Total War: Warhammer 40,000 wants to be "the seminal Warhammer 40K game," says its devs, who sell me in just 8 words: "You can customize the fingers on Space Marines!"

Depending on how much time you've clocked in at the rumor mill, Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is either the worst-kept secret in gaming or one of 2025's most mind-blowing reveals. Either way, the news is out: here is a revolutionary step into sci-fi territory for Total War, taking the strategy series into the stars with a remarkably bold vision for capturing the vastness of 40K's setting.

While visiting Creative Assembly, Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is on the tip of every developer's tongue. Those on the technical side marvel at what the studio's new Warcore engine is already achieving, from strafing units to destruction physics, while developers working on the game itself boast of being able to conquer sky-scraping hive cities and customize Space Marines' fingers.

Still, few are as animated as Simon Mann (product owner – campaign design) and Andy Hall (principal narrative designer). Sitting down to discuss all things Total War: Warhammer 40,000, the pair's enthusiasm is immediate – and as they unveil the true scope of their game's ambition, their excitement proves infectious.

What is your duty?

Since the earliest days of Total War: Warhammer, fans have wondered if Creative Assembly could tackle 40K. For my own part in those musings, I've always wondered how the physical dynamic would work. Guns in Total War are nothing new – Skaven were given miniguns and snipers as early as Total War: Warhammer 2 – but in 40K, where melee and sidearms are more commonly interchangeable, the series' traditional front-to-back battle lines are a little harder to imagine.

Creative Assembly has approached the task by blending Total War's signature formula with inspiration from 40K's tabletop game. The ranged and melee structuring is still in place, but has been changed to feel more dynamic and hybrid. Soldiers will be able to use cover on the battlefield, and individual characters within one unit can be equipped uniquely.

"Like you'd expect in the tabletop game, a unit of your warriors isn't just made up of one unit type. It's not the same person: they've got different specialists, different weapon styles," Mann explains, pointing to Space Marines as an example. "If you play the tabletop, a sergeant with an intercessor squad is armed with a chainsword and bolt pistol. They're good in both melee and ranged."

These loadouts can be changed by players, from picking their weapon loadouts to even more in-depth customization via a fully-fledged unit painter. Neither Mann or Hall seem phased by the balance of power between ranged and melee combat. The confidence brings to mind Total War: Warhammer, which prompted fears – since proven unfounded – over how flying units, godlike beings, and spellcasting would gel with the once exclusively historical series.

As the pair explain how battles will work, my own fears are put to rest. In fact, keeping Total War's battle dynamic intact seems like small beans when you look at Total War: Warhammer 40,000's broader ambitions. Rather than creating a microcosm of the universe – say, setting the game on one planet – the campaign map will take place across the galaxy.

Some elements of 40K lend themselves to Total War naturally: as Mann points out, individual tabletop sorties are similar in nature to Creative Assembly's real-time battles, moments of action within a bigger picture. But achieving a galaxy-wide campaign is something far beyond the series' usual wheelhouse. As Total War: Warhammer 40,000 took form, its scale soon became apparent.

One planet became several planets. Several planets became a solar system. A solar system became the entire galaxy.

"You're fighting across multiple planets, multiple frontlines. Engaging in battles against one another. All these things are part of the IP – really, this is an uncaring universe," says Mann. "That little battle means nothing to the grand scheme of things. So we went, let's take that a layer up. Let's go even further. Let's say this place you were fighting, this flashpoint, is part of a grander campaign. So we're now [working at a] galactic level and saying 'Yeah you won that campaign, well done, this is your territory. You own this. But there are more campaigns to fight'. There are bigger stakes at play here than just a single campaign or battle to play through."

Nailing that scope is "the only way" Creative Assembly felt it could be authentic to 40K, says Mann. That big picture lens extends beyond even Total War's traditional campaigns. "Every campaign you play, there is a meaning to it," he explains. "There's bigger context. It's not just 'I've won this campaign, that was fun'. It's 'I've won the campaign. We have this territory. We've conquered this location. We are now able to push further into this area of the galaxy and play through that way.' We really think it adds an awful lot of extra feeling, and an internal narrative for you as a player to try these things out."

Hall points to "crusade theaters," which will drive Total War: Warhammer 40,000's narrative. Players will be briefed on what's going on, which other forces are involved and why, and what's "in store" for wading into that crusade. "It's within the context of that crusade theater – who's winning, who's not – that will slowly reveal what the narrative of that is," adds Hall. "We have got a more tightly focused onboarding narrative, much like we did with Warhammer 3, that we're currently developing. That's actually going to feed into the canon of 40K, so we've got something for everyone."

No peace

Total War: Warhammer 40:000's sense of scale extends far beyond campaign size. Crusades will allow players to pick "the narratives you want to follow, the threads you wish to unravel," with the likes of "space hulks, wrecks, and abandoned stations" available to explore. The game will begin with four factions – Space Marines, Aeldari, Orcs, and Astra Militarum – although more will be added "over time," says Mann.

"We've really got a burning passion to do this justice, make it amazing, and really be the seminal Warhammer 40,000 game from the perspective of showing every part of that world," he says, as we discuss how the game will sit alongside other 40K adaptations. "You talked about the narrative, and other people's attempts. We want to be the game that tries to do all of it. We're very greedy in some regards, but we do want to try and give you that entire scope of this universe."

Much of Total War: Warhammer 40,000's depth has been achieved through Creative Assembly's new Warcore engine, which will debut here. Warcore allows for "even more diverse" factions than past offerings, explains Mann, while Hall paints a picture of the engine's Havok-enabled destruction physics in action: imagine destroying a building by calling in Space Marines via drop pod, then using the strewn debris as cover during a firefight.

For some, the most exciting flex of Warcore's muscles will be Total War: Warhammer 40,000's in-depth customization. We've already touched on how players can choose the weapons of squad members, but that's only one extension of the freedom on offer. Space Marine players will be able to design their own chapters, select their colors, and more.

"We didn't quite get to [customization] with Total War: Warhammer. We went all-out on this one. It really is next-level, probably more than any game for Warhammer we've seen," says Hall, beaming. "Just the other day, a customization guru was showing me that you can customize the fingers on Space Marines! That's the level of granularity we're going with this. Players can start with their chapter – and obviously all factions are going to have that to an extent – but I think we're going to see some really great-looking Space Marine chapters."

The more Mann and Hall talk, the more it feels like I'm manifesting my dream 40K strategy game. From units – vehicles! Walkers! Jetpacks! – to sprawling hive cities which will be "highly defended [and] difficult to take," Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is already offering tangible examples of how its scope will be achieved. Given Total War: Warhammer is the definitive representation of the franchise's Old World, it makes sense that Creative Assembly and Games Workshop are letting the good times roll.

"We've got a track record," Hall points out. "We've proven we can take the whole of a Warhammer franchise and effectively bring it to screen. That's certainly our ambition with this game."

Beneath the hype, Total War: Warhammer 40,000 – like its Old World sibling – remains an authentic passion project. In Creative Assembly's Horsham office developers have taken to making their own factions for fun, while Mann still remembers feeling awestruck the first time he saw a dreadnought rampage across a battlefield. "Being able to bring in an orbital lance strike onto a stomper," Hall offers sagely, "warms the cockles."

For those who have watched Total War: Warhammer steadily collect Legendary Lords like Pokémon for the last decade, Creative Assembly's approach here may feel familiar. Where most 40K adaptations have portrayed small slices of the universe, Creative Assembly knows – just as the developer behind Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 did – that 40K is defined by its dizzying sense of scale.

"We're not a magnifying glass. We're the car windscreen, to torture an analogy," says Hall. "We're trying to be the seminal, digital version of Warhammer 40,000."

Want more Total War? We've ranked the best Total War games, and spoken to Creative Assembly about how it's making Medieval 3