SpIN-OffS

The main game isn’t the only title set in the 40K universe

The 40K universe has been expanded numerous times through spin-off games. The first, Space Hulk, was released in 1989 and pitted squads of Space Marine Terminators against alien Genestealers – four-armed nasties with a dash of Giger’s Xenomorph in their creative DNA. Battlefleet

Gothic (1999) was a starship-based combat game, while Epic 40,000 was effectively

40K, but with 6mm infantry – allowing for vast squadrons of tanks, enormous Titan war machines and even worse eyesight in figure painters. Current spin-offs include the

Horus Heresy titles set 10,000 years earlier and the gang-based Necromunda. “so the good guys are really on the back foot. it’s a time of desperation – the barbarians are not just at the gates, they’ve broken through and are flooding the castle!”

But it’s not all bad news for mankind. alluded to in 40K lore for decades, but always as a thing of the past, some of the space marine Primarchs (the mighty founders of the original marine Chapters) have returned, who Kelly describes as “demi-gods on the battlefield”. the rank and file marines, meanwhile, have also had their first significant overhaul since the early ’90s.

30 years after Warhammer 40,000 first blasted and stomped their way into hobbyists’ lives, it feels like games Workshop have got their mojo back. you can imagine kids playing

40K again, not just 30-somethings with healthy bank balances, and Bickham says there’s been a direct attempt in the company to re-engage with the players. “We’ve got a community website, we have external playtesters, we’re talking to our customers and listening to their feedback. it’s really exciting.”

and while the game has come a long way since the Rogue Trader days, some things remain reassuringly the same. the space marines are tough, the eldar are shifty and everything looks better with a skull on it.