Currently, there are more great games about Warhammer on the market than ever before, across all possible genres. The only thing missing is a solid MMORPG. MeinMMO editor and Warhammer expert Benedict Grothaus believes: This is a huge waste, because success would be almost guaranteed.
Every day I regret that I never played Warhammer Online at its peak. Back then, I was probably also a bit too young – today the MMORPG feels like a digital museum. Unofficially, as the operation was already discontinued in 2013.
Since then, there has been no MMORPG related to Warhammer. There were several plans, partially with grand and promising ideas from renowned developers. Most recently, the legendary Jack Emmert was supposed to create a Warhammer MMORPG, but in December 2025, the plug was pulled before anything could even be presented.
A big mistake, in my opinion. For the grind fest here on MeinMMO, my colleague and MMORPG expert Karsten Scholz spoke with several icons of the genre and often it turned out: Warhammer would be the perfect franchise for an MMORPG. And not only that: it could hardly be more successful than right now, for several reasons.
Warhammer Online simply came out 20 years too early:
1. Warhammer has never been as embedded in gaming as it is now
Games about Warhammer have existed for ages, but especially in the past, their quality was really … just bad. Games Workshop even had the reputation of simply throwing away the license. Cynics said it was all about quick cash.
Today, the situation is completely different. If you take a look at what Warhammer is currently releasing and what is in the works, it couldn’t look better for the grim world:
- Total War: Warhammer 3 was the start of the “new era,” a strategy game that perfectly fits Warhammer.
- In 2024, Space Marine 2 was released, the sequel to one of the few “good” games from the past and the definitive breakthrough of the franchise in gaming.
- Owlcat has developed Rogue Trader, an RPG that is the first in the video game sector with such a large scope in the Warhammer universe.
- With Total War: Warhammer 40,000, Dark Heresy, and Dawn of War 4, new titles are already lined up that are set to be released in the coming months.
I said it last year: 2026 is THE year for Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000. Anyone who has ever thought about engaging with the world or starting can find no better time than now.
With the growing interest in Warhammer the Emperor has moved for the first time in ages:
2. Warhammer is a brand that is recognized – even among non-fans
Not only in gaming but also in general, Warhammer is increasingly imposing itself in the center of society. What started as a nerd hobby with toy soldiers has now become a franchise with recognition value.
Space Marines are, of course, the poster boys of Warhammer, but that there is somehow such an insane empire with fascist tendencies, Orcs spelled with a “K,” and crazy space elves and chaos gods can be known by significantly more people today than ten years ago.
The best example might be the highly anticipated Amazon series about Warhammer 40,000 with Henry Cavill. Games Workshop is apparently pushing the brand with effective means and is bringing renowned partners on board – like Amazon, but also Owlcat or the German studio KING Art.
Importantly, Games Workshop is meticulous to ensure that everything is truly accurate. In discussions with various developers, this came up repeatedly, and the creators of Space Marine 2 have already talked about how important it is to do justice to the lore and how Games Workshop is involved in it.
By the way: Until a few months ago, the official color partner for Warhammer was still Citadel Colour, which has long been part of Games Workshop. Now, however, they are simply called Warhammer Colour – another step that solidifies Warhammer as a brand.
Warhammer has now become a topic that has significantly broken out of its niche, yet without giving up its identity. Even though it is dark, brutal, and excessively exaggerated, it is loved by fans and continually attracts new interests. Even among well-known stars, the grimdarkness
is on trend.
My colleague Caroline Fuller is fascinated by miniatures and built and painted her first Warhammer mini this year:
3. MMORPGs no longer mean you have to sacrifice all your free time
The genre is changing. Not only I, as a WoW veteran, notice this, this statement has also been made in discussions with MMORPG expert Entenburg.
In the past, MMORPGs were considered huge time sinks: If you wanted to see the endgame, you had to grind, sometimes with multiple times the time effort. Want to see a four-hour raid? Then good luck farming herbs and gold for potions and other consumables for 20 hours beforehand.
Today, it behaves differently. MMORPGs are increasingly adopting a seasonal approach:
- An update is released with new content that lasts about 4-8 weeks. Anyone who plays a lot is then “done.”
- After that, there is a break. Those who want more can still find daily grind and other activities, but the “plot” is finished.
- A quarter to half a year later, the next update comes out, every few years a new expansion that adds new possibilities like classes, etc. to the base game.
I already know this from action RPGs like Diablo, and it worked wonderfully for a long time to play three of them at once: Diablo 4, Path of Exile, and Last Epoch. All three rotated nicely. Once you were done with new content in one game, the next one just released a fresh patch.
For MMORPGs, I see the same opportunity: Instead of having to focus only on one game to experience everything, it is also comfortably possible to play 2-3 simultaneously. A Warhammer MMORPG wouldn’t necessarily have to be a WoW killer and snatch all players from the big boys; it would just need to offer good content during the drought periods – and regularly.
Warhammer already has what an MMORPG needs to be successful
The reason why WoW was so popular back then and is still the largest MMORPG today lies largely in the world it takes place in. Azeroth existed long before WoW; there are books, games, stories … the world “exists”; it was not created for the game.
Warhammer brings the same and even in triplicate: Fantasy or The Old World, Age of Sigmar, and Warhammer 40,000. Thus, there would also be a chance to break out of the eternal fantasy MMORPG trope. But that’s just a side note.
Sure, one could now say: Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings have that too! True. But they haven’t grown as much in the past years; they were already big before and simply not as nerdy as Warhammer.
I claim: People who are interested in Warhammer are on average more inclined to play an MMORPG than the viewers of House of the Dragon would be. After all, we are talking about a world based on plastic soldiers and whose lore is primarily explained in rulebooks. That already has a great nerd factor and a natural affinity to role-playing games.
Even if it’s impossible for a Warhammer MMORPG to be released in 2026, this year would be just right. After all, the 11th edition of Warhammer 40,000 just came out in June – but there are still the other two worlds that will surely receive new editions in the coming years.
Would you play a Warhammer MMORPG? In which world should it take place and why? Which race and class would you play? Leave me a comment!
A successful MMORPG for Warhammer is long overdue. Any fame that World of Warcraft – as much as I love the game – receives today should actually belong to Warhammer. Because originally, the franchise was planned for the world … and I already thought back then that it would have been the better choice: In a perfect world, the largest MMORPG today would be World of Warhammer
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