If you're still feeling salty about Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV being delayed until December 3, 2026, then don't fret, because the developers will be posting several gameplay deep dives to satiate us Warhammer 40,000 fans until then.
The first of these deep dives is a new battlefield report that shows a 15-minute match between the Necron and Ork factions in a 1v1 PvP game mode called Annihilation.
It was a fast-paced, chaotic match that showcased the unstoppable, near-immortal tankiness of the Necron army and how it slowly but surely weathered the aggressive, quantity-over-quality playstyle of the Ork army.
This gameplay deep dive also shows that the developers are incorporating player feedback, like making units more readable on the battlefield and adding a configurable match settings menu.
This menu will allow players to change various aspects of a match before fighting. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
- The HP, damage, and defense stats of units.
- The speed at which your army generates resources.
- How fast you capture Control Points.
- How much WAAAGH resources Ork players and Dominion resources Necron players start with.
- Whether or not to include a time limit.
There's more Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV videos to come this month
I'm not too versed in real-time strategy games, but having a multiplayer match-setting menu where players can have a gentleman's agreement to either buff or nerf their own units or their rivals' units to make matches challenging is an interesting concept.
Though I was more entertained seeing Orks getting curbstomped by Necrons because it's always entertaining that the monster factions of Warhammer 40,000 duke it out.
And there will be more entertainment in the coming weeks, as the developers are releasing two more Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV gameplay deep dives and battlefields for September 2026.
The next report will feature a 2v2 Team Domination game mode where all four factions (Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, and Adeptus Mechanicus) will duke it out, and it will be released on September 16, 2026.
After that will be a 2v2 Team Skirmish match where the developers team up against computer opponents whose AI will be set to hard difficulty settings.
Tune into those dates to see more exciting gameplay footage of this long-awaited return for the classic RTS franchise, before Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of IV launches on December 3, 2026 for PC via Steam.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
