Space Marines are the flagship of Warhammer 40,000 and come in dozens of different variants. One of their chapters was not created by Games Workshop itself, but by a video game studio. Today, these Astartes are part of the canon.
In September 2004, the best game for Warhammer 40,000 was released, according to Steam reviews: the first Dawn of War. In this strategy game, which received many expansions, different factions from the world of Warhammer 40,000 compete against each other.
Alongside the exotic Aeldari – then still Eldar – and the warrior Orks, the Space Marines could not be missing as the representatives of Warhammer 40,000. However, what was special was that Dawn of War invented its own chapter.
Instead of relying on well-known Astartes like the Ultramarines (who are playable in Space Marine) or the infamous Grey Knights (from Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters), developer Relic created the Blood Ravens, a chapter with its own lore.
In 2026, a new installment of the series will unexpectedly appear with Dawn of War 4, and even though Relic is no longer the developer, the Blood Ravens are returning. But who are these Astartes in red actually? The answer is tricky, as they themselves are not quite sure.
Space Marines who do not know themselves
Normally, Adeptus Astartes trace their origin (more or less) proudly back to one of the Primarchs, at least when their gene-seed comes from one of the 9 Primarchs loyal to the Emperor.
With the Blood Ravens, it is different: their origin is unclear. Any records from before the 37th millennium have been deleted, and no one knows which gene-father they descend from. There are several theories:
- Corvus Corax (Raven Guard) or Sanguinius (Blood Angels), because the heraldry is very similar
- Lion El’Jonson (Dark Angels), because they are similarly secretive
- Magnus the Red (Thousand Sons), because the chapters share many characteristics
Especially in the last case, it would be logical for the Blood Ravens to not want their kinship to be known, as Magnus is one of the traitors who betrayed the Emperor and fell to Chaos.
Magnus and his Thousand Sons are known for their immensely powerful psykers and their pursuit of knowledge. This is also the essence of the Blood Ravens, which has given them a dubious reputation.
Blood Ravens are… creative “guardians” of knowledge
In fact, the doctrine of the Blood Ravens aims to preserve important artifacts and thus knowledge so that it does not get lost. However, they do not think too much about who these artifacts actually belong to… and whether they are still in use.
In the campaigns of the Dawn of War series, it happens repeatedly that the Blood Ravens have some items they should not actually own – including legendary weapons from other Astartes chapters, equipment from Custodes or other Imperial institutions, or even artifacts of questionable origin and possible Chaos contamination.
Through this tendency to “preserve” knowledge and artifacts, they have gained a reputation in the community as Space Marines who like to simply take what they “find.” A nicer description for kleptomaniacs.
From Dawn of War to official lore
Games Workshop officially included the Blood Ravens in the canon shortly after the release of the first Dawn of War. They were briefly mentioned in an article about the game in the October 2004 issue of White Dwarf, and in May 2005 they were officially included in the Index Astartes.
There are now even official painting guides for the Blood Ravens to accurately depict the heraldry with colors and patterns. If you want to learn about their origins yourselves: Dawn of War received an excellent remaster in 2025.
Where the journey of the Blood Ravens with Dawn of War 4 will lead remains open. Their chapter master Gabriel Angelos is not present, but the Dark Angels Primarch Lion El’Jonson himself appears – the first time a Primarch is playable in a video game.
Dawn of War 4 is set to be released in 2026, with the first tests already underway and some previews of certain events, including Gamescom 2025. There, MeinMMO was also able to take a look at the game: I played Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 for only 30 minutes but am already as excited as I haven’t been in years
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