First Warhammer 40K MMO details

By Oli Welsh Published 9 April, 2008

RPG, guns, races, scrolls, hulks, more.

The new issue of the UK's PC Gamer magazine has published the first details of THQ's massively multiplayer Warhammer 40K game. Not bad going, considering it's still years away.

The game, it transpires, is definitely an RPG at its core. But although it's no MMOFPS it's still firefight-focused, and borrows heavily from the holy trinity of tactical shooter mechanics: cover, suppressive fire, and flanking. Sounds a bit like Tabula Rasa to us.

Combat will apparently take place on a larger scale than in EA Mythic's fantasy MMO, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Since Mythic is anticipating raid sizes of 70 players or so for city sieges in WAR, this is a pretty bold claim.

"All of the races important to Warhammer 40,000 lore (not to mention the fans) will be represented," creative director Joe Madureira reassured the magazine.

He also confidently stated that there will be "tons of stuff hanging off your character, weapons, scrolls... we are going to have the coolest looking characters of any MMO, ever. Once we begin releasing images, feel free to call me on that."

Again, this is fighting talk, after the astonishing demonstration of the characters in All Points Bulletin given at this year's GDC.

Finally PC Gamer provides some unsurprising but none the less enticing detail on the world players will find themselves in: "cities, alien temples, Chaos shrines, deserted battlefields (er, woo?), mysterious ruins, ancient structures, and - here's the cool one - 'drifting hulks in space'."

Warhammer 40K Online is in development at THQ's Vigil Games studio in Austin.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Squire #1 4 years ago

    Internet > magazines

  • Setaro #2 4 years ago

    If they try and do it by the 40k fluff (lore) it won't work. Unless all the Imperials are playing as Inquisitors or other forces that work alone, there's no reason that would explain solo play and still go by the fluff. Even parties wouldn't make sense unless it was a small team of Witch Hunters or something, as Imperial guard/Space Marines etc go around in large armies.

  • Tzetrik #3 4 years ago

    No reason you can't have NPC friendlies though. I expect the combat will rely on squad mechanics, but the usual rpg stuff could be solo.

    In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war. And 60 levels of fetch quests.

  • DoomedSeraph #4 4 years ago

    The world needs more sci-fi MMOGs and I've always been a fan of 40k ... I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

  • Gurrah #5 4 years ago

    As much as I love Warhammer, doesn't matter if we're talking about 40k or the classic one, I just don't see it succeed as a MMO and here's why: Raid's of 70 people? That's pathetic! Depending on the race, armies use that many miniatures in 2-3 squads/battalions. Not everyone can be a Ork boss, and let's face it, who want's to play the part of a Gretchin. Not me that's for sure - after being beaten up by your Ork 'brothers' you get torn to pieces by a heavy bolter or even a bolt-pistol for that matter. The Warhammer universe practically lives off of cannonfodder and who want's to play as cannonfodder.

  • Schiraman #6 4 years ago

    Making this game an RPG instead of an FPS is idiotic and a huge missed opportunity.

  • ZuluHero #7 4 years ago

    not in terms of MMO its not...

    and didn't Joe Madureira do the battle chasers comics in the 90s that HE NEVER FINISHED!! }:(

    That doesn't fill me with hope of this ever completing ;)

  • TriggerHippie #8 4 years ago

    "Making this game an RPG instead of an FPS is idiotic and a huge missed opportunity."

    Totally agree. A Planetside/BF approach to this would have been great. Instead we get to bring 450 Cultist ears to some guy at level 3. Can't wait for that.

  • Tzetrik #9 4 years ago

    "Making this game an RPG instead of an FPS is idiotic and a huge missed opportunity".

    Perhaps, but it doesnt mean there won't be other 40k licensed games. I'd rather someone with a decent shooter heritage made that game.

  • Paleface #10 4 years ago

    "All of the races important to Warhammer 40,000 lore (not to mention the fans) will be represented,"

    Queue much bitching about Tyranids, no doubt.

  • anomagnus #11 4 years ago

    @Schiraman

    40k is more than guns you know

    making the game an fps would have totally and utterly WASTED 25 years of fluff and excellent background material

  • Ceatlan #12 4 years ago

    The original Warhammer 40000 game was only squad based combat (this was many years ago), so that could be succesfully ported to this type of MMORPG. Its only fairly recently that it was modified to epic army scale battles.

  • moskiitto #13 4 years ago

    What I want to see is that there wont be any factions. No Alliance vs. Horde or "Light vs. Darkness". Its everyone versus everyone, team deathmatch.
    Also I doubt we will see Necrons and Tyranids as playable. I think Space Marines, Tau, Eldar, Ork, Dark Eldar and Chaos Space Marines will be playable ones.

  • Paleface #14 4 years ago

    40k is more than guns you know

    Yes, it's also SWORDS WITH CHAINSAWS ON THEM AS WELL.

  • Chaser #15 4 years ago

    TBH i expect they are going down the route of following the original 40k rules - that of Rogue Traders. See this line for more info. There are going to be so many different ways they can go, will be interesting to see what they choose.

  • LPXO #16 4 years ago

    There is so much scope for this in terms of design, I can't see how anyone can write it off this early.

  • M83J01P97 #17 4 years ago

    Sounds a bit like Tabula Rasa does it? Let's hope that's all it has in common with that particularly dire MMO.

  • Fugazi #18 4 years ago

    "Raid's of 70 people? That's pathetic!"
    Then go develop new server hardware. Also they can already handle like 200 vs 200 but cannot like 1000 vs 1000.

  • Nasty #19 4 years ago

    pleasedontsuckpleasedontsuckpleasedontsuck

  • Eraysor #20 4 years ago

    There better be fucking Tyranids.

  • YourMessageHere #21 4 years ago

    I always imagined that this would revolve around controlling a squad, rather than a single character; WH40,000 is so squad based I'm really surprised to see them talking about "your character".

    It's always surprised me that THQ haven't leapt on the bandwagon and gotten themselves some kind of WH40,000 Battlefield clone; the format is after all perfect for the setting. Then again, Fire Warrior may have convinced someone important that WH40,000 FPS is basically not a viable idea.

  • DFawkes #22 4 years ago

    I'm really looking forward to this, especially if they're honest about all the major races, as I can be a Necron. It'll be the closest thing to being a Terminator (from the movie, not 40k Terminators) I'll ever manage.

  • Kostabi #23 4 years ago

    I think it'd work on some levels if they borrowed the NPC heroes idea from Guild Wars.

    Playing as an Inquisitor with an NPC retinue hunting some other player accused of being a heretic could be fun. A bit like bounties in EVE, but with more burning and incantations.
    Edited by 1 at 09/04/08 @ 19:33

  • jlaakso #24 4 years ago

    I would love them to give me a squad to build and lead. That would rock, and work so much better in the 40K context than lone heroes. Maybe a sort of Mass Effect-ish approach.

    But FPS - why on Earth? Melee has always been a bigger deal in 40K than guns.

  • DFawkes #25 4 years ago

    As an FPS, I thought W40k didn't really work - it felt too generic. Even more well implemented than Fire Warrior, I can't see how it wouldn't feel like a cut-price Halo or Call of Duty 40k. Although for the record, I would totally buy Call of Duty 40k.

    As an MMO, with the emphasis on Melee, it could be good. Kind off like being a Hunter in WoW, you could use a Boltpistol for a bit, run up and Power Fist some Ork face :) Although it'd be generic too. This'll be one to watch.

  • eltharion #26 4 years ago

    i just hope that the designers wont succumb to the pressure of making a generic mmorpg: including healthbars.
    this is why it cant work with 40k, the board game got the right idea. eg if you got hit by a railgun to the face, you wouldnt be getting back up too soon. but if it was like wow: "oh, i lost 1000hp, doesnt matter, ive got 99999998999 left (hacks tau player down).
    I hope they've considered putting the rules from 'inquisitor' into it. then it might give the tau player a chance. that was also the major fault of dow. close combat always beat shooting........
    which it really shouldnt. I mean, has anybody seen that bit from indiana jones? guy does amazing sword skills and then indiana just blows him away? excellent.
    Edited by 1 at 03/06/08 @ 18:09

  • knallpulver #27 4 years ago

    This Game Will Not Only Have 70 Man Raids !! Read plz, They Said Mythics Warhammer online ( Not 40k) will have 70 man raids!

    And another thing some of you have missed, It's NOT a FPS game, have you even read the article ? "But although it's no MMOFPS it's still firefight-focused, and borrows heavily from the holy trinity of tactical shooter mechanics: cover, suppressive fire, and flanking"


    I Just want to say that I like the idea of this game alot and love that they are going a different way then other MMO's.
    It would be cool if you could hide behind materials and other stuff, another cool thing would be if you have shooting weapons for range and when you're close you could use swords and other stuffs that's in the 40k.
    Edited by 2 at 22/06/08 @ 09:09

  • Unconquered #28 2 years ago

    This looks like it is going to be great. It looks great, "all races" looks like a pleaser for anyone, and it has the right platform for the history of the world it's going to be set in. However says this should have been a FPS doesn't really know much of the table top game to know what they are talking about; their would be so much potential lost in a FPS. If you want a FPS with this setting, then wait for THQ's Space Marine game. This game, as of right know, is as it should be and we should love it. Hopefully, they don't mess this up because I can't wait for those 3 years to pass.

    Also, after watching the video closely and watching a dev-video I think that I see IG, Orks, Space Marines, Chaos-Space Marines, and maybe Daemons (not too sure yet) as playable. And, if you look closely, I am rather sure I have seen some some characters in squads, such as IG, and others solo.
    Edited by 1 at 08/07/10 @ 09:05