Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV is launching with four factions, but KING Art Games is already planning to add more. In a new interview with ComicBook.com published recently, KING Art co-founder and creative director Jan Theysen confirmed that more playable factions are on the way after launch.
"Yes, we want to add more playable factions, and the first is already planned for the Aftermath expansion. We're keeping its identity to ourselves for now," Theysen said. He added that naming the team's favorites "would probably turn this into a much longer interview and give people far too much material for speculation."
Free Updates And A Level Editor Are Coming
The Aftermath Campaign Expansion is part of the game's Year 1 Expansion, which is listed on Steam alongside a Blood Ravens Story Prologue. Theysen also said the team is working on a set of free updates. Those include a Crusade Mode, more Skirmish and Multiplayer maps, and additional commanders for The Last Stand. "There will also be a Level Editor soon," he said.
Theysen was careful to point out that every new faction is a big job. Each one needs its own units, mechanics, animations, voices, and personality, and the studio wants any additions to feel as complete as the four launch factions.
Why The Adeptus Mechanicus Made The Cut
The launch lineup includes the Space Marines, the Orks, the Necrons, and the Adeptus Mechanicus. According to Theysen, two of those were never in question. "We knew we needed to start with the classics. You can't have a Dawn of War game without Space Marines and Orks. People would riot. I might join them," he joked.
The Necrons were picked because they fit the story on Kronus, and the team wanted at least one faction that had never been playable in the series before. That turned out to be the Adeptus Mechanicus. Theysen said their Noosphere Network lets them track enemy movement beyond the fog of war, while units like the Knight Castellan bring the heavy firepower fans expect.
Balancing Four Very Different Armies
Each faction was designed around its lore and the tabletop game. Space Marines are expensive and elite, Orks rely on numbers and aggression, Necrons are slow but hard to stop, and the Adeptus Mechanicus are organized and aware of everything on the battlefield.
Theysen said the goal is to get players to act like the army they are commanding. A heavily upgraded Space Marine squad is worth keeping alive, while Ork units get very cheap later in a match, so Ork players care more about keeping the green tide moving.
That makes balancing hard. "Balancing that is tricky because the differences are the point," Theysen said. "Win rates matter, but so does whether players understand why they lost and what they could have done differently." He credited internal matches and community tests for helping the team find the right balance.
For new players, Theysen suggested starting with Space Marines or Orks. Space Marines are tough and have fewer units to manage, while Orks have a simple game plan. "With Orks, 'make more Orks and keep attacking' is a surprisingly useful starting point," he said. Necrons and the Adeptus Mechanicus take more care early on, but they can punish opponents who give them time to build up.
The Combat Director Came From A Love Of Sync Kills
KING Art, which previously made the RTS Iron Harvest, built the game around base building, big armies, and fights over territory, the core elements of the first Dawn of War. Theysen admitted that living up to the original is tough, saying "we're always competing with the memories players have, not necessarily with the real thing!"
One of the biggest new features, the Combat Director, was never part of the original plan. Theysen said it "grew out of our love for sync kills and the desire to make battles feel more physical and connected," and was developed through experimentation by team members who kept pushing it forward.
When asked if the team has a favorite faction, Theysen kept it diplomatic. "If everyone picked the same faction, I'd be worried we'd done a bad job!" he said.
Dawn of War IV launches on PC on December 3rd, and Commander Edition owners can start playing on November 30th.
Which faction would you rather see added to Dawn of War IV first, the Eldar or Chaos Space Marines?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.