In the grim, dark present of the 2nd millennium, there exists a sleeping beast amongst science fiction. A distinctly British franchise that remains strong despite the many foes surrounding it. I am of course talking about the Warhammer 40k franchise and one of its several successful spin-offs, Dawn of War.
While not Games Workshop’s first attempt to branch out their flagship science-fiction franchise into other mediums, no one can really argue that it has become one of their biggest successes in recent history. The real-time strategy gurus at Relic proved that Homeworld was not a fluke and put their Impossible Creatures engine to good use with the original Dawn of War. Subsequently, with two hugely successful entries in the series already behind them, a third game is practically a given. What that third game could be about is a little less clear unless someone has a time machine they'd let me borrow. The following is some speculation based off previous games and Relic’s current projects:
- Dawn of War 3 will use the Company of Heroes 2 engine: This is probably a given since Dawn of War 2 used the original CoH engine. On the other hand, it also implies that any future DoW game will likely include some impressive weather effects. Gameplay videos and interviews thus far suggest that Relic is going to great lengths to simulate the infamous Russian winters that plagued the Eastern Front. That could make for some amazing ice and desert planets in DoW 3.
- The Blood Ravens may not be the main attraction: This is largely conjecture but thus far Relic’s homebrew Space Marine chapter has taken a serious beating even for a group of super-soldiers. They have lost three entire one-hundred-man companies by the beginning of DoW2, by the end of DoW2: Retribution one of their recruitment worlds had been reduced to glass, their chapter had been torn apart by civil war, and their home sector was still being battered by Orks, Tyranids, and Chaos. Then again, I could be wrong especially given how…
- Chaos will likely be the main antagonist of DoW3: Without spoiling too much for anyone who hasn’t played through any of the Retribution campaigns just yet, suffice to say it’s explicitly spelled out for players that Chaos will rise up once again.
None of this has been officially confirmed as of yet; DoW3 information has been unsurprisingly scarce as Relic is presently working on their other major franchise Company of Heroes. For information on Company of Heroes 2 and to stay informed of any new Dawn of War news, go over to the Relic website and visit the forums.
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