Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II is an upcoming third-person shooter hack-n-slash video game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment. A sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (2011), the game is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X and Series S on 9 September 2024.

Gameplay
In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, the player engages enemies using a mix of both melee and ranged combat from a third-person point of view. The player controls Titus, a lieutenant of the Ultramarines chapter and returning protagonist from the first game. Titus is accompanied by fellow Space Marines Chairon and Gadriel throughout the campaign who can be controlled by other players in the game's cooperative multiplayer mode or by artificial intelligence (AI) in single player.

The game utilises ranged combat when facing weaker enemies such as Tyranid Gaunts whilst hack and slash combat is required when fighting more powerful enemies such as the Tyranid warrior that can block incoming projectile damage. Players can parry an opponent's attack, though some hostile attacks are unblockable and therefore must be dodged. Additionally, the player can fight alongside imperial guard foot soldiers controlled by AI throughout sections of the game. Titus is protected by armor. When his armor breaks, his health will drop permanently when he is attacked. Health will only replenish when the player recovers medkits in the game's battlefield. His armor, however, will regenerate after Titus performs an execution attack on an enemy. If a character's health is depleted the character will drop to the ground and bleed out for 30 seconds during which other characters can revive them before they die.

The game also supports a separate cooperative mode named "Operations”, and three 6v6 competitive multiplayer modes (Annihilation, Seize Ground, and Capture and Control). Players can choose from six different character classes and freely customize their player avatar with various cosmetic items.

Setting
The game is set in the 42nd Millennium, during the Era Indomitus, the Age of the Dark Imperium. After the return of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman, the Imperium of Man has launched a galaxy-wide and a decade-long campaign known as the Indomitus Crusade with the goal of reclaiming lost worlds from its enemies and bringing it back from the brink of collapse. However, when it seems that the Imperium have gained the upper hand, an alien race known as the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan emerge from the western part of the galaxy and in greater numbers than ever before. This starts the 4th Tyrannic War.

The game's main enemies are the Tyranids (believed to be a splinter of Hive Fleet Leviathan) and the forces of Chaos. The Tyranids are an extragalactic insectoid race whose sole purpose is to consume all forms of biomatter. The forces of Chaos return from the first game, followers of the daemonic Gods of Chaos. Confirmed to feature in the game are the Thousand Sons, one of the nine Traitor Astartes Legions who are devoted to Tzeentch, the Chaos God of Sorcery, Manipulation and Mutation.

Plot
After the events of the first game, Captain Demetrian Titus (Clive Standen) was investigated by the Inquisition and arrested on charges of heresy. Although he was eventually allowed to return to the Ultramarines Chapter, his charges have garnered him suspicion from his Chapter and he has been demoted to Lieutenant as a result. Since then Titus has undergone the Rubicon Primaris, a process which transforms him from a Firstborn Marine into a Primaris Space Marine (the latter being taller, stronger and faster than the former).

The main story campaign follows Lieutenant Titus fighting the forces of Hive Fleet Leviathan, who have invaded the Imperial worlds of Avarax and Kadaku. He is joined by his new squad mates, Brother-Sergeant Gadriel and Brother Chairon.

Development and release
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was announced on 9 December 2021 with a cinematic trailer at The Game Awards 2021. It was confirmed that Captain Titus was making his return and has become a Primaris Space Marine. The game takes place in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe and features the Ultramarines chapter of Space Marines. The Tyranids will be featured as enemies. It was also announced that the role of Titus had been recast (he was voiced by Mark Strong in the original game), and he will be voiced by Clive Standen. A gameplay reveal was shown at The Game Awards 2022.

In June 2023, at Summer Game Fest 2023, it was confirmed the campaign would feature three player co-op with either other players or AI, it was additionally revealed that the game was set for a 'winter' 2023 release. A gameplay trailer was released at the end of August, as well as confirmation that there would be a beta release.

In September 2023, Games Workshop released a board game based on the game which includes a miniature model of Titus. In November, Games Workshop and Wētā Workshop revealed several statuettes in the works, with one of them being a statuette of Titus with interchangeable weapons and heads.

Space Marine 2 was originally scheduled to release for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X and Series S in 2023, before being delayed to 9 September 2024. In June 2024, developer Saber Interactive announced that the planned beta was cancelled in order to focus on getting the game ready for the launch date.