Space Marine 2 provides simply a slice of the Warhammer 40,000 setting, presenting the Ultramarines chapter of Space Marines towards two enemy factions: the Tyranids and the Thousand Sons traitor legion. This, its developer has mentioned, has led to some “assumptions” about the Warhammer 40,000 universe which might be unfaithful — assumptions which have grow to be widespread as a end result of the recreation’s big success.
Chatting with IGN at gamescom 2025, Tim Willits, growth chief at Saber Interactive, mentioned Space Marine 2’s recognition had opened the door to the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 setting for a military of new followers who aren’t essentially clued up about the intricacies of the universe.
“I heard that heaps of individuals now assume that Thousand Sons are the solely Chaos faction as a result of that is what we had in the recreation,” Willits mentioned, reflecting on Space Marine 2’s first yr.
“And so individuals are like, ‘Oh, I assume Thousand Sons, they’re Chaos.’ It is like, ‘Really no it isn’t.’ They’re truly simply a small faction. However individuals are similar to, ‘That’s the one I performed towards.’”
Certainly, there may be a lengthy listing of Chaos factions inside the setting. If there’s an antagonist of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, it’s most likely Abaddon the Despoiler’s Black Legion, who don’t function in Space Marine 2. Different traitor legions embrace the Loss of life Guard, the Emperor’s Kids, Iron Warriors, Evening Lords, World Eaters, Phrase Bearers, and the Alpha Legion. However then there are Chaos-aligned renegade Space Marine chapters, warbands, and smaller teams to cope with. Sure, it is a lot!
This assumption about Chaos extends to the Space Marines themselves. The Ultramaines — thought of the poster boys of the Warhammer 40,000 setting and the chapter utilized by Video games Workshop itself when introducing newcomers to the tabletop by way of starter units — are the protagonists of the Space Marine 2 marketing campaign, though many different factions can be found to play as in the PvE and PvP modes.
“Individuals have assumptions about the Warhammer 40,000 universe that aren’t appropriate,” Willits continued. “Like Thousand Sons being the solely Chaos faction. That is sort of humorous. And like, ‘Oh Space Marines are solely blue!’ That has been fairly humorous to be sincere, which is sweet for us.”
Certainly it’s good for Saber Interactive, which has seen the star of Space Marine 2, Lieutenant Titus, not solely grow to be an official half of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop recreation by way of his personal mannequin and datasheet, however immortalized by way of a star flip in the excellent Warhammer 40,000 episode of Amazon’s Secret Degree animated anthology.
Video games Workshop has benefited tremendously from Space Marine 2’s success as effectively, and never simply in phrases of licensing income. Anecdotally, workers at the firm’s shops report a flood of newcomers who cite Space Marine 2 as their entry level. Clearly hoping to capitalize on the curiosity, Video games Workshop just lately introduced the first ever formally licensed wearable Space Marine helmet — styled after Lieutenant Titus from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 of course.
One of the huge questions going into the already confirmed Space Marine 3 is whether or not Saber will enterprise past the Ultramarines and the Thousand Sons in phrases of the subsequent marketing campaign. The story appears to arrange the addition of the Necrons, which at this level most likely would not come as a lot of a shock for Space Marine 3. However may different Space Marine chapters additionally seem? Maybe different Chaos factions, too? We requested Willits about Space Marine 3, however he remained tight-lipped.
Try extra from IGN’s gamescom interview with Tim Willits to search out out why delaying Space Marine 2 was the smartest thing Saber ever did.
Wesley is Director, Information at IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You possibly can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.