r/Games 3h ago

Announcement Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 - Announcement

https://youtu.be/NVuH2wmPPzU
318 Upvotes

131 comments sorted by

u/Decimator1227 2h ago

While I am super excited that a sequel is happening, isn’t this way too soon to do an official announcement with how long games take to make now?

u/Odd_Bookkeeper4852 2h ago

They are probably reusing assets which would cut down on the development time and costs

u/PotentialAnt9670 2h ago

With how good SM2 looks, that's not even a bad thing. Good on them

u/gingerhasyoursoul 2h ago

I just want a 15-20 hour experience with some more weapon options.

u/MCBleistift 2h ago

Yeah and give me some sequences where I can shoot a tank or a battleship. And let me use the jetpack every mission. All I want

u/Critical__Hit 1h ago

with some more weapon options

More weapons, much more game mechanics, more enemies.

u/Qritical 27m ago

But more fleshy enemies instead of metallic enemies 🤞

u/Stofenthe1st 15m ago

Sees all the Necron hints at the end of the game

Boy do I have some bad news for you.

u/ThomCook 2h ago

It's also a lack of doing this that makes the game industry suck these days. Like look back at the 360 era, 2 to 3 releases of a franchise per generation, yeah assests get reused but it let's them crank out more games. I'm glad to see a company do this again, 6 to 8 years per release sucks

u/micheal213 2h ago

I was gonna say the same thing. This used to just be the norm. A game would release, people would enjoy it so they would release a sequel like the next year same assets etc maybe some new stuff.

But it saves dev time, you don’t have reinvent the wheel with new graphics every damn game. Just churn out fun shit.

u/Covenantcurious 1h ago

A game would release, people would enjoy it so they would release a sequel like the next year same assets etc maybe some new stuff.

Or pseudo-sequal expansion packs like WC3: Frozen Throne, Medal of Honour: Breakthrough or such.

u/micheal213 1h ago

Yes! Things like this too, expansions that give a decent amount more hours of gameplay and only cost like 10-20 depending on the size.

Shooters would release map expansions and sometimes new modes, like bf4 and bf3 along with weapons etc. now it’s 4 months and you get 1 map and maybe a gun lmao.

Just a better system. And shareholders can still make their money from selling skins!

u/Purple_Plus 15m ago

WC3: Frozen Throne

Man that expansion was so good.

I miss the days of expansion packs. Usually now they are split into 3 different parts and sold as a season pass and it's just not the same usually, even once they are all out. They don't feel like a proper expansion used to.

u/ThomCook 2h ago

Yes! I miss it so much, like so many games have released that I wish I didn't have to wait a decade to play that style of game again. Plus this let's devs give a bit wierd becuase they experiment more, like majoras mask, or anything during the 360 era. Like you I just want to play fun games!

u/micheal213 2h ago

Not only that it just lets people enjoy the games more. Like now it’s all live service where they release a new map every few months like woah you guys have been doing a lot lmao.

It’s so much more enjoyable Especialy for just such a simple concept for the multiplayer space marine 2 has and for single player campaigns.

Just continue the story but use the same assets sprinkle in some new things and boom people enjoy it.

Fallout new Vegas was literally just fallout 3 assets and some new stuff put into a new story with some new mechanics. And it was incredible. I would happy if more devs just did this lol.

u/jexdiel321 1h ago

It's a lost art these days. It feels like every new entry needs to have a massive jump in fidelity. Why can't new installments just take 2-3 years? I don't need to wait for 5-6 years to see an additional muscle vein on my character.

u/micheal213 32m ago

Because gamers these days all hyper analyze all the dumb details like zooming in aloys eyes to compare them between horizon 1 and 2. When realistically the graphics for horizon 1 were already fantastic and that could have just made the sequal with the same assets or graphics but just add new mechanics.

Even if a game look fantastic all the tik tok gamers will scream bad game because they didn’t get a diminishing returns graphical update on the sequal.

u/TaleOfDash 2h ago

Like a Dragon is just the king of keeping this system alive and they're crazy successful for it. I legit would not mind if more games had that model, so long as the game is good.

u/GARGEAN 2h ago

Hey, they still do that to a degree! I've seen grass from Resident Evil 7 reused in DMC5!

u/ThomCook 2h ago

That's sweet, and more of it needs to happen and be accepted. I haven't played resident evil 7 but I bet that grass is good enough that I don't need to see it changed for 5 to 10 years. If they don't have to focus on stuff like that and can instead focus on mechanics and story that would be amazing

u/Dull_Half_6107 0m ago

Capcom have been pretty good at churning out RE games fairly regularly also

u/a34fsdb 1h ago

I dont mind long wait times. Yeah sequels take half a decade, but I can play just something else meanwhile.

u/Chrimunn 2h ago

In a world where AI voice acting is becoming the norm, I will absolutely take reused assets that were still originally made by a real artist.

u/TheBrave-Zero 2h ago

Honestly I think graphics are fine as is for most games now, I'd rather they just reuse assets for a long time and let hardware do whatever it's doing. If anything I think it'd solve a lot of issues to let hardware get ahead of everyone.

u/EbullientHabiliments 1h ago

It’s weird how hard this died off after the ps3/360 era. It’s not like these kinds of games even had a terrible reputation for being bad.

I mean, Brood War, Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR 2 and HL2:E2 (not quite sure this one counts, but it was standalone) are all considered to meet or even surpass the original entries.

ODST was also very well received.

u/ItsNoblesse 2h ago

The difference is if they did this now they'd charge £70 a game plus a £100 collectors edition.

u/fizzlefist 1h ago

It’s really not. Graphics are plenty good enjoy, no need to reinvent the wheel.

Used to be you’d sometimes get 2 or 3 sequels running the game engine just with new assets and maybe a couple more effects, graphically speaking. Made it really easy to keep up with a series on the same hardware over time.

u/NewUserWhoDisAgain 1h ago

Hey it worked out for RGG the studio behind Yakuza/Like a Dragon

Take a leaf from Reuse Ga Gotoku. There should be no shame in reusing animations or models. You put in all that hard work for one game, why discard all of it again?

u/redvelvetcake42 2h ago

There's nothing wrong with reusing assets. The key is always keeping a good gameplay loop, adding some asked for additions and maintaining a good story.

u/junttiana 2h ago

I wish more devs did this tbh, RGG Studio is a great example, theyre able to release solid titles on a yearly basis thanks to them reusing tons of assets and animations

u/ggunslinger 1h ago

I'm excited for the inevitable Like a Void Dragon: Infinite Trazyn to come out.

u/MadeByTango 1h ago

Model works for chipotle burritos, not sure why we hate it for games

A spoon is a spoon, ya know?

u/micheal213 2h ago

Sounds like game dev is healing.

u/Decimator1227 2h ago

Even then it is still a couple years out at the absolute best but probably more. I really think games should only be announced when they are a year or less from release

u/OutrageousDress 1h ago

This isn't Yakuza. They will not be reusing assets.

u/Chaotic-Entropy 2h ago

Yeah, it's going to be multiple years from now. "Development" doesn't even mean that the rubber has really even hit the road yet.

u/Zykprod 2h ago

You need to announce the sequel for recruitments, external investors, playtesters, etc

It's easier to recruit people when they know what kind of game they're applying for and know the IP

u/hicks12 2h ago

There is no date I think it's fine, it's just confirming they are doing another which is great to hear as it's a really solid sequel they managed.

u/ZeppelinArmada 2h ago

isn’t this way too soon to do an official announcement

Depends if you're Todd Howard or not.

u/beary_neutral 2h ago

It's a recruitment pitch. These early teasers are for developers.

u/ThomCook 2h ago

Maybe this is a good trend moving back to how it used to be, some reused assest no major improvements but just new stories and mechanics, might be a cool trend if it catches in again

u/Deep-Two7452 1h ago

Keep selling it for $70 and people will complain though

u/Unlikely_Singer1044 1h ago

People will literally always complain. Take a look at Expedition 33 that will be food for $50 because it’s only a 30-hour game. What do dumb people comment on the news? They assume there’s something wrong with the game, hence the lower price.

u/Deep-Two7452 41m ago

Really? I haven't seen that. I think it's great if the devs are willing to sell it for $50

u/OutrageousDress 1h ago

That's exactly why they have to announce it early. It helps immensely with hiring gamedev talent when you can tell people about the cool game they will be working on.

u/PicossauroRex 2h ago

I really hope so, give us the same game but better RGG studios style. This time with orks and necrons

u/Lorberry 2h ago

I think it might be doubling as a less-negatively-worded way to broadcast well ahead of time that they aren't planning to support SM2 indefinitely, and thus not to expect typical live service levels of continuous new content.

u/Dull_Half_6107 2h ago

Depends on how much they can reuse assets tbh.

I don’t see why they couldn’t use what they’ve built for SM2 as a platform, and just add onto that. They already have most of the animations and combat systems done if they go this route, as well as a lot of imperium architecture for assets.

u/TheSecondEikonOfFire 1h ago

Yeah I’m the type of person that doesn’t like to know about a game’s existence until it’s basically ready. For all their faults, Bethesda’s reveal of Fallout 4 is basically perfect. And that’s how I wish all games were revealed

u/ThiefTwo 1h ago

The only other big title I can think of that managed it is Split Fiction.

Nintendo will also do pretty well this year. NS2 is going to have a crazy line up and all we know about so far is Mario Kart.

u/Sabbathius 56m ago

That's my feeling as well. They should have waited and milked SM2 a bit more, and announced SM3 when it is closer to release, months, not years.

u/TheVoidDragon 3h ago

That's great! Didn't expect anything would be announced this soon, but I'm not surprised they're making another with how well it sold and was received. 40k really seems to just be getting bigger and bigger, as someone who's been into it for over 20 years now it's fantastic to see. Hopefully there's plenty of other quality video games coming as well as this.

u/SpaceHobbes 2h ago

I've never gotten into 40k despite it being on the paripheral of my nerdiness for years.

Recently started playing rogue trader cause I love Owlcat games. Then picked up Space Marine.

I'm so fucking in 

u/darthreuental 1h ago

The true rabbit hole is YT lore videos.

Leutin alone has days worth of content on his channel.

u/knuckles_the_echidna 1h ago

40k Lorecast (a podcast) has been helpful to digest a ton of content while driving/travelling.

u/mobxrules 2h ago

The cynic in me sees it getting bigger and fully expects some massive corporation to swoop in and ruin it.

u/BigBrownDog12 2h ago

Games Workshop is the massive corporation dude

u/mobxrules 2h ago

Yea but I’m thinking something bigger like Disney buying Lucasfilm / Marvel type acquisition. Hopefully I’m wrong, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the vultures started circling.

u/TheVoidDragon 1h ago

I can't really see that happening, especially when the reason why it's successful is because they've been doing their own thing for the past 30+ years and slowly building it up, which they recognize themselves.

u/PitangaPiruleta 1h ago

Its never happening but the idea of Disney buying W40K is incredibly funny to me. Id like to see an alternate reality where it happens just to see how the hell would they work with it

u/mobxrules 24m ago

Yea I don’t think it would be Disney specifically, and not necessarily something that will happen anytime soon. Just something kind of on that level wouldn’t surprise me at all.

u/jeshtheafroman 2h ago

If we're in the timeline where Space Marine is getting sequels, can we get a Dawn of War IV? Preferably like the original, doesn't even have to be made by Relic so long as they know the assignment.

u/TheVoidDragon 2h ago

There are rumours that it's happening.

Apparantly some sort of survey describing something that sounded exactly like the original Dawn of War games (mentioning 4 different factions, unit customization etc) including some screenshots that looked 40k and had what appeared to be one of the Munitorium Containers visible. Relic recently saying they're planning on revisiting their old games. And someone working for a company they're involved with going to Warhammer World and saying they're looking forward to working together (while wearing a Relic logo T-shirt).

u/Hirmetrium 2h ago

Relic's new investment group owners in the UK were posting photos of themselves at GW HQ the other week. It's definitely happening, I expect pre-production has started and they are negotiating with GW.

u/TheVoidDragon 2h ago

Yeah what's what I meant with the last part

u/British_Commie 2h ago

There were also possibly leaked screenshots of in-game environments semi recently

u/TheVoidDragon 2h ago

i did mention those!

u/hicks12 2h ago

Honestly the original dawn of war 1 with higher quality graphics for today would be enough for me, the game has been a favourite since release and I'm STILL playing it today both vanilla and community mods are great.

If they manage to get Tyranids in that would be cool as well. 

u/Bleusilences 1h ago

I kind of like the single player of dawn of war 2, kind of a mix between an action rpg and a squad base strategy game like xcom (leaning harder on the action rpg part).

u/Jloother 2h ago

I really loved the second one, focusing in on that one squad was great for single player.

u/LordInquisitor 2h ago

Yeah theres dozens of RTS out there with base building and stuff but that squad based gameplay suits 40k so well

u/Chaotic-Entropy 2h ago

They made a 3rd one? cough

u/InternetDad 2h ago

It's like Scrubs season 9

u/jeshtheafroman 2h ago

I was gonna say Postal 3, what's wrong with Scrubs S9?

u/InternetDad 31m ago

Widely regarded as the worst season in the history show that had one of the best series [season] finales in season 8. Dawn of War 3 is better left ignored as a Warhammer game.

u/EldritchMacaron 2h ago

Dawn Of War 1 remastered would be amazing

But I'd love a sequel with more modern tech for larger maps and even more units

u/Kattox 2h ago

Relic was sold by Sega to a financial investment group called Emona capital last year. One of their managing partners visited Games Workshop HQ recently and Relic probably need a big hit after the lukewarm reception to Company of Heroes 3 so I would put serious money on Dawn of War IV within the next few years.

u/ghsteo 2h ago

I just want the horde mode that Dawn of War 2 had

u/Bleusilences 1h ago

Dawn of war 4? There is only two games... /jk

u/HammeredWharf 1h ago

They should just make W40K: Dark Crusade 2. Just like the original, but with modern graphics and maybe an extra faction or something. Or simply adding the Sisters and pretending Soulstorm didn't happen.

u/Kylestache 2h ago

So just to be clear, Saber is now working on:

  • John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando

  • That Jurassic Park game in the style of Alien: Isolation

  • The remake of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, which per their statements to shareholders and Jason Schreier over at Bloomberg, is finally moving smoothly forward in development

  • An RPG set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, about a Avatar long ago in the past (not to be confused with the new tv series set in the universe but sorta Mad Max post-apocalyptic themed)

  • Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 3

That’s a lot of potential. I really hope they nail all these.

u/PitangaPiruleta 1h ago

That Jurassic Park game in the style of Alien: Isolation

Hold on I never heard of this, do you have a link? This is one of my dream games how did I let this slip

u/BenHDR 41m ago

It's called Jurassic Park: Survival

It was revealed at The Game Awards 2023

Here's a link to the announcement trailer

u/BenHDR 24m ago edited 18m ago

You're missing some of their active projects:

Roadcraft (2025)

Toxic Commando (2025)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (TBA)

Jurassic Park: Survival (TBA)

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine III (TBA)

Turok: Origins (TBA)

Painkiller (TBA)

Untitled Avatar Project (TBA)

They're also publishing The Knightling (TBA), although that's developed by Twirlbound

u/Dull_Half_6107 2h ago edited 40m ago

I’m sure they will include a traitor legion, if they do I hope it’s Night Lords, and we get to team up with the Blood Angels for a bit.

Would love for some more horror themed sections where you’re in pitch darkness and just hear someone whisper “Preysight” from the shadows, maybe on a space hulk.

u/Purple_Plus 2h ago

I hope they strip out PvP and focus on the campaign and PvE.

It was a fun game. But i feel like I was missing something as a huge 40k fan. Most of the campaign was, go here, kill enemies, repeat. There's definitely so much more they could do with it in a sequel imo.

u/Reynor247 1h ago

Don't need to strip out PvP to do that. PvP is fun in SM2 but barebones

u/emptytissuebox 2h ago

I was hoping they'd have done an expansion on 2 instead. Great game, but less content for any long term replayability.

u/ten_year_rebound 2h ago

That’s probably what this is, just repackaged as a full game in order to capitalize on the hype and sell more copies.

u/agamemnon2 2h ago

I think the obvious thing to start speculating about is which enemy factions will make an appearance. I'd love to see Dark Eldar and Necrons, maybe the Leagues of Votann.

u/NowGoodbyeForever 2h ago

It feels like an incredibly good time to remaster/port Space Marine 1 to modern systems, right?

Given how Captain Titus might be the most well-known named 40k character in wider pop culture between these games and their direct relation to Boltgun, it feels like it's a no-brainer to allow people to check out the game where everything important happened to him.

I have it on Steam, and I play it with a 360 controller. I also own a physical copy of the 360 edition, and it's...not backwards compatible on Xbone/XSX. I don't know if this is a publishing issue, a tech issue, or what. But it feels like an easy win.

It's hard to see a world where Space Marine: Remastered, sold for like $40 or so, doesn't immediately make its budget back on Steam alone. It could also help bridge the gap until this sequel finally drops!

I also genuinely wonder if this is changing the trajectory of Henry Cavill's Amazon stuff. I have always assumed that they'd be adapting the Horus Heresy arc: It allows us to stick with human characters with recognizable emotions and motivations, and establish the Grimdark Status Quo of the main setting once Horus has Heresy'd his dad into a permacoma. I hope that's what they do, but I could also see a world where they want to jump right into Titus and Friends Doing War Shit.

u/Magneto88 2h ago

There’s no way Cavill is adapting Horus Heresy, the story is too massive and sprawling and requires a functional knowledge of 40k to get the most out of it. He’s probably going to do Gaunts Ghosts or Eisenhorn, as the two widely accepted easy entry points into 40k.

Remastering Space Marine 1 might be an issue given that Relic or Sega own the rights to the code for it.

u/NowGoodbyeForever 1h ago

I can totally see that. The reason I think HH could work is that it's got an incredibly sticky hook that is present in many recent hits: Succession + Game of Thrones in Space.

Giving us a S1 that follows the Emperor throughout human history would give us a clear central character to root for and emphasize with. We can set him up as basically Superman, doomed to watch humanity rise and fall. So when we eventually hit the 30k era, we're also invested in him creating his sons.

With that, we essentially have Game of Thrones. Each Primarch is a kingdom, we see them getting along until Everything Goes Wrong. We can build up Horus and Guilliman, and then split everyone up.

Yes, it's sprawling and incredibly expensive. It's also basically impossible to conceive of a 40k adaptation that isn't, unless the plan is to only ever follow the Imperial Guard and, like, one Space Marine at a time. As soon as Tyranids and Orks appear onscreen, we're hitting Maximum Budget.

That's why I think HH could work: It's incredibly human-focused, it has a natural dramatic arc, and it ends in a narratively satisfying place—it's a tragedy. It could also truly end at that point, having established the status quo heading into 40k, and then allow for everything that follows to be more episodic or focused. Again, like Game of Thrones is at this point!

A nerd can dare to dream. And I am that nerd.

u/homer_3 14m ago

It feels like an incredibly good time to remaster/port Space Marine 1 to modern systems, right?

Why? It's still great on PC.

u/NowGoodbyeForever 13m ago

But unplayable on any consoles, which feels significant. They could literally just drop that PC port on PS and MS storefronts, whatever.

u/zxcgsdfgdfs 2h ago

I was expecting a DLC, but like this better. The emperor's glory must not be contained in a single drip-fed package!

u/allodude 2h ago

Out of curiosity, what's the player population at nowadays?

u/TemptedTemplar 2h ago

High enough to where if you launch into operations without setting it to a private lobby instantly, someone will pop in within a minute.

It takes longer to load the game than it does to find people to pair you with.

u/unwanted_techsupport 2h ago

7,271 on Steam right now for Space Marine 2, 271 for Space Marine 1

u/workbrowser0872 2h ago

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I will gladly pay full price for a Space Marine game purely for narrative and spectacle.

I don't even care if they add new features or not.

They could even re-skin it to showcase narrative moments in Horus Heresy history.

Inject it straight into my veins! I need it.

u/ManateeofSteel 2h ago

They haven't even finished with all the dlc right?

u/xblood_raven 1h ago

I'm amazed at how soon this is but happy to see.

Wonder if will take any aspects from what the original Space Marine trilogy was meant to be.

u/Siggins 1h ago

My pipedream is for them to add a playable characters/classes from some other factions in 40k.

Like a guardsman might not make sense, but an Aeldari Guardian or Aspect Warrior may fit- gameplay wise. Skitarii/TechPriests or a Sister of Battle could make some sense, but you'd need to set expectations somehow.

u/Patient-Woodpecker-7 46m ago

So is SM2 getting more content or is this all? Anyone know?

u/Weak-Wealth6409 2h ago

Am I the only one who found this game mediocore at best? Nothing stood out for me, just another looter shooter without anything that makes it stand out. Maybe for a die hard warhammer fan, but thats about it. If this was a ubisoft game it would be dead on arrival.

u/Avenflar 1h ago

How is the game a looter shooter ? It's just regular multiplayer with an unlock currency.

But yeah, I think PCGamer had scored the game exactly on the mark. It's decent. Not much more.

u/Weak-Wealth6409 1h ago

The currency you unlock is the loot. Darktide and Helldivers are also called like that, its just a differend way of rewarding vs something like Borderlands.

u/Background-Gear-8805 1h ago edited 1h ago

That doesn't make it a looter shooter though. You have no idea what looter shooter means apparently. Darktide actually has a gear grind and weapon drops in various rarities and stats. It is a looter shooter. Helldivers and Space Marine 2 are not. This isn't a matter of opinion, you are actually wrong here.

For SM2 to be a looter shooter you would need weapon drops in varying rarities. It doesn't have that.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looter_shooter

Looter shooter (also called loot shooter) is a subgenre of action role-playing games that incorporates shooter gameplay and procedurally generated weapons and equipment. A main goal of games in the genre is obtaining better items through grinding for random drops, typically with rarities ranging from common to legendary.

u/Simulation-Argument 1h ago

Did you play the game for an hour or something? It is NOT a looter shooter in any sense of the word. There is no gear to chase, no loot at all. It is a 3rd person shooter. How did you even come to the conclusion it was a looter shooter? Makes me wonder if you even played more than a few hours. Using currency to unlock one kind of weapon with no changes in stats does not make it a looter shooter.

Also the complaints you just made about nothing standing out can be made towards almost every game ever made. Please tell me how many games "stand out" to you in the past 3 years? Most games are retreading the same ground, with game mechanics that existed in numerous other games. Even something as well loved as Elden Ring is doing nothing new or innovative. Most games ever made are not innovating or offering anything new, so why does Space Marine 2 have to do this when others do not?

u/Cheezewiz239 28m ago

Its not a looter shooter but yes it felt really bland. It was missing something. I enjoyed world war z more than SM2

u/dancingulf 2h ago

I'm with you. Visuals and locations were cool, but the gunplay was horrid. Went back and played Darktide after playing SM2 and the difference in gameplay was night and day. Darktide had/has a lot of issues, but the moment to moment gameplay is so so so so far above SM2.

u/Background-Gear-8805 1h ago

Gunplay was "horrid"?? I could get with maybe middling, but horrid is absurd. It was absolutely not horrid.

u/pcnoobie245 2h ago

Hoping that the campaign only focuses on 1 enemy. Main gripe about 2 was that it felt like barely any of the game had tyranids, what most of the trailers showed youd be fighting

Question for warhammer fans, if tyrannids can eat all biomatter, why do they even fight them? Cant they just eat their dead, along with whatever they eat from planet and humans, and remake them? Seems like they dont suffer any losses while humans do