Warhammer 40k has a long history with video games, perhaps fittingly since it originated as a tabletop game. They don't always work perfectly, but when they do, the franchise has come up with some truly impressive titles. And there has been a pretty good streak of successful games in recent years- Space Marine 2, Boltgun, Rogue Trader, even the mobile game Tacticus. But a lot of these games have barely scratched the surface of the franchise's notoriously bleak universe.
The more I deep dive into Warhammer 40k lore, the more I start to find myself noticing things that could make really interesting games, yet remain untouched. I start to have really cool ideas for video games that sound really interesting, if only I actually understood game production and knew how to get the rights. So I'd like to present a collection of ideas I've had for 40k games that I think could make something really interesting.
Games Workshop, if you're reading this, please take these ideas. Take all of them. Take them and put your best people on them. You don't even have to pay me for suggesting these; giving me credit is enough. Just make them happen!
Note: I'm deliberately avoiding any ideas centered around Space Marines. While there is certainly lots of untapped potential around them, they have been done so much already, and I'd like to propose something different.
Adeptus Custodes Hack n' Slash
It's not hard to see what makes the Space Marines so interesting to Warhammer 40k fans. They're genetically augmented super soldiers built to take on the worst of an unforgiving galaxy. But if we're going to go that route, why not go even bigger? After all there is one faction that is even bigger and tougher than Space Marines- the Adeptus Custodes. These golden-armored warriors are usually around 9 ft tall, easily dwarfing most Space Marines. And when they appear, it's a sign that things are really bad.
If Space Marine 2's main selling point was playing as a genetically augmented super-soldier, playing as a custode would take that to a whole new level. Players would get to be the one thing that's bigger and tougher than a space marine (at least within the ranks of the Imperium). This would mean being able to blast through monsters that could easily overwhelm someone like Titus.
Another fun detail about the Custodes is they are the Emperor's personal guard, so playing as one would be an opportunity to bring one of 40k's key locations outside the realm of concept art and into an immersive 3D environment. The Imperial Palace is the seat of power for all of humanity. A Custode game could actually explore this place and some of its mysteries, maybe even feature an appearance by the Emperor himself (or what's left of him, anyway).
That said, there is an aspect in which a Custode game could do more than just feel like playing as super space marines, and that would be focusing on their differing combat style. Space Marine 2 allowed a pretty solid range of melee weapons, but it was ultimately a shooter. A custode game would be the opposite.
While they are definitely capable of using firearms and explosives, the Adeptus Custodes primarily use melee combat. So a game centered around them would logically be more of a hack-and-slash than a shooter. This would create a much more distinct experience from the Space Marine games.
While Custodes could theoretically work at any point in the timeline, a game centered on them would be a great opportunity to explore the Horus Heresy, a Civil War which came closer than anyone before or since to destroying the Imperium. Playing as a Custode experiencing one of the biggest genre-defining moments of the franchise would be a great selling point.
Adeptus Mechanicus RPG
The Adeptus Mechanicus is one of the more peculiar factions in the Imperium. They are a techno-cult from Mars that has a... peculiar relationship to technology. They'll build marvels of engineering but also feel the need to bless it with incense and elaborate rituals. This goes beyond mere superstition, with "machine spirits" actually being a thing in this world, but it definitely looks strange to any modern engineer. The only thing is that they can't actually innovate, at least not openly. Instead, they have to scavenge and rediscover old pieces of lost technology.
And here's where things get messy, since one of Adeptus Mechanicus' core beliefs is the inherent weakness of the human body and the need to ascend through technical augmentation. On the more moderate side, this basically means digging circuit boards out of the trash and shoving them into your body to see what happens, and becoming a cyborg. The more fanatical ones do that so much they don't have a body left, becoming more like a brain encased in a machine.
Now the Mechanicus have appeared in games before. They did have a notable role in Space Marine 2 and, unsurprisingly, they starred in Mechanicus 1 and 2. But there hasn't really been a game that's taken full advantage of their strange beliefs. An RPG could have some fun with this, casting the player as a new initiate into the cult and putting an emphasis on scavenging parts. An RPG could allow the player to experiment with different types of upgrades, essentially customizing their augmentations for different playstyles. We've seen this kind of thing work before in games like Cyberpunk 2077, though a mechanicus RPG would probably be a lot more extreme in this regard.
Another fun detail- there are some interesting philosophical questions that could be explored with this setup. Questions about what it means to be human, and how far the player is willing to go to achieve their full potential. This could even be a mechanic in the game, where the player is given the choice to dive deeper into mechanical augmentations or try to retain some of their humanity, with pros and cons both ways.
Cadian Tactical Shooter
In the context of Warhammer 40k, even the normal humans have to be tough to survive its unforgiving universe. And few exemplify that resilience quite like the Cadians. As many like to say, their homeworld broke before they did. The Cadians are easily among the most versatile and experienced factions when it comes to warfare, yet they often get reduced to the background as support for Space Marines. Putting them front and center would offer a unique experience.
For one thing, playing as a Cadian would allow players to see the 40k universe in a new light, since we could see how it looks to a regular human without all the fancy gene seed upgrades. This would make a lot of encounters more daunting, and more challenging. But that opens up a new angle for a Cadian game- greater focus on tactics. After all, Warhammer 40k is supposed to be a tactical game, is it not?
A logical way to do a Cadian shooter would be to put an emphasis on caution and strategy, possibly following in a similar vein to the Ghost Recon series. The player is cast as the leader of a Cadian squad tasked with daunting objectives. You can't just go charging in and opening fire, you'd actually have to evaluate the situation and determine the best strategy. It would be harder, but that might make it a lot more satisfying when the Cadians actually manage to take down a Carnifex.
The great thing here is Cadians are trained to be versatile, which leaves room for the player to experiment with different playstyles. They could experiment with more aggressive techniques or go for a quiet stealth-based approach. It could even mean experimenting with different weapons, vehicles, and squadmates to find the right combination.
Death Korps of Krieg
The Death Korps of Krieg is an intriguing faction with a messed-up history. Long ago, there was a rebellion that led to a civil war. And now the descendants of those who fought at Krieg are forced to perpetually "atone" for their actions. And of course, atonement can only be achieved by fighting and dying for the Emperor.
This often gets exaggerated into the Krieg recklessly charging into danger in the hopes of getting killed, which isn't entirely correct. More accurately, they're trained to work in hostile environments and produce maximum results with minimal resources, and conditioned to be willing to put their lives on the line if the situation calls for it.
This is actually a pretty good setup for a game. A campaign centered around Krieg could emphasize three major things- squad-based gameplay, brutal fighting conditions and limited resources. This would make combat a lot harder, since the player would have to find unconventional ways of dealing with problems and occasionally improvise or use the environment to their advantage.
Another thing about Krieg is that they have a very distinct aesthetic that would help the game stand out. One of the big things that allowed this faction to resonate with players is their WWI-inspired design, which extends to their weapons and tactics. A skilled design team could really take advantage of this to create some amazing visuals.
There is also a practical side to doing a game about the Death Korps of Krieg. They almost always wear gas masks, so focusing on them would mean significantly less work on facial animations, something that's often a daunting prospect even under the best working conditions.
Orders Hospitaller Simulator
It comes as no surprise that war plays a big part in Warhammer 40k, but there is a lot more to fighting a war than just shooting enemies. Like, for example, being able to provide medical aid to soldiers. And this would be where a game centered around Orders Hospitaller could do something interesting. It would still fit thematically- there is still war happening, the player is an active part of the war effort, and they are helping people who have been affected by war.
A game centered around Orders Hospitaller would shift gears by moving away from front-line combat to acting more like search and rescue or field medics. Gameplay would probably be focused more on navigating war zones and treating wounded soldiers or rescuing civilians from disaster (which, again, was probably caused by all that war).
Of course, it wouldn't need to forego combat entirely. No doubt the protagonist would occasionally need to defend herself against any number of threats. There could even be moments where she has to take up arms to protect her sisters or patients, or occasionally deal with a heretic in the ranks. The point is, it would be a game about war where shooting wouldn't be the central focus. While perhaps an unconventional approach, it actually could make for a truly unique game within the franchise.
Sisters of Battle Shooter
Space Marine 2 was a huge success, and a masterpiece in a lot of aspects. But it did have the downside of being very male-dominated in a franchise that already has a reputation for hypermasculinity. There weren't a lot of female characters in the campaign and the ones it did have didn't get a lot of screentime. This does make a degree of sense, seeing as its primary focus is on the Astartes, a faction that is explicitly all-male in the lore. While it might have been nice to see more of Major Sarkanna, it was ultimately Titus' story.
However, what if there was another faction we could do that might be a little less... masculine? Something similar enough to the Space Marines to adopt a lot of the same gameplay but distinct enough to still be its own experience? Like maybe a female counterpart to the Space Marines... oh wait, there is! The Sisters of Battle are the closest thing Warhammer 40k has to female space marines, and they're sometimes framed as a counterpart.
A game centered around the Sisters of Battle could likely work with a similar structure to Space Marine 2. You could have your central protagonist accompanied by two of her sisters, with an emphasis on the dynamic between them and optional co-op. They use a lot of the same weapons as well. You would still have your bolters, flamers, grenades, chainswords, so gameplay wouldn't be too far off.
But there is one thing about playing as the Sisters of Battle that would make it distinct from playing as a Space Marine- you're not playing as a super soldier. While well-trained and ruthlessly effective, the Sisters of Battle lack the genetic upgrades of their male counterparts. This game could take advantage of a change in scale, adopting similar basic mechanics while recognizing the Sisters are around half the size of titus and therefore need to adopt different tactics when taking on the same enemies. And managing to take down something like a carnifex that is usually able to go toe to toe with a Space Marine would definitely feel pretty satisfying.
Sisters of Silence Stealth Game
The Sisters of Silence are a curious faction who certainly live up to their name. The name has a double meaning. For one thing, they are literally silent, as in they never speak. Becoming one requires an extreme vow of silence. They also act as assassins who rely on stealth and cunning to reach their targets, rather than a direct assault. And this is where the potential starts to manifest. There hasn't really been a Warhammer 40k stealth game, and the Sisters of Silence are practically tailor-made for such a project.
The obvious structure would be to do something in the vein of either Hitman or Dishonored, where the player is assigned an objective and placed into an open-ish world that leaves them different options on how to accomplish it. The Sisters do come with some crazy powers that could also be incorporated into gameplay, most notably they can disrupt the powers of psykers just by being in proximity. How is this not already a game?
The other fun thing with the Sisters of Silence is an opportunity to explore one of the key defining moments of 40k's history. While this could work at any point in the timeline, they had an especially prominent role during the Horus Heresy, a brutal Civil War that broke the galaxy. Playing as a sister of Battle who does sabotage and assassinations against Horus's forces would be a great framework for exploring such a defining moment in the lore.
Tallarn Guerrilla Experience
The Tallarn Desert Raiders are an underrated piece of the Imperium that doesn't get much attention, which is unfortunate because they are quite unique. Inspired by the Fremen of Dune, Tallarn is built around guerrilla warfare, which could actually be a pretty good setup for gameplay. Aside from bringing a lesser-known faction into the spotlight, a game centered around Tallarn would still fit with the themes of Warhammer 40k but offer a very different style of combat to other factions.
With their specialty being in Guerrilla Warfare, a Tallarn-focused game would logically be put more emphasis on stealth and strategy. Players would need to carefully evaluate each objective and figure out the best way to get maximum results quickly and efficiently. And, depending on the circumstances, there might be various ways of doing that. Perhaps a bit of sabotage to weaken their defenses is in order, or a carefully timed explosion, or maybe you just need to know where they're going to be and set a trap.
Ghost Recon Wildlands might be a good point of reference for how a Tallarn game could work. A squad-based game where the player has to strategically make use of the available resources is a good approach. Maybe they could have a few different specialists to choose from for different strategies. Alternatively, something more in the vein of Sniper Elite, where the player is thrown into the meatgrinder and left to experiment with different strategies could also work.
Tomb Raider-Style Action Adventure Game
The universe of Warhammer 40k has a pretty complicated history, one full of mystery and dread. Just among humans, there's the whole Dark Age of Technology before the rise of the Imperium (which itself has existed for a few thousand years in some form). But the full timeline goes back well before humanity existed, with the earliest recorded event being a galaxy-breaking conflict known as the War in Heaven. And there might be some things even older than that, like the enigmatic Blackstone Fortress.
The point is the galaxy has a crazy past and uncovering old ruins and relics is already a common theme in Warhammer 40k, so why not use that as a framework for exploring some of that history in more detail? An action-adventure puzzle game in the style of Tomb Raider or Uncharted could be a fun way to do that, while also offering something a bit different.
The premise could involve an archaeologist exploring old ruins while searching for a powerful artifact. It could be a human researcher seeking technology they think would aid the Imperium, or maybe a mechanicus tech-priest looking for knowledge. Either way, they would be searching through ancient structures and uncovering pieces of history, and, as happens a lot in 40k, a much greater danger.
As for what they're investigating... well, take your pick. The Horus Heresy is already a thousand years ago at the current point in the timeline, and that's on the more recent end of things. There's the Dark Age of Technology, Necron Tombworlds, the Blackstone Fortress (itself an enigmatic mystery that could work great with Tomb Raider-esque puzzles), and anything leftover from the Aeldari empire.
But if you want to go really far back, why not use this as a way to explore the War in Heaven? It basically set everything in motion, but it's never really been shown. This approach could be an interesting way to tell a story around that conflict. Some of that fancy ancient technology could even be used to create flashbacks and let players experience actual moments of the infamous conflict.
And it might sound weird to do a puzzle game in Warhammer but that could still work. There could still be conflict, perhaps our protagonist is dealing with an opposing faction or one of the many xenos who are also competing for the same artifact? But thematically, it would still make sense on the grounds that it's exploring how war shaped the galaxy.
Tyranid Hive Simulator
Of all the alien species introduced in Warhammer 40k, tyranids are easily some of the most terrifying creatures. The easiest way to describe them would be something like the Xenomorphs of Alien, except somehow worse. They are a predatory hive mind whose only objective is to consume everything in their path. But the real danger is their intelligence. While their goals may be simple, tyranids are capable of elaborate battle tactics and espionage, and they have access to some advanced technology. And this is where a game could find some interesting opportunities.
The thing to really take advantage of is the hive mind. In a way, the player is controlling the whole swarm. A fun way to do this would be to cast them as a hive tyrant, a sort of controller organism that acts like a commanding officer. Except instead of just giving orders, playing a hive tyrant would make it possible to directly control, and swap between, different types of tyranids. This would allow an interesting approach that could mix a shooter and real-time strategy format and put a lot more emphasis on their tactics.
There also hasn't been much that actually shows their perspective. Tyranids are usually portrayed as antagonists, so it would be an interesting shift to see what it's actually like to be them, especially if it had made a compelling story that actually makes the hive somewhat relatable, or at least understandable. Or at least allows players to have fun controlling supersized monsters and terrorizing the galaxy.
Imperium Team-Up
So why not bring a bunch of them together? Not just as different types of armies, but as a character-driven story around people brought together by unexpected circumstances who have to settle their differences for a common goal. Here's the setup: the Imperium sends a bunch of its forces on a critical mission, but things go bad (as happens a lot in 40k). Almost everyone is killed, save a few survivors who are reluctantly brought together and realize it is there duty to finish the job.
So here's what I'm thinking- a shooter using a similar structure to Borderlands where there are multiple playable characters and options for both single-player and co-op. Each playable character would come from a different part of the Imperium and therefore be tailored to a different playstyle.
So if, for instance, the playable roster included members of the Space Marines, Sisters of Battle, Cadians, Death Korps, and Tallarn Desert Raiders, each one could have different strengths and weaknesses. A Space Marine could be good for confronting larger enemies, while a Sister could be more agile and better at targeting weak points. Meanwhile, a Tallarn desert raider could focus on support through stealth and ambush tactics, and a Cadian could be portrayed as versatile.
And as far as the story goes, there's a lot of potential conflict just from the characters settling their differences. There is, canonically, already a rift between Sisters of Battle and Space Marines they would need to overcome. The Space Marine's interactions with the others could vary widely depending on which chapter he belongs to. An Ultramarine or Salamander will be a lot more amenable to working with normal humans than a Black Templar or Blood Angel.
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