Tag Archives: PC gaming

Marvel Rivals Season 9.5 Is Live — The Hood Enters as a Vanguard and PC Players Save 40GB

Marvel Rivals Season 9.5: The Mystery of Thebes went live on 7 August at 09:00 UTC, bringing the game’s latest Vanguard — Parker Robbins, The Hood — into the roster alongside a sweeping texture compression update that frees up 40GB on PC and 15GB on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. If you’ve been holding off on installing, now is a good time to reconsider.

Marvel Rivals Season 9.5 The Hood official key art — Begins August 7 2026
Image courtesy of Marvel / NetEase Games

Who Is The Hood?

Parker Robbins has been a thorn in Marvel’s side since he found a mystical crimson cloak and a pair of enchanted boots — tools that turned a small-time Brooklyn crook into a significant underworld threat. He’s led the Hood’s Crime Syndicate, brokered power with the Cabal, and gone toe-to-toe with heroes and villains alike. He’s an unusual pick for a hero-shooter roster, which makes him interesting: less icon, more dangerous wild card.

In Marvel Rivals he’s voiced by Damian Priest — yes, that Damian Priest, the WWE SmackDown heavyweight — which gives him an unmistakable presence in the trailer.

The Hood character close-up in Marvel Rivals — white suit, red cloak, golden pistol
Image courtesy of Marvel / NetEase Games

The Hood’s Kit

The Hood plays as a Vanguard — the game’s tank-support class — which is an interesting fit for a gunslinger villain. His playstyle runs on the tension between his two states:

  • Human form: relentless dual pistol fire providing consistent frontal pressure
  • Demon form: pistols become assault rifles; the mystical cloak channels the energy of Oblivion, letting him manifest protective barriers for teammates and hurl dark magic orbs that warp into damage-absorbing shields on impact
  • Ultimate — Full Demon State (Gun Demon): high-impact piercing rounds that punch straight through shields and enemy bodies, while radiating dark energy that grants bonus HP to all nearby teammates

The switching between forms is the mechanical core — he can hold a line and protect allies while applying damage, rather than purely absorbing it like a classical tank.

Character Reveal Trailer

The Hood: The World is His | Character Reveal Trailer — via Marvel Rivals on YouTube

Season 9.5: What Else Is New

Apocalypse in an Egyptian sarcophagus — Marvel Rivals Season 9.5 The Mystery of Thebes setting
Image courtesy of Marvel / NetEase Games

The season’s Egyptian backdrop — the Thebes setting introduced in Season 9 — continues into 9.5, with Apocalypse as the lurking threat behind the mystery. On the cosmetics side, Summer Festival Vol. 2 launches with swimsuit skins for Star-Lord, Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch, Black Cat, Storm, and Magik — and a new customisable animation set for Lady Loki.

Summer Festival Vol. 2 skin in Marvel Rivals Season 9.5 — character in yellow and pink swimsuit with power effects
Image courtesy of Marvel / NetEase Games

The new PYO (Pick Your Own) bundle system is a notable store change: rather than fixed bundles, you select the specific skins and emotes you want and the price adjusts to match. It’s a fairer format than a take-it-or-leave-it package for players who only want one or two items from a set.

Free rewards this update:

  • Creed of Akabba event: earn a free Punisher Sandstorm Soldier costume
  • Twitch Drops (now through 4 September): the Elsa Bloodstone Will of Galacta costume — watch any participating stream for eligibility

The 40GB Storage Reduction Is Real

The patch’s texture compression overhaul is genuinely significant for anyone managing drive space:

  • PC: ~40GB freed (~30% reduction)
  • PS5 and Xbox Series X|S: ~15GB freed (~20% reduction)
  • PS4: ~7% reduction

That’s a meaningful reclaim on both SSD and HDD setups, and it comes with no visual quality trade-off according to NetEase. If you deleted the game to make space, it’s worth re-downloading now that it’s leaner.

Season 9.5: The Mystery of Thebes is live now on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series X|S.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls Lands to Mixed Steam Reviews — Day-One Patch Addresses PC Issues

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls launched this week from Arc System Works, and the Steam reception has been rough. The game is currently sitting at 45% (Mixed) across roughly 1,831 reviews — a difficult starting point for a live-service fighter built around a high-profile licence. We covered the pre-launch build-up yesterday; here’s the post-launch picture.

Marvel Tōkon Unbreakable X-Men key art — Storm, Magik, Wolverine and Danger

Launch Numbers

Peak concurrent players on Steam hit 24,498 — a reasonable number for a fighting game launch, but well below the 44,303 peak that Dragon Ball FighterZ (also Arc System Works) reached at its 2018 release. The Mixed score in the first 48 hours is the harder problem to dig out of.

Storm in-game screenshot with lightning effects in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls

What Reviewers Are Flagging

The most common complaints in negative reviews point to two structural issues: a mandatory PSN account login on PC (a Sony requirement that has already damaged the launch trajectory of several recent PC titles) and no Linux support at launch. Technical performance complaints have been widespread across the first 48 hours.

Magik in-game screenshot in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls

Day-One Patch Details

Arc System Works shipped a day-one patch addressing a broad list of PC-specific issues. The fixes cover:

  • CPU performance optimisation
  • DLSS, FSR, and XeSS upscaling integration
  • Shader warmup improvements
  • OBS and Discord overlay compatibility fixes
  • PS5 controller input lag reduction
  • Online match delay improvements
  • →↓↘ (quarter-circle) motion input correction
  • Ground dash cancel timing fix
  • Multi-monitor display handling
  • Invisible players in ranked mode fix
  • Performance improvements when accessibility large text is enabled

The breadth of this list suggests many of these were known before ship. The patch is live now.

Wolverine claws crossed in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls

Announce Trailer

If you’re already in, the patch is live and should address most of the performance issues. If you’re on the fence — Arc System Works fighting games typically find their footing after the first patch cycle. The X-Men roster and Tōkon system have enough to work with; the question is whether the PC issues get resolved fast enough to hold the playerbase.

Expeditions: Samurai Enters Steam Early Access — Feudal Japan Tactics With Co-op Launches Today

Campfire Cabal and THQ Nordic have launched Expeditions: Samurai into Steam Early Access today, 7 August 2026. The turn-based tactics RPG drops you into feudal Japan at the tail end of the Sengoku period, with simultaneous combat resolution and two-player co-op as its standout mechanics.

Expeditions: Samurai Early Access Out Now — samurai overlooking a red sky landscape

Setting and Story

Set in Japan circa 1600 — the turbulent close of the Sengoku period — Expeditions: Samurai puts you in the boots of Captain Flynn, a foreign privateer drawn into the country’s political and military chaos. The Expeditions franchise has built its reputation on historically grounded settings; this is the third major entry after Expeditions: Viking and Expeditions: Rome.

Atmospheric Japanese shrine with stone steps and gong in Expeditions: Samurai

Combat and Companions

The core combat mechanic is simultaneous turn resolution: both sides commit their orders before anything plays out, which rewards anticipating your opponent over pure reaction. Outside of combat you can use stealth to sidestep fights entirely, and the game lets you split your party to handle multiple objectives at once.

You’ll recruit up to eight companions over the course of the campaign. The game also supports two-player co-op — unusual for the genre, and a natural fit given how the split-party mechanics work.

Dialogue scene: Tanaka Takayuki speaks with Captain Flynn in Expeditions: Samurai

What’s in Early Access

The current build contains Act 1: five main quests and three side quests, with an estimated eight hours of content. The full campaign is scoped at roughly 60 hours, with a 1.0 release targeted for 2027.

Turn-based combat UI with stats panel inside a Japanese building in Expeditions: Samurai

Pricing

Expeditions: Samurai is PC and Steam only for now. The standard price is US$29.99, with a 34% launch discount taking it down to US$19.79 for a limited time.

Early Access Release Trailer

If the Expeditions formula has clicked for you before, the feudal Japan setting and simultaneous-resolution combat make this an easy recommendation at the discounted launch price. Expeditions: Samurai is available now on Steam.

Truxton Extreme Is Out Now — A Classic Shmup Returns After 38 Years

After 38 years of silence, one of the most beloved Japanese arcade shoot ’em up series is finally back. Truxton Extreme — known in Japan as TATSUJIN EXTREME — launched today, 30 July 2026, on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and GOG. If the name Truxton rings a bell from your Mega Drive days or Singapore arcade visits in the late 1980s, that instinct is correct: this is the real deal, made by the original creator.

Truxton Extreme gameplay screenshot — fighter ship vs alien machines
Image courtesy of Clear River Games / Tatsujin

Thirty-Eight Years Is a Long Time to Wait for a Sequel

The original Truxton (TATSUJIN) dropped in Japanese arcades in 1988, published by Toaplan — the legendary Osaka studio behind DoDonPachi, Batsugun, and Zero Wing. It was a brutal vertical shooter with tight movement, weapon upgrades, and that unmistakable Toaplan DNA. Toaplan closed in 1994, and the series went dark.

Masahiro Yuge, one of Toaplan’s co-founders and the creative force behind the original Truxton, eventually founded a new studio also named Tatsujin. Partnering with Swedish publisher Clear River Games, he has spent years building what Truxton Extreme became: a full modern evolution of the franchise, fully rendered in 3D while staying true to the vertical-scrolling shmup roots that made the series iconic.

Truxton Extreme | Story Trailer — via Clear River Games on YouTube

What’s New in Truxton Extreme

This isn’t just a remaster — it’s a ground-up reimagining. The visuals jump to full 3D polygons, widescreen play field, and smooth performance (the Nintendo Life review noted zero performance issues on Switch 2 in both docked and handheld modes). The classic weapon roster — Tatsujin Beam, Thunder Laser, Homing Shot, Star-Mine Shot — returns alongside a new EX bar mechanic that lets you charge up and unleash supercharged shots when things get hairy.

Manga artist Junya Inoue (known for Btooom! and his work on DoDonPachi and Batsugun) illustrates a branching, comic-book-style story spanning 18 chapters. Players choose from three TATSUJIN pilots — Ash, Bergamot, and Cyrilla — each with their own motivations and arc within the narrative.

Truxton Extreme — 3D gameplay, multiple enemy types
Image courtesy of Clear River Games / Tatsujin

Modes for Every Kind of Player

Whether you want the full narrative experience or a pure arcade endurance run, Truxton Extreme has a mode for it:

  • Story — 18 chapters with comic-panel cutscenes, escalating enemy waves, and boss encounters
  • Arcade — traditional sequential progression with no hand-holding
  • Heart Starter — a beginner-friendly difficulty setting that actually lets newcomers enjoy the series for the first time
  • Team — local 2-player co-op (a first for the series) with shared resources
  • Arena — 2-minute score-attack for bragging rights
  • Pipiruville — a village-building collection mode for cosmetics

Eight difficulty settings across the board mean veterans can recreate the punishing quarter-eating arcade feel, while curious newcomers can actually finish the game.

Truxton Extreme — boss battle encounter
Image courtesy of Clear River Games / Tatsujin

Pricing and Where to Get It

Digital pricing is set at US$24.99 for the standard edition and US$29.99 for the Deluxe digital edition. Physical copies are priced at US$39.99 (PS5 / Xbox Series) and US$49.99 (Switch 2). For Singapore players, the game is available now on the PlayStation Store and Nintendo eShop — check your regional storefront for local pricing. Physical editions should be available through major game retailers and electronics chains.

Early reviews have been strong: Nintendo Life awarded it a 9/10, calling it “a thrilling return for a classic shoot-’em-up series” that “sets a new benchmark for how to bring back cult series of the genre into the current age.” High praise for any comeback, let alone one 38 years in the making.

Truxton Extreme — character artwork and pilot selection
Image courtesy of Clear River Games / Tatsujin

For Singapore shmup fans — and there are more of us than people expect — Truxton Extreme is the biggest genre release in years. Check out other retro gaming coverage and game news on GameTrader.SG.

Dispatch Is Now on Xbox — Aaron Paul’s Strategy Hit Gets Xbox Play Anywhere Launch

Singapore Xbox players, your wait is over. Dispatch, AdHoc Studio’s acclaimed narrative strategy game, has officially landed on Xbox Series X|S and is available right now via Xbox Play Anywhere — meaning a single purchase covers both the console and Windows PC versions.

Dispatch — conference room briefing with the superhero team
Your squad brings together some of comics’ most beloved archetypes — and some of Hollywood’s biggest voices.

What Is Dispatch?

Developed by AdHoc Studio, Dispatch casts you as the newly appointed director of a superhero management agency in a world where powered individuals are just part of the workforce. Part narrative adventure, part tactical resource manager, the game has you deploying the right hero for the right crisis — balancing public image, morale, and escalating threats across a sprawling city.

The voice cast is genuinely staggering: Aaron Paul leads the ensemble alongside Laura Bailey, Jeffrey Wright, and Matthew Mercer. It is, without exaggeration, one of the most stacked casts in recent indie game history.

Dispatch — protagonist close-up dialogue scene
Story-driven choices sit at the heart of Dispatch — every call you make ripples forward into later crises.

A Certified Hit, Now on Xbox

Dispatch launched on PlayStation 5 and PC in October 2025 to near-universal acclaim, scoring 97% on OpenCritic and selling over four million copies. If you missed it on PS5 or Steam, the Xbox launch is the second chance you needed.

Dispatch — city map management screen
The city overview layer is where strategy meets storytelling — assign heroes, manage resources, and navigate the politics of being in charge.
Dispatch — mech action scene with fire
Crisis missions escalate fast — some situations call for finesse, others for raw firepower.

Official Xbox Release Date Trailer

Price and Availability

Dispatch is priced at USD$29.99 on Xbox and PC. Xbox Play Anywhere means one purchase unlocks the game on both Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, with shared cloud save progress. The game is available now from the Xbox Store.

STALKER 2: Cost of Hope Sets 20 August Release — Free Engine Upgrade for All Owners

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 fans have a date to circle: 20 August 2026. Developer GSC Game World confirmed yesterday that Cost of Hope — the game’s first major story expansion — lands simultaneously on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG) on that date. The announcement came with a release date reveal trailer dropping on the official GSC Game World channel. The even bigger news for the game’s six million-plus player base: a free Update 2.0 ships the same day, upgrading Heart of Chornobyl from Unreal Engine 5.1 to a significantly newer UE5 build — no DLC purchase required.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope — Release Date Reveal — via GSC Game World on YouTube

A New Story Running Parallel to Heart of Chornobyl

Cost of Hope is a full parallel campaign, not a bite-sized side-mission pack. Players return as Skif — the protagonist from the base game — after a mysterious PDA signal pulls him into an escalating crisis between two of the Zone’s most entrenched factions: Duty and Freedom. The uneasy truce between them has broken down, and Skif ends up caught in the middle.

STALKER 2 Cost of Hope gameplay — desolate industrial wasteland with sniper rifle
Image courtesy of GSC Game World

The expansion unlocks two entirely new regions that were off-limits in the base campaign. The first is the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant itself — the most iconic location in the real-world Exclusion Zone and one fans have been waiting to explore since the game launched. The second is the Iron Forest, a new anomalous area. GSC is promising dozens of hours of content across these zones, with new weapons, new gear, and mutated enemy types specific to Cost of Hope.

STALKER 2 Cost of Hope — player with binoculars surveying the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Image courtesy of GSC Game World

Free Update 2.0 Is the Deal-Sweetener for Everyone

Even if a second trip into the Zone is not on your agenda, 20 August is still a significant date. Update 2.0 — officially titled Sealed Truth — upgrades Heart of Chornobyl’s renderer from Unreal Engine 5.1, the version the game shipped with in November 2024, to a substantially newer UE5 build. GSC says the update delivers meaningful performance and stability improvements across the board. For PS5 and PC owners who picked up the base game and moved on after struggling with early optimisation, this is worth checking again.

STALKER 2 Cost of Hope — player holding anomaly detector in electrical storm anomaly field
Image courtesy of GSC Game World

Price, Platforms and How to Get It

GSC has not yet confirmed a standalone price for Cost of Hope as of 27 July 2026; one is expected before the 20 August launch. Owners of the Deluxe Edition or the Ultimate Edition (which includes the Season Pass) will receive the expansion at no additional cost. The game is available in Singapore through Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG on PC, and via the PlayStation Store on PS5 and the Microsoft Store on Xbox Series X|S.

For those who have not yet played Heart of Chornobyl, the base game is the entry point — Cost of Hope requires it. At over 6 million copies sold globally, the game has found a strong audience, and GSC’s commitment to a free engine upgrade alongside a paid expansion sets a reasonable bar for ongoing support. Check the Game News section for the price announcement when it drops.

BeastLink Sets August 18 Steam Early Access Date — GTA Trilogy Devs Go Full Kaiju

The studio behind GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is pivoting hard into kaiju territory. Grove Street Games has confirmed that BeastLink, its multiplayer monster-versus-humans action game, will launch in Early Access on PC via Steam on 18 August 2026. The date was announced on 27 July alongside updates to the game’s Steam page, giving fans just over three weeks to prepare.

What Is BeastLink?

A massive mandrill-type kaiju roars between city skyscrapers as military helicopters close in — BeastLink
Image courtesy of Grove Street Games

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where colossal creatures rule the ruins of civilisation, BeastLink drops up to 32 players into fully destructible urban environments and divides them across two radically different scales: human soldiers and vehicle operators on the ground, and city-shaking kaiju above.

Players begin each session as human survivors, fighting through war-torn cityscapes to collect a rare biological compound called serum. Gather enough, and you can trigger a BeastLink — a full transformation into one of the game’s enormous kaiju, flipping the experience from tactical ground combat into pure monster mayhem. Die in beast form, respawn as a soldier, and you earn your way back to godhood all over again.

Built on Unreal Engine 5, the game runs on Grove Street’s proprietary SuperDestruction engine layer, packing maps with over 250,000 individually destructible objects. Buildings collapse with physics simulation; walls become rubble that reshapes the battlefield in real time, turning every city block into both a battlefield and a weapon.

BeastLink — Official Reveal Trailer, via IGN on YouTube

How the BeastLink Loop Works

A military aircraft banking away from a kaiju firing an energy beam across a burning city skyline at sunset — BeastLink
Image courtesy of Grove Street Games

The mechanic that sets BeastLink apart from earlier asymmetric games like Evolve is fluidity: players are never locked into a single role for the full match. Earning your way to beast form by collecting serum as a soldier means the transformation feels earned, not handed to you. The shift in scale — from squad-level tactics to monster-scale destruction — is the payoff.

Each kaiju plays differently enough that squad coordination matters. Do your whole team race for beast form and turn the match into a kaiju clash? Or does one player stay human and helicopter, using vehicle firepower to harass enemy beasts while teammates transform? That improvised decision-making is where the depth lives.

The Four Launch Kaiju

The Bull Shark and Vampire Bat kaiju clash in a forested mountain environment near a dam — BeastLink
Image courtesy of Grove Street Games

Grove Street has confirmed four playable kaiju for the Early Access launch, each with a distinct combat identity:

  • Horned Lizard — heavily armoured close-range brawler, built for sustained punishment and crowd control
  • Bull Shark — fast and aggressive, best for charging through structures and disrupting enemy formations
  • Vampire Bat — aerial predator; high mobility but lower durability, designed for hit-and-fade attacks from above
  • Mandrill — versatile primate-type kaiju with terrain manipulation abilities, capable of reshaping the environment mid-combat

Additional kaiju are planned during the Early Access period, though Grove Street has not yet published a content roadmap. The full 1.0 launch is currently targeting Summer 2027, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions arriving alongside the commercial release rather than the Early Access build.

What Singapore Gamers Need to Know

Human survivors face a Horned Lizard kaiju inside a cathedral-like interior — BeastLink Early Access
Image courtesy of Grove Street Games

BeastLink goes live on Steam on 18 August 2026 — accessible to Singapore players the moment Early Access opens. Early Access pricing has not yet been confirmed; check the BeastLink Steam page to wishlist and track the launch price once it is set.

For Singapore’s gaming scene the kaiju genre is having a genuine moment. Kaiju No. 8 has turned giant-monster fiction into one of the most-discussed anime and manga properties in Southeast Asia over the past two years, and the appetite for kaiju games has followed. BeastLink’s proposition — playing as the beast, not just fighting one — taps directly into that power fantasy. The 32-player scale also makes it a natural candidate for local Discord communities and gaming café sessions when the full launch eventually arrives on console.

For more upcoming PC and console game news, see our Game News section.

Xbox Backward Compatibility on PC Goes Live — BLiNX, Conker, Crimson Skies and More Now Playable

Microsoft has officially launched Xbox backward compatibility on PC, letting Windows 11 players revisit original Xbox classics through the Xbox app for the first time. Four launch titles are available now, with modern visual enhancements baked in — no disc required.

The inaugural line-up covers four iconic games from the original Xbox era:

  • BLiNX: The Time Sweeper — Microsoft’s cult-favourite time-manipulation platformer from 2002, a game that was once intended as a flagship Xbox mascot and has been stuck on the original hardware ever since
  • Fuzion Frenzy — the chaotic multi-player party game that shipped as a launch title alongside the original Xbox in 2001
  • Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge — the beloved aerial combat adventure set in a dieselpunk alternate-history America, widely regarded as one of the best exclusives the original Xbox produced
  • Conker: Live & Reloaded — Rare’s irreverent, adult-oriented action platformer, an enhanced Xbox remake of the N64 classic Conker’s Bad Fur Day

All four games are available with an active Xbox Game Pass subscription. Individual purchase is also supported via the Xbox app on PC.

ROG Xbox Ally handheld running Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge with gameplay on screen
The ROG Xbox Ally running Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. Image courtesy of Xbox / ASUS ROG

Enhanced for Modern Displays

This isn’t a bare-bones emulation layer. Microsoft has added a range of visual improvements to the backward-compatible titles: up to 4× resolution upscaling, VSync support, and anti-aliasing enhancements. The result is that games from 2001–2004 should look noticeably sharper on contemporary monitors and OLED screens.

Handheld PC gaming is explicitly supported from day one. The ROG Xbox Ally — ASUS ROG’s dedicated Xbox-branded handheld — is a confirmed compatible device, making it easy to replay these classics in portable form.

Person holding a white ROG Ally X handheld showing the Xbox app game library
The ROG Ally X displaying the Xbox app game library. Image courtesy of ASUS ROG

Requirements and Current Limitations

Windows 11 is required — Windows 10 users will need to upgrade before backward-compatible titles become accessible. A download is also required for each game even if you have a Game Pass subscription, as expected.

Achievement support is not available at launch. Microsoft has indicated it is planned for a future update, so completionists will want to hold off for now if their Gamerscore matters to them.

Singapore Availability — Check Before You Buy

Microsoft’s official announcement notes that backward compatibility on PC is available in select markets only. Singapore-based readers should verify current availability through the Xbox app or the Xbox Singapore page before purchasing individual titles, as a specific regional roll-out confirmation for Singapore has not been separately issued at time of writing. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — which covers the backward-compatible games — remains available in Singapore.

Source: Xbox Wire by Mike Nelson, Xbox Wire Editor (22 July 2026). Xbox Game Pass details.

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 4 Drops September 17 on PC

After nearly a decade since Dawn of War III, the Warhammer 40,000 real-time strategy series is marching back to war. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 — developed by King Art Games and published by Deep Silver — has locked in a September 17, 2026 release date on PC via Steam, with a Commander Edition granting early access from September 14.

Singapore PC gamers who grew up commanding Blood Ravens or greenskins across Kronus and Aurelia finally have a date to circle. The game goes up on Steam on launch day, so no regional delays to worry about.

Dawn of War 4 RTS gameplay showing Space Marines battling Necrons on a grimdark battlefield
Image courtesy of Deep Silver / King Art Games

Back to Kronus — a 70-Mission Campaign

The campaign returns to Kronus, the contested planet fans will remember from Dark Crusade, now reimagined under King Art Games’ direction. Over 70 missions with branching narrative paths fill the single-player offering, and every mission can be played in two-player co-op — a series first for the campaign mode. Each of the four factions has its own campaign arc, giving invested players a strong reason to replay on all sides.

Four Factions at Launch

Dawn of War 4 ships with four playable factions, each built around a distinct playstyle:

  • Space Marines — Blood Ravens: The veterans return with Terminators, Land Raiders, and narrative continuity stretching back to Dark Crusade and Retribution. Familiar but refined.
  • Orks: Overwhelming hordes, improvised fortifications, and Nobz who hit harder than physics should allow. The WAAAGH! build menu is as chaotic as you’d expect.
  • Necrons: Immortal mechanical warriors wielding gauss weaponry. King Art describe them as a high-skill-ceiling faction — rewarding for players who master their timing and positioning.
  • Adeptus Mechanicus: Making their Dawn of War series debut. The Martian tech-priests field plasma weapons and cybernetic infantry, bringing a completely new playstyle to the franchise.
A Necron warrior atop a battle platform firing a devastating green gauss beam in Dawn of War 4
Image courtesy of Deep Silver / King Art Games

Today IGN dropped the first dedicated Necron cinematic trailer — aptly timed given the faction’s high-profile reveal earlier in the year:

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 – Official Necron Cinematic Trailer — via IGN on YouTube

Modes Beyond the Campaign

Alongside the campaign, Dawn of War 4 revives fan-favourite modes and adds competitive play:

  • Last Stand: The beloved three-player horde-defense mode returns, letting you hold a position against escalating waves alongside two allies.
  • Skirmish: AI matches for solo or cooperative play against the computer.
  • Competitive Multiplayer: Ranked 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 modes — the arena where Singapore’s RTS scene can really dig in.
Ork faction RTS gameplay in Dawn of War 4 showing WAAAGH banner, Ork structures and Mekboy unit
Image courtesy of Deep Silver / King Art Games

Year-One Roadmap — and a Fifth Faction on the Way

King Art and Deep Silver have mapped out a full year of post-launch content. Free updates will add Crusade Mode, additional multiplayer maps, a Mission Editor, and new Last Stand commanders. Paid DLC comes in two waves:

  • Blood Ravens Prologue — an Aurelia prequel focusing on the Chapter’s history
  • Aftermath — introduces a fifth faction that has not yet been named, expanding the roster beyond launch

The Commander Edition bundles the base game with the full Year 1 Expansion Pass, available on Steam from September 14 (three days early). The standard edition releases September 17.

Dramatic hero close-up with glowing eyes and electric hammer in Dawn of War 4
Image courtesy of Deep Silver / King Art Games

King Art at the Helm — a Fresh Take

Original series developer Relic Entertainment did not return for this entry. Instead, Deep Silver handed the licence to King Art Games — the German studio behind The Dwarves and Iron Harvest. Warhammer 40K veterans may raise an eyebrow, but Iron Harvest’s critical reception shows King Art understand large-scale tactical RTS. The full release date and roadmap were first revealed at the Warhammer Skulls 2026 showcase in May.

For Singapore gamers who have been waiting since Dawn of War III’s divisive 2017 launch, this is the reset the series needed. Four distinct factions, a co-op campaign on a beloved planet, Last Stand back in the fold, and a fifth faction already planned — the grimdark is looking very good for September. Keep an eye on the Game News section; we’ll have more coverage as the launch approaches.

Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War 4 – Official Release Date And Content Roadmap Reveal Trailer — via GameSpot on YouTube