2026 · Awards
gamescom awards 2026: “Best PC Game”
Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 won “Best PC Game” at the gamescom awards 2026, results announced 28 August 2026. Press coverage (Inven Global, Skewed ‘n Reviewed) cites the official results directly — SEGA won three awards that night in total.
The second nomination, “Most Epic,” went to a different title. No release date came with it — Steam still shows “To be announced.”
27 August 2026 · Feature detail
Alpha Strike spelled out how the campaign is built
Creative Assembly used the Alpha Strike livestream to explain the campaign layer for the first time. Each solar system is its own campaign, fought out across several regions on each planet. Finishing one zooms you out into a larger Crusade Theatre of roughly ten systems, your characters and their retinues carry over, and the whole thing builds towards a final battle for Armageddon. You are not required to finish every campaign in a theatre.
Campaign designer Will on what happens to a dead hero, verbatim: “It wouldn’t be Space Marines if you couldn’t take the mushed-up, almost corpse of a Space Marine, stuff it in a big metal tin can, and send it back into battle as a Dreadnought. There will be a little mechanic where even if your character has died, they might continue to serve the Emperor in a slightly chonkier form.”
Also shown: heroes pick “followers” to shape their bodyguard, weapon loadouts are fully customisable, Planetary Governors have to be kept happy before diplomatic actions open up, Space Marines can call in Imperial Guard Planetary Defense Armies as backup, and the Guard can build structures on a planet such as artillery emplacements and Deathstrike launchers. No release date, window or price was attached to any of it.
26 August 2026 · gamescom
The stream ran, the campaign turned up — and Sega finally names a year
Alpha Strike: Gamescom Edition went out on 26 August and ran an hour and a half, 2:26pm to 3:57pm UTC. The recording sits on the same page it streamed from, so there is nothing separate to hunt down if you missed it live.
The hands-on embargo lifted the same morning, and this is the part worth having: the show-floor build is not battles only. Sega’s own write-up sets out three scenarios. The first is a tutorial fight covering camera, unit selection and the new drop-pod reinforcement system. The second opens with army customisation — colours, heraldry, a name for your force — then moves you across “a limited section of the galactic campaign” and into a medium-sized battle against the Orks. The third is a large set-piece against an Ork horde.
And a year appears at last. In Sega’s post about its gamescom line-up, the publisher’s own communications director writes that Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 “arrives in 2027”. That is the first window to come from the publisher rather than from guesswork. Steam has not caught up — the store page still reads “to be announced” — so take 2027 as the publisher’s word, not a locked date.
Interviews from the show floor fill in the shape of it: four launch factions with two playable sub-factions each, a custom warlord and a custom faction for the first time in the series, and no numbered sequels — every future expansion feeds back into the same continuously growing game. A deeper look at campaign systems is promised for the closed test, which still has no date.
25 August 2026 · Awards
Two gamescom award nominations
Creative Assembly says the game is up for two gamescom awards this year, Most Epic and Best PC Game. Verbatim from the studio: “We’re excited to share that Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 has been nominated for 2 gamescom awards!” Winners are decided during the show week.
It is a nomination, not a win, and it says nothing about a release date — but it is the first time the game has been put up against the rest of the show floor.
24 August 2026 · Stream
Alpha Strike stream page is live — and the campaign is on the agenda
Creative Assembly put the stream page up on 24 August, and the start time now sits in the scheduling data itself rather than in a video description: Wednesday 26 August, 2:30pm UTC — 4:30pm in Germany, 3:30pm BST.
The description also widens what is on the table. Everything so far pointed at three Space Marine battle scenarios. This one says designers will join to discuss “the campaign and battle gameplay” — the first time the campaign has been named as part of the stream.
21 August 2026 · gamescom
Hands-on in Hall 7 — and a livestream for everyone else
Creative Assembly used this week’s roundup to lay out the show plan. Three Space Marine gameplay scenarios go playable in Hall 7 from 26 to 30 August, inside a booth built to look the part. It is the first time anyone outside the studio gets their hands on it.
If you are not in Cologne, the Alpha Strike livestream runs on 26 August at 3:30pm BST — that is 2:30pm UTC, 4:30pm here — and goes through the same build the show floor is playing. Still no release date: the studio’s own FAQ says only that there is more to talk about later in 2026.
23 July 2026 · Livestream
First full battle shown live in the Alpha Strike stream
Creative Assembly ran its first “Alpha Strike” livestream, showing the game’s first full, unedited battle live and then breaking down how ranged combat works — the biggest single dump of detail on the game so far.
The demo was a 1v1 skirmish: the Astra Militarum defending a river crossing against an Ork assault, replayed several times from the player’s side. The devs walked through cover, reserves and reinforcements, army abilities and Overwatch-style fire — showing how ranged firefights and positioning drive battles rather than the melee blobs of the Warhammer Fantasy games. No release date or beta start date was given; the game is still “later in 2026.”
16 July 2026 · gamescom
Playable at gamescom 2026 — the Space Marines’ hands-on debut

SEGA confirmed its gamescom 2026 line-up: Total War: Warhammer 40,000 will be playable at the SEGA booth in Hall 7 of Cologne’s Koelnmesse from 26 to 30 August, making what SEGA calls its “hands-on debut”. Players take command of the Space Marines across three gameplay scenarios, in a booth built to look like the war-torn setting. This is the first time the public gets hands on the game. Still no release date, and no word on the closed beta start.

11 July 2026 · Bilibili World
New gameplay shown at Bilibili World 2026

Creative Assembly brought roughly six minutes of fresh gameplay to Bilibili World 2026 in Shanghai: Astra Militarum holding a river line against an Ork assault, heavy tanks, an Ork Stompa, destructible terrain and a battle-ending orbital lance strike called down from a ship in orbit. It is the most recent official footage of the game.

7 June 2026
Closed beta sign-ups open; first named characters and new gameplay

At the PC Gaming Show, Creative Assembly showed in-development gameplay of the Astra Militarum against the Orks on a war-torn Imperial world, and confirmed the first two named characters: Commissar Yarrick for the Astra Militarum and the Ork warboss Ghazghkull Thraka, set to clash over Armageddon. The studio also detailed the planet-creation system — climate and surface conditions reshape each world, so an arid planet pits more craters while a temperate one builds up ice and rock around settlements. Closed-beta sign-ups are now open, with the beta itself set for later in 2026.

Register for the closed beta →
21 May 2026
Warhammer Skulls teaser points to Armageddon

A short cinematic teaser at Warhammer Skulls 2026 — no gameplay, just an in-fiction audio log — set the campaign's early focus on the Armageddon Sector "under xenos incursion." The grizzled narrator turns out to be Commissar Yarrick, naming his long-running war against the Ork megaboss Ghazghkull. It's the second trailer so far.

30 April 2026
First look at planets and battle maps

Creative Assembly's "Show & Tell" livestream gave the first detailed look at how worlds are built — star systems holding several planets across different biomes and civilisation types — plus three in-development battle maps. Deliberately rough, mostly UI-free footage, and still no date.

16 December 2025
Developer roundtable closes the reveal week

A small developer roundtable wrapped up the announcement week before the studio's year-end break. Creative Assembly flagged that in-depth campaign and battle deep dives would follow in 2026.

11 December 2025
Total War: Warhammer 40,000 announced at The Game Awards

Revealed on stage by actor and 40K fan David Harbour: the first Total War set in Warhammer 40,000, built on the new Warcore engine, with four launch factions and Steam Workshop modding. It's also the series' first console release — PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S — closing out Total War's 25th-anniversary year. No release date.

Screens

Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 screenshots

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Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 screenshot 9

Screenshots via the game’s Steam store page · © their respective rights holders.

Confirmed

What we know

4

Launch factions

M41

Era Indomitus

1st

Total War on console

2026

Closed beta

The setting — the Era Indomitus

The game is set in the 41st Millennium during the Era Indomitus, with the Imperium of Man besieged across a galaxy locked in endless war. It's the first time Total War has stepped into the far future after the fantasy Warhammer trilogy, and SEGA pitches it as the franchise's move "into the 41st Millennium" on a galactic scale. The campaign's early focus is the Armageddon Sector — the war-torn world at the heart of the Imperium's endless fight against the Orks.

A galactic-scale campaign

The Total War structure carries over — a turn-based campaign wrapped around real-time battles — but the map is no longer a single continent. Each solar system is its own campaign, fought across several regions on each planet. Finish one and the game zooms out to a Crusade Theatre of roughly ten systems: your characters and their retinues carry over, the path branches, and it all builds towards a final battle for Armageddon. You don't have to clear every system in a theatre. Fleets sit in orbit, but whether full space battles make the launch version is open — asked in February, Total War vice president Roger Collum said: “Will it be there for launch? Maybe not.”

Four factions at launch

You can command four factions at launch: the Space Marines, the Astra Militarum, the Orks and the Aeldari. Each is described as radically distinct, built around lore-inspired mechanics, unique weaponry and faction-specific war machines. Per Creative Assembly's developer roundtable, the Space Marines are an elite, deliberately small force that doesn't expand like a normal Total War army, while the Aeldari aren't built for massed combat at all — lead designer Simon Mann frames them around hit-and-run raids through the Webway, where "every soul lost is a soul not returned, so you have to really pick your fights." At gamescom the studio added that each faction comes with two playable sub-factions, and that you can build a custom warlord and a custom faction for the first time in the series. More is planned after launch: the Space Wolves are confirmed as a coming chapter, and Genestealer Cults are “on the table”.

The first named characters

Two named characters are confirmed, both tied to Armageddon: Commissar Yarrick for the Astra Militarum and the Ork warboss Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka — lore rivals who can finally face off on the campaign map. They're the first named leaders shown beyond generic faction commanders; How the two of them play hasn't been shown yet. Heroes in general pick “followers” that shape their bodyguard, and a fallen Space Marine hero can return to the fight as a Dreadnought.

Build your own army

Armies are customisable down to name, colour scheme and heraldry, plus traits and tactics — so you can match a tabletop collection or invent a new scheme. Game director Attila Mohacsi calls 40K "a science-fantasy setting without equal" and frames the goal as "the definitive Warhammer 40,000 strategy experience," leaning on Creative Assembly's 15-plus years working with Games Workshop. Weapon loadouts are customisable as well, and unit specialisation lets you rearm a unit type with different weapons during the campaign.

A new engine, and the first console Total War

It runs on Warcore, a new proprietary engine purpose-built for this project's scale, and it's the first Total War to launch on consoles — PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S alongside PC. Modding is supported through Steam Workshop from launch, and the announcement key art was painted by Games Workshop artist Paul Dainton.

Planets you can reshape

Battles play out on worlds generated by a planet-creation system, where climate and conditions change a planet's terrain. Maps include destructible elements — as Creative Assembly put it, a forest you don't like is a forest you don't have to keep — with architecture and verticality factoring into the fighting.

What the first hands-on showed

The first public hands-on, at gamescom 2026, put a Space Marine force through a tutorial, a campaign slice and a large battle against the Orks. The previews agree on the basics: cover changes as terrain gets destroyed, drop pods deal damage where they land, units can swap wargear, and off-map strikes help without deciding battles on their own. The open questions are how readable the ability buttons are, how battles pace at normal speed, and how four very different factions will balance against each other.

The quick version

Everything Creative Assembly and SEGA have locked down, side by side with the big questions still open ahead of the closed beta.

Locked in

  • Turn-based galactic campaign + real-time battles
  • 4 factions: Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks, Aeldari
  • Yarrick vs Ghazghkull, clashing over Armageddon
  • PC, PS5 & Xbox Series — first console Total War
  • New proprietary Warcore engine
  • Steam Workshop modding at launch
  • 2027 release window, per SEGA
  • Solar-system campaigns building to Armageddon

Not confirmed yet

  • Exact release date (SEGA says 2027)
  • Closed-beta date & platforms
  • Chaos Space Marines (later, no date)
  • Pre-order bonuses (no DLC, no Blood Pack)
  • Final PC specs & age rating
  • David Harbour's character

Sources: Creative Assembly's announcement and official FAQ · the Steam page · The Game Awards reveal and the 2026 dev updates, including the gamescom Alpha Strike stream · SEGA's PlayStation.Blog post of 26 August 2026. Hands-on impressions are credited to the outlets that wrote them. Anything not on this list is still a question mark.

Watch

More Total War: Warhammer 40,000 videos

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Questions

FAQ

When is the Total War: Warhammer 40,000 release date?

There's no exact date yet. On 26 August 2026 SEGA's communications director wrote that the game "arrives in 2027", and Creative Assembly said the same on its gamescom stream. Steam still lists it as "to be announced", so treat 2027 as the publisher's window, not a locked date.

What platforms is Total War: Warhammer 40,000 on?

PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. It's the first Total War to launch on consoles in the series' 25-year history. The Steam page is live and wishlist-able now.

What factions are in Total War: Warhammer 40,000?

Four at launch: Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks and Aeldari. Each is built around its own lore-inspired mechanics, weaponry and war machines.

Which characters are in Total War: Warhammer 40,000?

Two named characters are confirmed so far: Commissar Yarrick (Astra Militarum) and the Ork warboss Ghazghkull Thraka, set to clash over Armageddon. David Harbour also voices a character, but who he plays hasn't been revealed.

Are Chaos Space Marines in the game?

Not at launch. Creative Assembly has said they'll "absolutely" be part of the plans later, along with other iconic 40K factions — but they aren't on the confirmed launch roster.

Is there a beta, and how do I sign up?

Yes — a closed beta was announced in June for later in 2026, and sign-ups are open now via the official Total War site. It's a "register your interest" form, so a place isn't guaranteed. No date and no platform list have been given since.

Can you play Total War: Warhammer 40,000 yet?

Only at shows so far. The first public hands-on ran at gamescom 2026 in Cologne, with three Space Marine scenarios, and SEGA is bringing a playable demo to Tokyo Game Show, which runs from 17 to 21 September 2026. For everyone else, the closed beta sign-up is the way in.

Is Total War: Warhammer 40,000 turn-based or real-time?

Both, like every Total War: a turn-based campaign — here at galactic scale, with planets and fleets — wrapped around real-time battles. Expect a heavier emphasis on ranged firepower than the fantasy games.

When and where is Total War: Warhammer 40,000 set?

In the 41st Millennium, during the Era Indomitus — the galaxy aflame with endless war and the Imperium besieged on every front.

Is there pre-order DLC or a Blood Pack?

No pre-order DLC — Creative Assembly confirmed that outright — and no Blood Pack at launch. Pre-order bonus details are due later in 2026.