As a kid I would spend every weekend at the local Games Workshop, fighting battles with my miniatures and sharing laughs with friends. Sadly it’s a habit I lost over time but that geeky love for the Warhammer world and lore has remained and I still like to indulge it through video games. Last week we had Skulls 2024, where a blitz of Warhammer related updates and additions to top games currently on the market were announced and I'm here to give you the rundown.
Total War: Warhammer III - Karanak Free Update
Not the biggest announcement but this is my list so I am choosing to start with the one I care about the most! I have put over 1000 hours into the Total War: Warhammer trilogy, they represent the imagination of an adolescent me come to life in video game form. At times it has been rocky ground but Creative Assembly has had a return to form with recent updates. What started as a game with 5 factions and 11 lords is now in about the best state it has ever been, expanded to cover almost the entirety of the Warhammer world with 24 factions and nearly 100 legendary lords to champion your campaigns. Who else would benefit from Skulls 2024 than the Lord of Skulls himself Khorne. His best boy Karanak will be joining Warhammer III as a legendary hero, ready to trek his way across the Old World asking for belly rubs in the most violent of fashions.
Warhammer Vermintide 2 - Update and Versus Mode Alpha
Speaking of games I have spent an unhealthy amount of time playing, more Vermintide goodness is upon us. This Left 4 Dead style combat game got an update on the 23rd that included some quality of life changes and a bunch of new boons for the Chaos Wastes gamemode. However the big news here is that the versus gamemode will be in testing soon. I believe this is only for PC players currently but it marks the final stretch of a long promised journey to allow particularly evil feeling players to join in games on the side of the Skaven and Chaos Warriors and help guide our heroes to an untimely demise. Plus there is a community event running for 2 and a half weeks with a goal of killing 1 billion rat men/nurgle marauders between all players to unlock some Khorne inspired weapon skins. So what are you waiting for? BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide - Secrets of the Machine God Update
Maybe Warhammer Fantasy isn’t your style and you are more concerned about liberating a hive world in the name of the mighty god emperor. Fear not, Vermintide’s younger brother Darktide is also getting an update on June 25th. This update brings a number of new weapons (including the iconic bolt pistol) as well as a limited time game mode. It’s got a way to go until it matches the 6 years of content updates that Vermintide 2 has had, but the combat is meaty and visceral as ever.
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II - Announcement
In case it wasn’t clear from the amount of playtime I have put into Total War, I love a good turn-based strategy game and also put some time into the original Warhammer 40,000 Mechanicus. Scouring Necron tombs with the Adeptus Mechanicus for the glory of the Omnissiah. I do have a confession though, growing up I was a Necron player, I was a double agent the whole time! My gauss weaponry is ready to flay some tech loving martians now that the Necrons are announced as a playable faction for the follow up game. No release date yet but one to keep an eye on.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 - More Info
The original Space Marine is a cult classic at this point. One of the rare games to capture the power trip that would come with being an Astartes. Originally released all the way back in 2011, most people had given up hope for a sequel until it got a surprise announcement at the end of 2021. Skulls 2024 came in with a bunch of new info, revealing a three player co-op campaign, a PvE horde style mode as well as the return of 6v6 multiplayer. There are going to be a lot of fans eagerly awaiting this sequel as we approach its 9th September release date.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Forges of Corruption DLC
There are too many Warhammer games and not enough time for me to play them! Boltgun was another release last year that won the hearts of many with its retro-styled hyper violent boomer shooter action. I am going to admit a cardinal sin and say that I never played the original Doom games, so a Doom-esque Warhammer game was never especially high on my radar but I know many people made the Doom Guy to Space Marine transition in their youth. For those who did, it’s good news, a DLC drops on the 18th June adding new weapons, enemies, and levels for you to frag away to your heart's content.
Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freaks - Beta
I’ll be honest, I had completely forgotten about this one. Announced back in May of last year I see this as a continued push by Warhammer to get into every genre imaginable in the video game market (Slaneeshi dating sim when?). A free to play 8v8 vehicular combat game in the style of Twisted Metal and a beta live over the next week for eager people to try. Currently this is slated for a PC only release but I am planning to dip my toes in and give it an immediate 0/10 if painting my War Trukk red does not in fact make it go faster.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader - Void Shadows DLC
While I haven’t got around to playing this one either, I am told it’s a solid entry into the CRPG genre that seems to be having a bit of a resurgence as of late. The new Void Shadows DLC will be dropping on 8th August and will feature around 15 hours of new content for those who want to continue their journey among the stars. On top of that a Death Cult Assassin by the name of Kibellah also joins the crew as a playable companion. Judging by how Assassins in the 40k universe operate, I expect she will be able to solo the whole campaign by herself.
Other Updates
A virtual reality Space Marine experience will be hitting Zero Latency experiences in October.
Talisman gets a new digital edition later this year.
Necromantic Horrors join the Blood Bowl 3 roster.
New content updates across major 40k mobile games.
Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector updated with new units.
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisition - Martyr revealed a new class for October release.
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius of War launched a new unit pack.