Creative Assembly has finally broken one of gaming’s worst-kept secrets with the unveiling of Total War: Warhammer 40,000 at The Game Awards 2025. It was introduced at The Game Awards ceremony by David Harbour, an avid Warhammer fan and an actor from Stranger Things, and it’s more than just an entry into a new IP. It marks a radical departure for Total War itself.
The cinematic reveal trailer, with Space Marines mowing down hordes of Orks amidst beautifully rendered anarchy, raised the bar at once. Aside from all that glitz and polish, gameplay footage confirms what a dedicated fan base has been waiting for all along: Total War strategy gameplay will incorporate battles across multiple planets.
It’s an unprecedented scale for a Total War game. There are four iconic factions the player will control: Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks, and Aeldari. All of these have completely different gameplay and ways to win. The galactic campaign system introduces features never seen before in Total War. It includes things like planetary battles and destruction, and these are fought on various planetary strongholds that are all interlinked. Something that might catch your eye is that there are apocalyptic weapons capable of destroying whole planets.
A truly revolutionary aspect, however, is Creative Assembly’s focus on unprecedently customization. It’s for the first time in Total War history that players will be able to build completely personalized armies with customization options pertaining to faction names, iconography, and soldier squad buildouts. It meets the fan demand for Warhammer 40K’s army customization.
The news also brings with it a historic shift in the scope of the Total War franchise as Total War: Warhammer 40K will be arriving on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, making it the first mainstream Total War game on consoles.
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