I've been praying for Total War: Warhammer 40K news since visiting Creative Assembly last year, and on Sunday (June 7), the Emperor delivered. Not only did we get our best look yet at how Total War's real-time battles will function in the sci-fi setting, but its appearance at the PC Gaming Show 2026 also confirmed that we're getting a Total War: Warhammer 40K closed beta later this year – although an exact date is yet to be confirmed.
Of all the new games heading our way, Total War: Warhammer 40K is the one I'm most excited for. Seeing it in action – and hearing I'll get the chance to play it by year's end – puts that anticipation into overdrive. I'm working through it the only way I know how: by watching the reveal again and breaking down everything in sight.
Git krumpin'
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While a teaser trailer for Total War: Warhammer 40K debuted during last month's Warhammer Skulls showcase, its focus on narrative and lack of in-game footage suggested we'd be waiting a while longer to see more of the game itself. But the PC Gaming Show 2026 aired with a surprising amount of alpha build gameplay, leaving lots to get into.
30 seconds in, we're brought into a battle between the Astra Militarum and a horde of orcs. Taking place on what seems to be the outskirts of a war-torn hive city, the map is a lot more textured and urban-focused than much of what we've seen from past Total War games – with charred ruins shored against a bridge crossing, I get the sense that battles will be designed for players to dig into longer than Total War: Warhammer 3's comparatively quick clashes.
The most important detail, though, is nestled in the game's UI – revealing how Creative Assembly has made ranged combat work. Guns are prominent in the developer's Warhammer (Old World) trilogy and the likes of Total War: Napoleon and Empire have made gunpowder lines work in the past, but fans have long speculated how 40K's more advanced guns – often wielded in tandem with melee weapons – would synergize with the series' more medieval-style frontline clashes.
Here, we see that while most units do have ranged attacks as options (at least for the Astra Militarum), each has their own firepower value for light, medium, and heavy targets. Cadian Shock Troopers have 5/10 firepower effectiveness against light-class targets, for example, but that drops all the way down to 1/10 against medium and heavy foes. A tank commander, on the other hand, has 9/10 effectiveness against light targets and 10/10 against medium armor; but 6/10 against heavies. I can already see how this could encourage more fluid back-and-forth in battle – beefier units like Space Marines will be able to close in on small-arms fire without being torn to shreds, while Cadians will depend on a combined arms approach – think harder-hitting vehicles keeping melee-centric infantry from reaching their gunlines.
If anything, I'm starting to think that 40K's battles could be more fulfilling for strategy nerds. With there being so many options for melee versus ranged tactics and vice versa, real-time fights should be more strategic and slow-burn. The importance of cover should force players to spread their forces thinner and pay attention to wider battle lines, while environment destruction and having tools for fast-moving attacks (Space Marine drop pods, orbital strikes, jetpacks) will hopefully encourage more layered formations rather than one single frontline clash.
While I still have many unanswered questions about Total War: Warhammer 40K's campaign map and factions, its latest reveal has sent my imagination running wild. I've already registered for the closed beta – which you can do here – and even though it's scheduled to kick off later this year, the wait may well kill me. Although, with Total War: Warhammer 3's biggest DLC now within touching distance, there's going to be enough to keep us busy in the Old World for a long time to come.
