The Developers of Dawn of War IV Hope It Will Be Become an Entry Point to Warhammer 40,000, Just Like the First Game Over 20 Years Ago

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV has a release date, fresh from the Warhammer Skulls 2026 showcase. And while we know the base game will be released this September, we also know what the roadmap of post-launch content and DLC for the following nine months looks like. The headline here is the addition of a fifth playable faction via a campaign expansion, but there’s much more to look forward to. To coincide with the release date announcement, I sat down for an interview with King Art Games creative director Jan Theysen and senior game designer Elliott Verbiest to dig into the roadmap, try my best to get juicy lore details, and ask about that fifth playable faction. And check out our roundup of everything announced at Warhammer Skulls 2026 to find out more on what's coming down the line. IGN: How is Dawn of War IV’s Crusade Mode different from how it worked in previous Dawn of War games? Jan Theysen: We can't go into all the details, but what we can definitely tease is that there's a little bit more to it than, for example, in Dark Crusade. What we make sure is that there is also really relevant gameplay on the World Map part. The Last Crusade mode was basically more or less like, ok