Space Marine 2 isn’t even a year old and work on a sequel has already begun, in what may be the start of a Warhammer 40,000 video game renaissance.
In the least surprising news since the last super successful game that announced a sequel, it’s been confirmed that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 is already in development.
The original 2011 game was only a minor hint but the extremely belated sequel, by World War Z maker Saber Interactive, was one of the biggest single-player hits of 2024.
Seemingly by coincidence, on the same day that new rumours emerged of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War 4, Games Workship has officially announced that a third Space Marine game is already underway.
As you might imagine, there’s not a lot of information at this point, with publisher Focus Interactive simply saying that, ‘Players can look forward to an immersive campaign, a multiplayer mode, and innovations that will redefine the standards of third person action games.
‘Developed in close collaboration with Games Workshop, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 will take the genre to new heights by introducing large-scale battles that are even more spectacular.’
There’s certainly plenty of room for improvement in a new game, as while the last one was the best visual recreation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe ever seen the combat and story were not all that they could be.
Given the game’s huge success, it’s unclear how much change the three companies involved believe is necessary, but if work has only just started it’ll likely be several years before we even get a glimpse of the new game.
‘We will take all our learnings and apply them to an even bigger and more spectacular game for the third instalment. We view this as an opportunity to create a true love letter to the Warhammer 40.000 universe,’ said Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch.
Although nothing’s been confirmed about Space Marine 3’s plot, it seems reasonable to assume that it will continue the story of Ultramarines Captain Demetrian Titus, played by Taken TV series star Clive Standen.
The ending of the last game already hinted at a new adventure, and it seems likely that Saber already had future stories sketched out in advance.
In the meantime, Focus is keen to emphasis that support for Space Marine 2 will continue, with new content and updates planned in ‘the coming years.’
Update 7.0 will be the next one and will include new feature such as private PvP lobbies, a new PvE and Operation weapon, and changes to class weapon loadouts and weapon perks balancing.
Although there’s never been any shortage of them in the past, the unexpected success of Space Marine 2 is likely to lead to a general increase in the number of new Warhammer 40,000 games. The average budget is likely to increase too, as most previous games have been AA or indie titles.
Dawn Of War 4 may be the first indication of a new surge of licensed games, and that will only be encouraged further if the planned Amazon TV show gets off the ground.
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