Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is a video game that combines military science fiction and real-time strategy. It was created by Relic Entertainment and inspired by Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 miniature wargame. The game was released by THQ on September 20, 2004, in North America and September 24, 2004, in Europe.
As of January 2013, the series has sold over 7 million copies worldwide. Three expansion packs were released: Winter Assault (2005), Dark Crusade (2006), and Soulstorm (2008). A remastered version, called Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition, was released on August 14, 2025. The game has three sequels: Dawn of War II (2009), Dawn of War III (2017), and Dawn of War IV (2026).
Gameplay
At the start of the game, players focus on capturing and holding important places on the battlefield. These places, called control points, are captured by groups of soldiers. They provide materials to build more units, structures, or allow players to use specific units in their army's tech tree. Players win battles by either holding a set number of control points for a certain amount of time or by destroying all of the enemy's command buildings. There are several special rules players can choose to change how matches are played.
Synopsis
The game takes place in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, a dark future where humanity has built a vast empire across the galaxy called the Imperium of Man. The Imperium fights constantly to protect humans from extinction, battling alien races like the Orks and Eldar, as well as rebellions from rogue planets or humans who follow Chaos, a dark force that uses demons and magic. These humans have betrayed their ruler, the Emperor of Man, and serve one of the Chaos Gods.
The single-player story begins on the planet Tartarus, an Imperial colony under attack by Orks. The player controls the Blood Ravens 3rd Company, a group of Space Marines led by Captain Gabriel Angelos. They arrive to help the 37th Tartarus Planetary Defence Force Regiment of the Imperial Guard, commanded by Colonel Carus Brom. This campaign sets up events in the game Dawn of War II – Retribution.
The Blood Ravens land on Tartarus, secure the planet’s spaceport, and begin fighting the Orks. Their mission includes killing Ork leaders, like a Warboss, to weaken the Orks’ morale. However, the Orks’ invasion was actually planned by Sindri Myr, a Chaos Sorcerer from the Alpha Legion. Sindri used Lord Bale, his supposed commander, to create a distraction. During a battle with the Warboss, a shuttle carrying Sindri and Bale is spotted by a Blood Ravens scout.
Angelos wants to investigate the shuttle but is interrupted by Mordecai Toth of the Inquisition, who orders the Blood Ravens to leave Tartarus. Toth warns of an upcoming Warp Storm that will trap the planet in Chaos energy, making escape impossible. Angelos lets Toth use Space Marine vehicles for evacuation but refuses to leave, clashing with Toth. Toth believes Angelos’ past actions, like a request to destroy his former home with an Exterminatus (a space-based attack), may have made him suspicious of Chaos.
Angelos continues his search and finds Eldar forces from the Biel-Tan Craftworld, led by Farseer Macha, secretly working on Tartarus. He also discovers Chaos markers (sites used for sacrifices) and orders his friend, Librarian Isador Akios, to destroy them. However, Isador secretly keeps Chaos artifacts and delays the mission by damaging Blood Ravens vehicles.
Angelos’ forces fight the Eldar in the city of Loovre Marr, where Sindri and the Alpha Legion steal an artifact Macha believes is key to destroying the planet. Angelos confronts Macha, who accuses Toth of hiding information to avoid involving others in the conflict. Toth then takes control of all Imperial forces on Tartarus, except the Blood Ravens and the 37th Regiment, claiming Angelos’ refusal to leave may be a sign of Chaos influence.
After a hint from Macha, the Blood Ravens track the Alpha Legion to the ruins of an Imperial Temple, where they are attacked by traitorous Imperial Guard regiments corrupted by Chaos. Sindri and Bale escape again. Later, Toth reveals Tartarus holds an ancient Chaos artifact called the Maledictum, a stone containing a daemon’s essence that can control humans and summon Warp Storms. The Eldar were on Tartarus to stop the Alpha Legion from finding the Maledictum, as they refused to work with the Imperium due to arrogance.
Angelos and Toth reconcile and attack the Alpha Legion’s main base, where they are performing a ritual to unearth the Maledictum. While the Blood Ravens and loyal Imperial Guard defeat Lord Bale’s forces, Isador takes the Maledictum and flees with Sindri, revealing he has been influenced by Chaos. Angelos and Toth pursue them but arrive too late. Toth admits he focused too much on Angelos and missed Isador’s corruption, stating it took "steel or rot" to convince the Inquisition to destroy Angelos’ former home. Angelos defeats Isador in a duel, claiming "innocents must die so that humanity may live," and executes him.
Angelos and Toth chase Sindri to a ritual site as the Warp Storm approaches. They fail to stop Sindri before he sacrifices himself to summon a Daemon Prince. Toth gives Angelos his weapon, the Daemon Hammer "God-Splitter," and the Blood Ravens, with help from surviving Eldar, defeat the Alpha Legion and the Daemon Prince. Toth orders Angelos to destroy the Maledictum, but Angelos does so anyway.
As everyone evacuates, Angelos is called back and confronts the daemon he unknowingly freed. The daemon reveals Tartarus was a sacrificial altar to the Chaos God Khorne, with all deaths during the battle, including the Ork invasion, serving to empower the Maledictum. The daemon warns Angelos it will return for revenge. Angelos vows to destroy it, saying, "I know you now," before leaving Tartarus.
Release
The base game includes three expansions, which can be purchased as DVDs sold in stores or downloaded from the internet. Each expansion adds a lot of new content, such as new groups of players (factions), maps, and game pieces (units). For the last two expansions, players can only use the factions added by that specific expansion in multiplayer games.
In the order they were released, the expansions are: Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, and Soulstorm. Winter Assault must be used with the base game, but the other two can be played without the base game.
Together, the expansions add five new factions to the game's original four, creating a total of nine factions. They also include many new maps and other changes to the game.
Definitive Edition
A special edition of the game was released on August 15, 2025. It includes the main game and all of its extra game parts, along with better graphics and improved gameplay features.
Related media
Additionally, Black Library published three books in a series. Later, these books were combined into one large book called an omnibus volume.
Reception
By early 2009, Dawn of War and its extra game parts had sold 4 million copies. The game received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), showing at least 100,000 copies sold in the United Kingdom.
When the game was first released, most reviews were positive. Critics often praised the game for having many balanced factions and units, its polished look, especially the high-quality animations, and its easy-to-use interface.
One of the first reviews came from IGN, which gave the game a score of 8.8 out of 10. They highlighted the detailed graphics and animations. They also said the single-player and multiplayer modes were strong parts of the game. GameSpot had similar opinions, especially praising the game's visuals and sound effects.
However, some reviewers found the single-player campaign too short and not challenging enough. Others noted the game lacked original ideas in its gameplay. These issues were considered small problems. IGN said, "Nothing about the gameplay will really surprise anyone (though the addition of reinforceable squads is pretty neat) but it doesn't particularly matter … Relic created a great piece of entertainment." A French website, Jeux PC, gave the game 16 out of 20, praising the simple interface and exciting battles. A German reviewer, Daniel Matschijewsky, gave the game 83 out of 100, praising the interface and sound, but noted the campaign and artificial intelligence were weaker areas.
Dawn of War was a runner-up in Computer Games Magazine's list of the ten best computer games of 2004. It also received a runner-up position in GameSpot's 2004 "Best Strategy Game" award, losing to Rome: Total War. At the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the game was nominated for "Strategy Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay."