Total War Warhammer 40,000 has quickly become one of the most highly-anticipated upcoming titles, and it doesn't even have a release date yet.
It has only been over a month since Total War Warhammer 40,000 was first revealed to the world during The Game Awards 2025, but the hype for the game has already reached astronomical levels as it just hit over one million wishlists on Steam. Developer Creative Assembly announced the milestone on social media, saying “We are beyond grateful and unbelievably excited to share more with you all in the coming months, so be sure to keep an eye on our social media channels!”
While Steam doesn't publicly release official wishlist numbers, Total War Warhammer 40,000 is already among the list of top wishlisted games on the platform, alongside the likes of Deadlock, Subnautica 2, and Resident Evil Requiem.
What is Total War Warhammer 40,000?
Total War Warhammer 40,000 marks the first foray into the grimdark, science-fantasy universe of Warhammer 40,000 for the Total War series, known for its unique blend of turn-based strategy campaigns and massive real-time battles.
Total War Warhammer 40,000 will be in the modern setting of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game: the Era Indomitus, where the reborn Primarch Roboute Guilliman leads the Indomitus Crusade to reclaim the losses suffered by the Imperium of Mankind from the opening of the Great Rift, by Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade.
At launch, players will be able to take control of four factions: the Space Marines, Astra Militarum (Imperial Guard), Aeldari (Eldar), and Orks. While those four factions are only a fraction of those available on the tabletop game, we can expect more to be released in the form of DLC. Combat will primarily take place on the ground, though space fleets are also expected to play a pivotal role in the campaign. It remains to be seen if the game will have space battles, however.
Players are also able to customise their armies and warriors as they see fit, just like in the tabletop. Creative Assembly has already listed colours, iconography, combat philosophy on both campaign and battles, tactical abilities and wargear, as well as signature traits as fully customisable aspects within the game.
But by far the most intriguing gameplay aspect for Total Warhammer 40,000 is its scale. After all, Total Warhammer 40,000 is set in the entire Milky Way galaxy. In a Game Vision Developer Roundtable video shortly after the game's announcement, Creative Assembly said Total War Warhammer 40,000 will allow players to oversee campaigns of varying scale. These so-called ‘Crusade Theaters’ can range from wars waged over control of just one hive city, up to a planet, star systems, and even entire sectors of the galaxy.
This is not the first time that Creative Assembly has worked closely with Warhammer 40,000 creator Games Workshop to bring Warhammer to life. Back in 2016, the Total War series first stepped into the realm of fantasy with Total War: Warhammer, which is set in the universe of Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Total War: Warhammer has since grown into a sprawling trilogy, with Total War: Warhammer III releasing in 2022 and still receiving continued support in the form of DLCs.
During the Total War series' 25th anniversary showcase in early December 2025, Creative Assembly revealed the “Lords of the End Times” DLC for Total War: Warhammer III will be coming in Summer 2026, and that the long-awaited Total War: Medieval III is already in early development.
