Dawn of War is again! Relic Leisure has introduced Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Definitive Edition, an up to date model of its beloved real-time technique sport first launched over 20 years in the past. As an enormous fan of the unique 2004 sport, I simply needed to discover out extra past the debut trailer, under. So, like a well-trained Inquisitor, I tracked down design director Philippe Boulle and quizzed him on this most welcome of grimdark revivals.
Boulle began at Relic in November 2005, and his first mission was Dawn of War’s second enlargement pack, Darkish Campaign. He went on to work on Dawn of War: Soulstorm, Dawn of War 2, Dawn of War 2: Chaos Rising, Area Marine, Firm of Heroes 2, Dawn of War 3, and Age of Empires 4. Briefly, he’s been with Relic for a very long time and he’s labored on Warhammer 40,000 video video games for a very long time.
So, who higher to disclose what precisely has modified for Dawn of War Definitive Edition? We additionally gushed over Dawn of War’s iconic opening cinematic, and, of course, I needed to ask about Dawn of War 4. And if you happen to want a catch-up on every little thing introduced at Warhammer Skulls 2025, we have got you lined.
(*20*)IGN: Folks have been asking for Dawn of War to return again for years, which I’m positive you and Relic had been effectively conscious of.
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Properly, we’re completely satisfied to have the ability to do it! Primarily as we entered our section as a extra unbiased studio, we had a dialog with Video games Workshop that successfully was the Spider-Man meme of each of us like, ‘Hey, you already know what could be cool?’ So we’re actually psyched to have the ability to carry again traditional Dawn of War in a Definitive Edition.
(*20*)IGN: Was it one thing that you just approached GW with? How did it truly come about?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: The very very first thing we did internally was ask a number of engineers to check out the code and make sure that we might nonetheless construct the sport from the supply code. Is there something that is simply outright stopping this from taking place? And as soon as they received that up and operating, we had a dialog with Video games Workshop and we had been each like, ‘Hey, we wish to do that.’ ‘That is good, as a result of we wish to do that too.’ And from there it was simply, alright, let’s dig in and determine what one of the best ways to do that is in a manner that can carry worth to the participant base, but additionally respect that traditional gameplay and traditional basis.
(*20*)IGN: It was a THQ sport proper again within the day. The emblem is seared into my reminiscence! I by no means actually absolutely understood what occurred to Dawn of War. Clearly Sega was concerned with the final one. Did you guys take Dawn of War with you if you went unbiased?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: When THQ dissolved, THQ had — I’m positive there are authorized particulars that I’m lacking — however had primarily a grasp licence for 40K video video games on the time. And as soon as THQ went by Chapter 11, that licence ended. And so Video games Workshop regained the flexibility to license video video games.
After which Relic was acquired by Sega, and then Sega and Relic negotiated a renewal of the RTS portion of that licence. We did not do a giant grasp licence, we did a licence for the video games we had been producing. After which as Relic left the Sega umbrella, there was a transition interval the place we labored with Sega and we labored with Video games Workshop to protect the flexibility to have the again catalog nonetheless obtainable on Steam and then transfer ahead with this Definitive Edition.
(*20*)IGN: Properly I’m glad it was capable of occur, no matter route it took.
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Me too! And I have to present a shout out to Video games Workshop for having religion and confidence in us. Clearly we have had an extended relationship with them, however they might have chosen to go a distinct path. It means rather a lot that they needed to proceed working with us.
(*20*)IGN: It appears to be like such as you’ve mentioned, ‘We wish to contact this up and make it fashionable from a playability level of view,’ versus altering the best way the gameplay works. I get the sense you needed to make it play the identical however work higher. Is {that a} honest evaluation?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: That’s completely a good evaluation. After we had been evaluating whether or not we needed to do that, the very first thing we did clearly was play the sport because it existed and attempt to come at it with contemporary eyes. Two issues had been very clear to us. One, the gameplay stood up, it nonetheless was enjoyable, nonetheless was participating. It was quirky in a manner as a result of it was made 20 years in the past, so some choices had been completely different than if you happen to had been making a brand new sport proper now. However that was half of its appeal. We actually did not wish to mess with that.
After which the opposite factor is there have been these bizarre hoops that you just wanted to leap by and in some circumstances that you just could not tackle. In the event you play the unique Dawn of War, and I consider Winter Assault, they play in 4:3 facet ratio. And even Darkish Campaign and Soulstorm play in 16:9, however by stretching the 4:3. That does not really feel nice. And there is these bizarre profiles that it’s a must to arrange and a bunch of different issues that had been simply getting in the best way of taking part in a sport that actually nonetheless stood the check of time.
After which we had been additionally conscious that there have been a bunch of choices made on the time to accommodate efficiency constraints that did not exist anymore. So the digicam’s actually shut, so you may’t truly see very a lot of the map. We needed to protect the intimacy of the sport, however we discovered that if we backed the digicam out just a bit bit, you bought a bit bit extra respiratory room, you might see your base multi functional display. Within the authentic, if you happen to’re taking part in Orks and you construct a bunch of Boyz, your squads of 12 or 15 or no matter it’s, you’ve got three of them, they do not all match on-screen anymore. And in order that was one thing we might tackle. And the opposite factor is we checked out what modders have been doing for the final 20 years and pulling the digicam out was one thing they nearly universally had finished, so we undoubtedly took a cue from them.
(*20*)IGN: So you may pull the digicam out!
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Properly we simply have the default digicam additional again than it was earlier than.
(*20*)IGN: Yeah, that is thrilling. It is wonderful how one thing as innocuous as pulling the digicam again is so thrilling for a sport like Dawn of War.
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Yeah, completely.
(*20*)IGN: Okay, however it would play the identical? You have not rebalanced it, you have not modified the best way any mechanics work?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: No. After we discover bugs or issues that by no means labored for no matter cause, we’ve got been addressing that. There is a handful of maps the place the multiplayer maps, the place the information was arrange that the Slag Deposits (the locations the place you may construct a Thermo Plasma Generator) simply did not present up. And so these maps by no means had these. So we have restored these.
I got here to Relic to work on what turned Darkish Campaign, so in some circumstances I am going again and fixing typos that I made 20 years in the past, which is each thrilling and embarrassing on the identical time.
(*20*)IGN: Something dangerous? I by no means observed something!
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Nothing horrible! However apparently 20 years in the past I did not understand that to be assured and to have a confidant had been truly spelled in a different way. So there’s a number of moments the place I was like, ‘Oh, okay, yep, yep, I’m glad to be catching it now.’
(*20*)IGN: I guess the Warhammer followers observed!
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Oh, Warhammer followers are wonderful and they’ve been so good to us through the years and to Dawn of War in a really possible way. The modding group, the fan group, they’ve turn out to be the stewards of the unique Dawn of War. There are 20 years of wonderful mods, and that was one more reason for us to not… we did not wish to break every little thing. We needed these mods to nonetheless be workable within the Definitive Edition. So on day one you may set up these mods and they may work. They will not take benefit of every little thing that’s new within the Definitive Edition, however they may work, they will be playable, they may look pretty much as good as they ever did, and modders can completely then replace to tie in to the brand new options.
(*20*)IGN: Warhammer 40,000 is having an actual second, is not it?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Oh yeah.
(*20*)IGN: I cannot keep in mind a time when it has been greater. Area Marine 2 was huge. Amazon’s Secret Stage episode I actually loved. There’s all kinds within the works, and the tabletop simply appears greater than it is ever been. Was half of your interested by why now versus any time up to now the place it was like, ‘If we do not do it now, we’d not catch this wave that’s taking place?’
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Warhammer 40K, Warhammer extra usually have been going from power to power for the final a number of years and so clearly that performs into it. It helps give us the arrogance that there is a mass of individuals . Folks trying to find ‘greatest Warhammer sport ever made,’ the unique Dawn of War remains to be excessive up on that listing. In order that was one more reason; individuals are nonetheless making that search, they’re nonetheless discovering the unique Dawn of War. It will be nice in the event that they did not have to leap by the assorted bizarre technical hoops and we had been capable of give them a sport that did not have these bizarre limits. In order that was actually the place the considering got here from. We now have been followers of the sport clearly for the final 20 years and there’s this constant modding and taking part in group ever since. So yeah, it simply made sense. So long as we felt we might ship a product that delivered high quality to the fan base, that revered that traditional gameplay, then that was what we needed to do.
(*20*)IGN: The first Dawn of War is the apparent place to begin, however it is usually the one the core followers all the time level to as a result of it’s extra of a conventional RTS, is not it? It is received greater armies, the bottom constructing. I love Dawn War 2 for what it’s and I know it is barely completely different, however the first one is the best place to begin as a result of it’s that one that’s all the time held up as not only one of one of the best 40K video games, however truly one of one of the best RTS video games.
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Yeah. It actually has stood the check of time. I too love Dawn of War 2. I spent rather a lot of years engaged on numerous facets of Dawn of War 2. However on the time when Dawn of War got here out, there undoubtedly had been issues that it was doing that had been completely different and non-traditional, proper? The manner it dealt with squads, the best way it did sync kills, the best way it dealt with resourcing and financial system had been very completely different from the video games of the time. However as issues have continued to evolve, of the Dawn of Wars it’s the one that’s most in that traditional mould. However that traditional mould exists for a cause, proper? It actually hit a pleasant steadiness in combat-forward gameplay. There is not any one chopping wooden within the forty first millennium because it had been. However it nonetheless had rather a lot of that RTS counter-play and rather a lot of that simply actually enjoyable gameplay, and it is actually stood the check of time. So we needed to honor that on this Definitive Edition.
(*20*)IGN: It is also curiously timed as a result of RTS as a style has fallen away a bit bit. However I’ve received an actual craving to return to Dawn of War. So I surprise if it is truly fairly good timing simply because individuals aren’t making this type of sport anymore and it is not precisely a crowded market on the market.
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Yeah, I imply I have lived by six or seven deaths of the RTS I would say, and we’re nonetheless right here. And the opposite factor is many of the traditional RTSs are both nonetheless solely playable or have been remastered or re-released over the past 5 or 10 years. So there’s all kinds of video games which can be playable. And similar to the unique Dawn of War got here out at a time when there have been rather a lot of these video games playable, our Definitive Edition is popping out at a time when there’s extra in the marketplace. However its explicit mixture nonetheless stands up as one thing with its personal charming quirks, its personal spin on the assorted formulation. It actually happy that ‘bringing the tabletop to life’ expertise and it nonetheless very a lot does that. Proper now it has the added spin of bringing a tabletop sport that has continued to develop and develop to life. So it’s a bit of a time capsule to 40K within the center aughts.
(*20*)IGN: So Roboute Guilliman isn’t round, proper?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Yeah, that is fourth version 40K mainly. So Imperial Guard is Imperial Guard and Eldar are Eldar and Necrons do not discuss. Not that any of these modifications are issues I dislike. I completely love grandiose Egyptian Necrons, however the Necrons of that point had been extra of these dusty silent sorts who simply had been clawing up out of the bottom and it actually captured that at the moment.
(*20*)IGN: Grimdark when it was grimdark.
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Yeah, positive.
(*20*)IGN: My phrases! With the sync kills, had been you tempted to return in there and possibly spice ’em up a bit or possibly add some extra?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: As we’re going by the models, we’re ensuring these are there and there’s situations the place we’re like, ‘I do not suppose this ever fairly labored proper, we will tweak it a bit bit to verify the visuals are offered.’ However it actually was so efficient on the time, and as we enhance the decision of the artwork and enhance the lighting and enhance the shadowing, all that simply helps these issues pop much more. So heaps extra Orks are going to be crushed in Dreadnaught fingers and so forth.
(*20*)IGN: I used to zoom in for these bits! I used to strive and get a extremely good have a look at them, they had been so cool. The opening cinematic is within the trailer. I keep in mind loving that a lot. You have a look at it now, clearly it’s dated in phrases of the animation high quality, and particularly within the context of current 40K animations which have raised the bar. However nonetheless, I watch it now and the hairs on the again of my neck stick up, particularly when the Dreadnaught is available in for the clutch.
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Yeah. It was an incredible accomplishment on the time in phrases of the constancy. We actually hadn’t seen that for 40K at the moment, and it actually stood up as one thing that might attain out and seize you and say, ‘Hey, that is superior. It’s worthwhile to listen.’ And it’ll nonetheless be within the sport. It will likely be taking part in in stunning 4K.
The factor that amazes me about it once we look again at it’s the directing actually holds up. That I suppose is the undervalued key to it. For the time the rendering was phenomenal, however what actually holds up is the pacing, the drama, the ending on this man operating up the hill and getting shot, planting that flag and the drop pods coming down… that simply works and that did not want any altering clearly. That simply was like, ‘Oh yeah, that is the stuff.’
(*20*)IGN: So the Blood Ravens are canon, proper?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: After all!
(*20*)IGN: There’s Blood Raven stuff in Area Marine 2. I cannot consider that it crossed the streams!
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: We had a bit cameo of them within the authentic Area Marine. That was actually great. It’s a actual privilege to have been capable of inform tales for one thing that has turn out to be an necessary half of 40K lore, particularly for individuals who got here to it by Dawn of War. I nonetheless have a Blood Ravens military and nonetheless love them. So yeah, that is actually nice.
(*20*)IGN: Historically in gaming, when a remaster of an extended misplaced or dormant franchise occurs, there is a cause to rekindle the franchise within the minds of the gaming public. It’s a stepping stone, a cause for it to occur as half of a grander plan. What’s the dream? What are you hoping to realize with Dawn of War as half of that?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: Actually, I’m centered on the Definitive Edition, and the dream for the Definitive Edition is to honor and have a good time that traditional expertise and carry it to individuals who most likely could have heard of it not directly, however both got here of age after it had its second or tried it however bumped into these technical points I was speaking about, or simply by no means actually had the sense that there could be different individuals to play with or no matter, and simply carry them in.
And subsequent to them, clearly it is the individuals who performed it again within the day, have been nonetheless taking part in it, and we wish them to return again to it and say, ‘Sure, that is the Dawn of War that I keep in mind.’ You come again to it and it is like, sure, that is how I keep in mind it, even when I’m truly remembering it as increased constancy than it truly was again within the day. That is the expertise I’m getting. That is actually what this one is all about.
(*20*)IGN: And of course, I should ask, is Dawn of War 2 subsequent? What about Dawn of War 4?
(*20*)Philippe Boulle: I can solely discuss what we have introduced thus far and that is what we’re centered on.
Wesley is Director, Information at IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You may attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.