2004 RTS classic Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is getting a modern hardware-friendly overhaul this year with a Definitive Edition that will bring the base game and all three expansions together under one roof, add further mod support, and establish new multiplayer servers, among other things. Relic Entertainment’s original WH40K title is receiving the remaster treatment.
“This is the iconic Dawn of War as players remember it, but optimized for modern hardware. The award winning and genre-defining classic real-time strategy game has been updated for today’s PC audience while remaining faithful to the grimdark original,” the official press release states. You can watch the explosive reveal trailer below:
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition Release Date
While we’ve yet to learn about its price tag (or whether it’ll be available as a free upgrade for owners of the original release) and release date, the following features have been confirmed:
- All previous Dawn of War content, including 4 campaigns, 9 armies, and over 200 maps.
- 4K support with upscaled textures, image-based lighting, world lighting, unit reflections and gloss, better shadows, reflective water, and emissive lighting.
- Upscaled cutscenes.
- New multiplayer infrastructure.
- Improved camera and HUD layout optimized for widescreen viewing.
- 64-bit platform upgrade to better support the “ongoing efforts of the modding community.”
- Compatibility with “over 20 years of lovingly crafted community mods.”
Relic Entertainment has also shared several high-quality screenshots to highlight some of the new visual features added to the game while preserving the original look. We’ve collected them all below:
GameWatcher can also confirm we’ve talked to design director and Relic veteran Philippe Boulle in depth about the remaster and what the future of the game and the Dawn of War series may look like. Stay tuned for our big interview in the coming days.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War—Definitive Edition will be released in 2025 for PC on Steam and GOG.
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