Creative Assembly has confirmed that the Rebel Guard will appear in the campaign of Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000. Players can engage them in battle, and this faction will cause trouble and launch rebellions throughout the campaign.
Dave Pelter, Combat Product Lead for Total War, stated that the game will include content related to rebellion, with the Rebel Guard operating as a hostile force. However, he did not provide further details on the specific mechanics of this faction.
The Rebel Guard consists of branches of the Imperial Guard that have turned against the Empire. Some members are corrupted by Chaos, while others have taken up arms against the Empire due to revolution. Their faction icon appeared during the Gamescom demo, but players did not actually encounter this force during the trial.
It remains unconfirmed whether the Rebel Guard fights differently from the Imperial Guard, and developers have not announced if this faction will be playable. The Total War series has previously introduced independent factions on the campaign map before making them playable, such as Bretonnia in the first Total War: WARHAMMER, which became playable the following year after its roster was fully developed.
The four currently confirmed playable factions are Space Marines, Orks, Aeldari, and the Imperial Guard. Creative Assembly has also confirmed that more factions will be added after the game's release, but no specific list has been announced yet.
Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 will also feature a closed beta test, though the exact timing has not been disclosed. At this stage, the Rebel Guard is confirmed to appear as a hostile force in the campaign, with their playability and further design details awaiting official revelation.