Are you sitting down? We’ve got seriously big news for every Warhammer fan! Get settled in with a nice cuppa and enough treats to last a while – you’re not gonna want to get out of your seat.
This article was originally published on the Warhammer-community site.
As usual, all the announcements are happening live on Twitch, where we’ll have guest appearances from some of the folks who help make 40K great, such as Citadel Studio Megaboss Pete Foley, and Warhammer 40,000 supremo Stu Black.
If you want to join in the conversation and ask those fine folk some questions, make sure you subscribe (it’s free!) to join in the chat.
As ever, we’ll also be updating this article every few minutes with the latest news straight from the preview show.
Let’s go…
3:20 pm – Silence, Please
Wonder what that’s all about? Whatever it is, it can’t be good for the Imperium…
This is Only the Beginning
Aaaaaand… the preview is over, the dust is starting to settle, and the future looks very exciting indeed!
This new edition of Warhammer 40,000 is an evolutionary step. That means ALL your current codexes remain not only valid but significantly rebalanced and improved through tweaks to the core rules! The same thing goes for all the updates to your favourite factions from the Psychic Awakening books, which were written with the new edition in mind.
The studio has taken in massive amounts of feedback to craft the game you’ve been dreaming of, plus new gameplay modes you didn’t even know you wanted. Love a strong narrative for your games? The new Crusade format is the most immersive and fulfilling way to play Warhammer 40,000. Ever!
We’re sure you have a lot of thoughts racing through your mind. What are you looking forward to the most? Did you notice anything intriguing on the new website that we didn’t mention? Head over to the Warhammer 40,000 Facebook page and Twitter and share your reactions using #New40K.
Do you have some lingering questions about the new edition? We thought you might – check this out and see if the answer’s in there already.
If your question isn’t covered in there, post it to the comments of that tweet we shared earlier and join us for the live Q&A on Twitch next Tuesday, May 26th at 7:00 pm (BST), where we’ll do our best to find the answer.
As we start the countdown to launch day, we don’t want you to miss a thing, so make sure you sign up for the newsletter dedicated to the new edition to make sure you don’t miss any important announcements.
Whew, what a day – thanks for joining us! #New40K
3:05 pm – New Warhammer 40,000, New Website
It’s already live, right here.
Check it out NOW to soak in the new vibe and rewatch the cinematic trailer at your leisure – share it with your friends to introduce them to the 41st Millennium! Don’t forget to sign up for the dedicated new edition countdown newsletter that will keep you in the loop as we approach the launch!
2:55 pm – 9 Things to Know
You’ve got questions, and James Workshop has got (some) answers.
Thanks, James!
And that’s just a taste of what’s to come. Over the coming weeks, we’ll bring you the full scoop. The complete lowdown. The skinny. The inside track. Err… all of it.
If that new Crusade system has your interest piqued, we feel you. Who doesn’t want to raise their army of newly-minted recruits and forge them into stone-cold killing machines?
To get a bit more insight, we turned to Warhammer 40,000 overlord, Stu Black:
“Crusade adds an ongoing narrative to your games of 40K. Many of us like our games to have a sense of consequences from one game to another, where success on the battlefield has an impact on future games. Crusade enables your army to grow from game to game, both in terms of size but also the story it tells. Units and Characters can gain Battle Honours, special skills and Crusade relics as well as Battle Scars, which they keep from game to game. We’ll be expanding on these in future codexes and campaign books to enable those of us who love narrative gaming to continue to develop our armies for years to come.”
Thanks, Stu – sounds awesome. Keep your eyes peeled to this site over the coming weeks for more details on this. If you’ve got questions burning a hole in your mind*****, that’s great. Studio Megaboss Pete Foley will be joining the Warhammer Community team for a special Q&A session live on our Twitch channel next Tuesday, May 26th at 7pm BST. Just drop your questions into the comments of this tweet right here, and we’ll try to answer them:
And Another Thing…
This here might be some of the biggest news connected to the new edition. For years now, you’ve asked for an app to collect the rules and stats for your models… well, your cries have been heard – and answered. Alongside the new edition of Warhammer 40,000, there will be a rad new Warhammer 40,000 mobile app.
This is going to be the most comprehensive digital support any of our games has ever had. Expect to find an army builder, rules for your collections, and more so you can travel light on your way to game night.
We’ll have a lot more to say about it soon – but for now…
There’s been one thing we’ve been asked for more than anything else in the last three years (aside from the Lion riding a Thunderhawk): “Can my digital codex come bundled with my print version?” Well, Noble Hobbyist, yes. Yes it can. Whenever you buy a 9th edition codex, you’ll get the digital rules for that codex in the app for free.
It’s a brave new world, and we can’t wait to see more.
2:45 pm – Testing, Testing… 1, 2, 3…
Playtesting is a vital component in the rules team’s unending efforts to make Warhammer amazing, all the time. With the new 40K, it was no different. Thousands of hours of games have been poured into refining the new rules set – many of them put in by the dedicated team of playtesters who heroically*** volunteer their time.
What’s that like? How does it work? Well, to answer that, we turned to Mike Brandt. Best known as the organiser of the NOVA Open, one of the most highly-regarded wargaming conventions in the world (and home of the legendary NOVA Open Warhammer 40,000 tournament), Mike’s also been a Warhammer 40,000 playtester for years. We asked him what playtesting this new edition was like and here’s what he had to say:
“I became a Warhammer 40,000 playtester in 2016, back when the Warhammer Studio was working on the last edition, to help deliver the “best version of Warhammer 40,000 ever” alongside notable hobbyists from across the world. We focused on establishing a rebalanced points baseline and integrating missions and terrain rules more fully into the core game experience.
The bit I’m most excited about is the missions, which include modern mechanics and enable players to play to their army’s natural style (i.e. a sneaky army will behave in sneaky ways while a psychic army behaves in, um… I guess, ‘psychic’ ways). I think the Warhammer Studio has nailed this better than ever before, so I am excited to see 40K include more narratively fulfilling AND competitively balanced armies.”
In related news, Mike has actually joined us here in the Warhammer Community team, to head up our events and champion Warhammer all over the world. You’ll be seeing a lot more of his handiwork soon!****
2:35 pm – The Next Chapter
Psychic Awakening has blown the doors off of the Warhammer 40,000 narrative, opening enthralling new storylines for every faction and spelling impending doom for billions across the galaxy.
And things are about to get worse! Black Library’s new Dawn of Fire series will chronicle the unfolding perils in a galaxy riven by war.
This new series will be packed with soaring, epic tales, introducing and tying together narrative threads from boxed sets, campaign books, and codexes. In short, Dawn of Fire combines the storytelling powerhouses of the Citadel studio and Black Library to create a broad, unified narrative that delivers the ongoing story of the 41st Millennium the most exciting, cohesive way ever. Yep, we said it.
The first novel, Avenging Son, is from fan-favourite Guy Haley – a veteran of the Horus Heresy and Siege of Terra. There’s no finer wordsmith to helm the opening volume of this new series – we’re in safe hands!
As for what the story is about… well, only time will tell, but you can bet it’s going to shake the galaxy to its core. Dawn of Fire is THE story of Warhammer 40,000. Keep an eye out for updates and new title announcements soon.
2:25 pm – Newcrons*
The Necrons aren’t taking this news lying down.**
Your favourite murder-robots have had some hardware upgrades – making them nastier, hunchier, and more horrifying than ever.
The Necrons are shaping up to be key players in the unfolding story of Warhammer 40,000, and these models are just the tip of the, err, Monolith… If you’ve been thinking about building a Necron dynasty of your own, the time to claim your empire has come!
2:15 pm – Chainswords Are Back!
Finally, Primaris Space Marines are gearing up to get properly stuck in – this Intercessor is packing a heavy bolt pistol and a chainsword. Is there a weapon more quintessentially 40K than chainswords? They don’t just kill the enemy, they splatter them in an insane whirlwind of razor-sharp teeth… ahem. Maybe just check out this video:
Rather look at a still image? Sure, why not?
This is just the tip of the spear for the Space Marines in the near future. Who knows what else the Adeptus Astartes are preparing to deploy to war zones across the galaxy…
2:05 pm – Warhammer 40,000 Like You’ve Never Seen It
We’re kicking things off with a BANG! Warhammer 40,000 has never looked so good…
That’s right, a new edition of Warhammer 40,000 is coming soon! The most exciting news since Guilliman woke up? Yeah, we think so! We’ll have much more on that in a minute but right now… what about that trailer?
Bolters blasting. Necrons exploding. Epic battles. Holy smoke! This trailer heralds the new edition with the kind of pulse-pounding action you’ll want to watch over and over. There are loads of breath-catching moments to unpack, so feel free to pause it on your favourite frames. We’ve picked some out to get you started!
This incredible video ticks all the boxes for things we love about the 41st Millennium – visceral, high-stakes combat, an Imperium beset by emboldened enemies, and heroic warriors standing together against the odds. And it’s all set against the backdrop of an Imperial planet devastated by war. Watch it again, go on – treat yourself.
Exciting stuff, eh? A new edition of Warhammer 40,000 has us giddier than a Grot in a Killa Kan! We wanted some context for what this all means for the rules and our collections, so we turned to Warhammer Studio Megaboss Pete Foley for the lowdown:
“I really can’t wait for the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 to get into our hobbyists’ hands. We’ve been working on this for such a long time, listening to what the community wants, and doesn’t want, from the game and the galaxy. With all that information and a few exciting new developments, I believe we’ve made the game better than it’s ever been.
The new edition works seamlessly with all existing codexes and Psychic Awakening books, which is particularly important as we still have three more Psychic Awakening books to go! They were all written with the new rules in mind, so you can explore these dark new events knowing all your existing rules will work when the new edition finally arrives.”
So hold on tight to your favourite codexes and campaign books as we jump into the new edition!
Yeah, that’s right – all those rad books are gonna cross the Rubicon Primaris right along with you…!
* This terrible pun is in no way endorsed by 70% of the Warhammer Community Team. The other 30% haven’t stopped laughing about it since Thursday.
** After all, Necrons have slept long enough, and they’re not about staying down for long these days.
*** Sure, it’s not like leaping into burning buildings, but if you’ve ever had a rule you hated, you’ll know the work these guys put in is invaluable.
**** Yeah, ‘soon’ is a relative concept. As soon as possible, at least. Rest assured though, when the global pandemic is over, things are safe, and we’re ready to start rolling dice together again, Mike will be right there with us, making sure our events are better than ever.
***** Or it might be the Psychic Awakening, don’t say we didn’t warn you!
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