There have been a lot ofWarhammer 40kgames over the years. Games Workshop has been very generous with the license, giving many developers the chance to make their own take on the influential tabletop game. The end result has been what feels like a never-ending stream ofWarhammer FantasyandWarhammer 40kgames pouring onto the market, with wargaming and novel lore fans also getting bombarded with new releases.Warhammernever rests for too long, and it has carved out a large niche in most forms of media because of it.
Even now, there’s stillWarhammergames close on the horizon. The last few months of 2022 alone will play host toWarhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teefby theGuns, Gore & Cannolideveloper Rogueside, andWarhammer 40,000:Darktide, aWarhammer 40ktake onWarhammer: Vermintide. At some point, aRogue TraderCRPG is coming fromthe accomplishedPathfindergame developer Owlcat Games, and Space Marine fans are getting both a sequel to the 2011 action classicWarhammer 40,000: Space Marineand an oldschool shooter going by the nameWarhammer 40,000:Boltgun. The upcoming slate alone shows variety that most game franchises could never dream of. It’s stunning that there’s still genres thatWarhammer 40khasn’t touched, and there’s always a chance it could.
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Sports Game
Despite the fairly popularBlood Bowltabletop and video games that sprung fromWarhammer Fantasy,Warhammer 40khas no equivalent. Some sort ofBlood Bowl 40kis just waiting to be made, with Space Marines donning enormous metal American football uniforms as they charge into battle against a team of orks. This game could take the strategic turn-based approach that pastBlood Bowlgames have, but there’s a lot of room in the sports genre for a newarcade-style title likeNFL Blitz. HavingBlood Bowl’s signature violent football in a fast-paced setting would emphasize its strong comedic aspects, and could feed into the creation of a correspondingBlood Bowl 40kminiatures game.
Fighting Game
With the roster of named characters growing all the time, it feels like a fighting game set in theWarhammer 40kuniverse would be a no-brainer. Recognizable figures likeUltramarine Chapter Master Marneus Calgar, Abaddon the Despoiler, Trazyn the Infinite, Saint Celestine, Warboss Ghazghkull, and the Tyranid Old One Eye all lend themselves to a dueling format, and that’s just a sample of potential fighters.
There’s also a lot of room for what this would entail, asWarhammer 40kwould work as both a 2D fighting game or a weapon-based 3D fighter. The only problem with this idea is finding a suitable developer, as the ideal scenario ofNetherRealm Studiosor Bandai Namco signing on for this project isn’t likely. At any rate, fans would love to see aWarhammerfighting game, so hopefully it happens someday.
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Soulslike
Another genre that lends itself well to theWarhammer 40kuniverse is the Soulslike. A Stormcast Eternal fromWarhammer: Age of Sigmaris practically a divinity-endorsed Chosen Undead already, so the equally fantastical40kuniverse should be able to muster something similar. There are a number of characters like Living Saints orChaos Marines blessed by the Ruinous Powerswho could justifiably resurrect over and over in hostile settings.
Certain factions could just field near-identical units after the last one dies similar toRogue Legacy. Not to mention, the science-fantasy world ofWarhammer 40klends itself perfectly to settings that could look ripped straight out ofDark Souls. A developer looking to try something different could make it likeMetroidin either first-person or 2D platformer form, as the Soulslike template can be applied to many kinds of games.
Flying Game
A novel place thatWarhammer 40kcould easily go is the realm of flying games. This could range from dogfighting to a scrolling shoot-‘em-up, but it’s ideal for the franchise’s spacefaring setting. Because of how the tabletop game works, aerial units don’t get as much focus as ground ones, but there’s still plenty of starfighters and larger ships to work with. It feels like the best way to go about it is a small arcade-style scrolling shoot-‘em-up in thestyle ofRaidenorGradius, possibly with a Jump Pack-equipped Space Marine instead of a ship. Although a rail shooter has already been done in the form ofWarhammer 40,000: Freeblade, something likeSin and Punishmentwhere a character would be able to fly around the screen while moving forward would also work. There are a lot of ways to incorporate flight into aWarhammersetting, and a lot of room in both the air combat and scrolling shmup spaces for such a project to flourish.
Horror Game
Horror in theWarhammer 40kuniverse comes naturally. Just living in it is an exercise in existential dread, with death coming in an instant from over a dozen different sources. It’s mind-boggling that a properWarhammerhorror game has not been attempted yet. Almost anything could be done in the genre, just as long as the player character isn’t too combat capable. FromNecron Flayed Ones appearingin a remote location, to an invasion by the Tyranids or Chaos Daemons, or even to surviving a Warp Storm,Warhammer 40kwas made for horror. Whether it takes the form ofAlien: Isolationor something with a more indie spin, it feels like the franchise’s foray into horror is only a matter of time.
City Builder
There has already been aWarhammer 40k4X game entitledWarhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War, but more could be done withWarhammer’s civilizations. A less combat-focused city builder could involve players settling down on a newly discovered planet and crafting the civilization there. The scale here would be massive, with all forms of military, industry, religion, and government potentially spanning the whole planet, and the game taking place across thousands of years.Survival elements akin toFrostpunkcould gradually be rolled in as the player’s civilization comes into contact with one of the many hostile Xenos races or suffer from random events. The genre holds a lot of potential for licensed games, so hopefully anotherWarhammer 40ktitle will take a crack at it someday.
