On Steam, there are dozens of games related to Warhammer 40,000, most of which are rather mediocre. However, one stands out: Dawn of War has been popular since its release and is still celebrated today. Now, the news everyone has been waiting for is finally out. The game is coming as a big remaster.
What kind of game is this?
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is a strategy game set in the dark sci-fi world of Warhammer 40,000 and is still one of the best strategy games on Steam.
- You choose one of many factions and then play in classic RTS style with base building and real-time battles. What makes it special are super units like a Living Saint or awakened gods.
- Despite its age, Dawn of War is still the highest-rated Warhammer game on Steam and had over 1,200 players in 2025 (via steamcharts).
What will happen to it now? To keep it short: Dawn of War is coming as a remaster in the “Definitive Edition” with improved textures, 4K support, and modernized graphics. There have been rumors about it, since an important person visited Games Workshop in Nottingham.
One of the biggest issues with the game on modern computers is the camera, which will also be overhauled, with a widescreen-optimized HUD and battlefield. The content will remain the same and comes as a complete package:
- all the content from Dawn of War as well as the standalone expansions like Soulstorm
- 4 campaigns
- 9 armies
- over 200 maps
In addition, the game supports more than 20 of the most popular mods. The release is still set for 2025 on Steam and GOG, but there is no specific date yet.
“Warhammer 40,000 is more popular than ever”
Fans have been wishing for a remaster of Dawn of War or a continuation of the series for years. The second part received mixed reviews and has a completely different gameplay style, while Dawn of War 3 was released in 2017 and was soon discontinued.
Since then, players have been waiting for a way to properly play Dawn of War on modern computers. In the press release, Relic CEO Justin Dowdeswell stated: “Warhammer 40,000 is more popular than ever, and we wanted new players to experience where the classic Dawn of War started.”
During the Warhammer Skulls event, not only was the remaster for Dawn of War announced. The show was packed with surprises, such as Boltgun 2, a remaster for Space Marine, new content for Rogue Trader, Space Marine 2, Darktide, and more.
For me personally, Dawn of War is one of the two biggest announcements from Skulls, on par with the new cRPG from Owlcat: Dark Heresy. After Rogue Trader was so incredibly good, the developers now want to build on their successes.
There are also a few new contents in the strategy genre, such as a DLC for Total War: Warhammer 3 and for Gladius. Gladius really surprised me and should also be quite interesting for everyone who likes Dawn of War: A 6-year-old Warhammer game is becoming my new favorite strategy game
