Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000

Preview

PAX AUS 2026 Hands-on

October 14th, 2026 by JamesWorcester

previewed on PC

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. After starting to be exposed to the world of Warhammer 40,000 a few years ago, some friends and I have started assembling miniatures, and have played a variety of 40k games including Darktide, Mechanicus as well as the Space Marine VR experience at Zero Latency. Aside from the memes, the biggest thing that keeps bringing us back is the lore and the authenticity of the worldbuilding.

At PAX AUS this year, SEGA allowed players to demo the long anticipated Total War: Warhammer 40,000, featuring both a tutorial and campaign mission that sees you play as the iconic Space Marines fighting against the war-loving Orks. Having seen some Total War gameplay over the years without indulging, I had a general idea of what might be in store for me, but I didn't expect how well the sci-fi franchise translated to the Total War formula.

Throughout the demo, there were two strategy layers, an outer layer that is akin to a general moving around pieces on a planet to plan the war effort, and a real-time battle layer that pits your chosen Space Marine faction against the orkish hordes. Both were very satisfying, but in particular the real-time battle layer provided a wealth of tactical options including flanking, orbital strikes, cluster bombs, cover and terrain advantages to support your genetically engineered super soldiers. The battles provided such a high degree of 40k authenticity, that I often found myself lining up my Adeptus Astartes against their Ork Boyz and just moving the camera around to watch the organised chaos from all angles.

Bringing Total War into the galactic 41st millennium, Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is scheduled for release on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2027.

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