Creative Assembly provided demo content for Total War: Warhammer 40,000 at Gamescom. The game concentrates the scope of a single campaign within one solar system, allowing players to move between multiple planets; the tutorial and interface have also been adjusted for players encountering Total War for the first time.
David Petry, Battle Product Lead, stated that the development team did not use the entire galaxy directly as the stage for a single campaign. The team wanted players to stay close to specific worlds and battles without feeling too abstract due to an overly distant observational scale, so they ultimately adopted a campaign structure based on individual solar systems.
As currently designed, a campaign moves players between multiple planets within the same solar system, while belonging to a larger crusade theater. The development team is currently focusing on producing the Armageddon theater and plans to present the broader war context through individual campaigns.
The demo began with a tutorial, followed by a short period of free play. The tutorial pits Space Marines against Orks, with players leading the Space Marines to reclaim their cargo. From the planetary view, you can rotate the planet to observe terrain and areas controlled by various factions. The engagement interface during attacks also displays more detailed information about both sides' forces.
Ground combat continues the real-time command style of the Total War series. Players can coordinate troops to execute flanking maneuvers and call in airstrikes; heavy support requires waiting for reloads to represent the time needed for ships to return to the battlefield. The morale system also affects the battle outcome; killing enemy commanders or eliminating large numbers of their troops can cause remaining enemies to rout.
Lead Designer Joy Dey stated that the team expects many players to encounter Total War for the first time through the Warhammer 40,000 brand. Therefore, the tutorial must cater to series newcomers, help veteran players familiarize themselves with new content in this title, and serve to introduce the worldview. After entering free mode, testers were already able to understand the basic methods of capturing objectives and organizing attacks.
The game also offers Space Marine customization features. When starting a new campaign, players can adjust their troops' appearance, using lore-accurate color schemes or freely mixing colors, and can generate names for their armies.
Preview from PCGamesN:
Total War: Warhammer 40,000 faces an impossible task in many respects. How can an interstellar conflict lasting millions of years be recreated as a video game? How can all factions—from the Empire's countless Space Marine chapters to the alien hordes of Tyranids and Necrons—be integrated into a single game? How can the cruelty of war be depicted in meticulous detail while simultaneously presenting its broader impact? I had hoped Creative Assembly's new title would answer these questions, and in many ways, I believe it has.
It is worth noting that Total War: Warhammer 40,000 does have some limitations at launch. David Petry, Head of Battle Product, stated at Gamescom: "The scale of 40K is astronomical. It wouldn't be appropriate to simply understand Total War: Warhammer 40,000 as 'this is the entire galaxy.' This is a world where sectors fight each other. We need to find the right feel, allowing players to feel closely connected to this world for immersion, without creating an abstract sense of 'we are too far away.' We want players to feel connected to the battles and Everythinggj happening."
"We ultimately decided to treat each campaign as a solar system. You remain within the same campaign, traveling between multiple planets in the same solar system, which constitutes a complete campaign experience in itself. But this is also part of a larger Crusade stage. Currently, we are focusing on Armageddon, which will be the grand finale of this horrific feast of death—I've never said this publicly before. It truly is a terrible feast of death." We all couldn't help but laugh.
Therefore, the focus is on selecting a "known chapter" and then "unfolding exciting adventures in independent campaigns connected to the larger campaign scene." This helps manage player expectations while allowing you to feel part of a broader world. In some ways, this approach vaguely recalls Helldivers 2, where your actions have wider impacts on the surrounding battlefield. I believe this is the best approach Creative Assembly could take; it perfectly blends meticulous combat with a meaningful grand scale.
I experienced the game tutorial, followed by a short session of free play. The game strictly follows the 11th Edition rules, telling the story of Space Marines fighting against Orks, with players commanding the Emperor's most elite forces. Your mission is simple: eliminate the Orks, plain and simple.
Players familiar with the Total War series will immediately feel at home—move armies here, attack this target, do other things—and the scale is impressive. My crew emerged from the Warp in cathedral-like ships, heading towards the Shadow Planet. The view presented a distant perspective of the planet, highlighting the location of the cargo I needed to retrieve with giant Space Marines. You can rotate the planet for careful observation, and I was immediately struck by its detailed terrain features. Even more surprising was that it had already been divided into territories controlled by various factions. It was truly breathtaking.
I dispatched Space Marines to deal with the Snazz Braggs, who seemed to have illegally hijacked my cargo. I chose to attack, triggering the iconic assault screen from the Total War series, but this time the interface has been upgraded to display more detailed troop information for both sides. This allows me to grasp key information at a glance without being overwhelmed by data.
When I was on the battlefield, the game's grand sense of scale still shocked me. I could zoom in, lurk behind my Space Marines, and control the camera as if I were one of them, rather than an omnipresent game journalist holding a mouse. The Space Marines are massive, majestic like Titan giants, while the Orks, though not to be underestimated, appear small in comparison. The scale of their dilapidated mechanical terrain is astonishing—at one point, I hid behind cover and zoomed in just to feel the shock of being in the trenches. It possesses an immersion akin to Space Marine 2, making you truly feel that war is everywhere.
Like any good Space Marine, I tore through aliens while coordinating attacks, forming pincer movements, and calling in airstrikes to destroy their defenses. These heavy weapons require some time to reload, simulating the time needed for spacecraft to transfer to the battlefield, meaning you must master timing cleverly. My personal favorite is the morale system; if you kill the enemy leader or eliminate enough soldiers, the enemy will begin to rout. In this instance, I concentrated fire on the Ork commander, and after defeating him, the Orks scattered in panic, allowing my gunners to pick them off easily.
This tutorial indeed excellently introduces players to the world of Total War. Although I still feel it relies on some preset 40K background knowledge, I think it overall does a good job of showcasing the charm of this broader universe. This is basically my entire experience with Total War: Warhammer 40,000. I admit that since joining PCGamesN, I've played more strategy games, but for massive games like Total War or Europa Universalis, I usually keep my distance.
However, Creative Assembly's latest work is indeed easier to pick up—the tutorial missions make game mechanics clear and understandable, and I wasn't overwhelmed by a pile of menus. After entering free mode, I felt I truly understood how to capture objectives and formulate strategies, rather than just leaving things to fate.
This helps alleviate some of my concerns about Total War: Warhammer 40,000. The Warhammer 40,000 game series has released a number of titles in recent years—Adeptus Mechanicus 2 adopted XCOM-style combat, while Space Marine 2 focused more on action, filled with intense slashing. Clearly, player enthusiasm for Warhammer games is high, but for many, the Total War series might be difficult to understand. Lead Designer Joey Dey stated that Creative Assembly has taken this into full consideration when designing the tutorial and game UI.
"We anticipate that many players who haven't played the Total War series before will be interested because of the brand," she said. "That was our intention in designing the tutorial—we wanted to cater to newcomers to Total War, help veteran players familiarize themselves with new content, and also introduce players to the game's backstory."
Speaking of games like Space Marine 2, it's clear that Total War: Warhammer 40,000 has drawn considerable inspiration from Saber Interactive's cooperative action blockbuster. A quick glance at the customization menu in Total War: Warhammer 40,000 (which loads when you start a new campaign) reveals that you can truly craft your dream Space Marines, whether they adhere to lore or, like mine, are neon pink. You can also name your armies, which I'm sure can't hurt.
Petry and Dey told me that "pink lines" are quite common, which made me feel slightly offended—I distinctly remember being the first to do so. But regardless, Creative Assembly has clearly borrowed from Saber's approach this time, and the customization features look promising.
Total War: Warhammer 40,000 achieves its intended goal: it distills the Warhammer 40,000 universe into manageable modules, offering refined strategic gameplay while integrating more narrative-driven campaign elements. The scale remains vast, yet not so overwhelming as to feel unmanageable or daunting.
Although the absence of Chaos factions in the launch lineup is indeed a bit strange—given we already have Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks, and Aeldari—Petry promised that Chaos factions will be added in future updates, along with my beloved Necrons. However, this is almost my only real complaint about Total War: Warhammer 40,000. Even so, I still look forward to seeing its future development—in many ways, this seems to be exactly how large-scale strategy games should operate.
I jokingly asked if the Emperor would like Warhammer 40,000. Petry laughed and said, "I think the Emperor can sense heresy, and as long as we are dedicated to eradicating it—burning it, purging it—he would likely approve." There is certainly a lot of that content here, so in my opinion, he would approve.