Games Workshop Is Aiming For AAA Warhammer Video Games

Games Workshop, the company behind the Warhammer tabletop miniature games and lore universes, has stated in its latest annual report that it aims for AAA Warhammer video games to be launched in the future, and is signing new development licences every few months.

The report explains that “Our goal is AAA video games. We have signed multiple licences and we continue to negotiate many more, we will update you once they are announced. At the time of writing, we have 73 licences and are signing new ones every 2-3 months.”

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Warhammer video games are not in short supply, but Games Workshop’s goal of AAA games suggests that it is looking beyond what we’ve seen from the licence in recent years. Take one look at the Warhammer search results on Steam, and you’ll find that the many of the games based in the universes have mixed reviews, come from small studios, and look a little on the low-budget side. The Warhammer community in general is constantly wishing that big-budget titles in the guise of games like Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War and Space Marine – both developed by Relic in the 2000s – would be negotiated by Games Workshop.

With Games Workshop entering into licence deals with new developers every 2-3 months, it appears that we may be getting multiple high-budget Warhammer video games in the future.

There are currently a small selection of Warhammer licenced video games that we know are in active development. The Xbox Series X Games Showcase revealed Warhammer 40,000 Darktide, and recently Planet Coaster developer Frontier announced that it is creating an RTS in the Warhammer: Age of Sigmar setting. Then there are three games coming from Focus Interactive; two Warhammer 40,000 games from Streum On Studio and Saber Interactive, and an Age of Sigmar title from Gasket Games. Based on the histories of these studios, it seems sensible to assume that at least Frontier is working on a AAA game, while Darktide from Fatshark will certainly be closer to AAA than many other Warhammer games.

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The Warhammer universes – broadly split into two areas, the fantasy Age of Sigmar and the sci-fi Warhammer 40,000 – have become increasingly popular over the last few years, with the 2019/2020 financial year being Games Workshop’s best in its entire history. The expansive settings cover everything from dungeon crawling adventures to space battles to all-out planetary wars, and so are ripe for a multitude of video game genres. Hopefully we’ll see AAA games in the settings within the next few years.

For some recent AAA Warhammer, check out our review of Total War: Warhammer 2. Or if you’re happy to play something with a more modest budget, why not try Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Daily Deals: Ring Fit Back in Stock, 15% Off Switch Wireless Pro Controller

The every popular Ring Fit has been in and out of stock sporadically, but Best Buy seems to have a decent amount of inventory this time around. We could be wrong, though, so best hurry up with your order before it goes out of stock again. You can also save 15% off the Switch Wireless Pro controller. It’s $20 cheaper than the joy-cons, and a superior controller for many games out there (including Smash Bros Ultimate). See these deals and more below.

Deals for July 29

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More Video Game Deals

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Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends roughly 1/4 of his income on stuff he posts. Check out his latest Daily Deals Article and subscribe to his IGN Deals Newsletter.

The Boys’ Karl Urban Reveals Secret Cameo in The Rise of Skywalker

The Boys and Star Trek star Karl Urban has revealed that he had a secret cameo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, confirming that he has ticked off another of his “life-long goals” by appearing in the epic space-opera franchise.

In an interview with Digital Spy, Urban, who portrays vengeful vigilante Billy Butcher in Amazon’s The Boys, shared some details about his mysterious role in The Rise of Skywalker, as he revealed that he suited up to play a stormtrooper in the final instalment of the Skywalker saga.

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Urban highlighted the exact moment that he appears on the screen, revealing that he even has a line of dialogue in the scene. The actor confirmed that he says “Knights of Ren” as the enclave of masked warriors follow Kylo Ren on his journey to the desert world of Pasaana, passing by two stormtroopers on their way out. “I am one of those stormtroopers,” Urban admitted.

“I had the good fortune to go and visit JJ Abrams [the film’s director] while he was shooting The Rise of Skywalker,” he added, explaining the process behind his cameo. “While I was there, he put me in a stormtrooper uniform and we had a really fun day on set. It’s been one of my life-long goals to be a stormtrooper, so I can tick that off now.”

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The Star Wars sequel trilogy is bursting with blink-and-you’ll-miss-them celebrity cameos spanning all four corners of the galaxy, and Urban’s brief appearance and voice cameo in The Rise of Skywalker is another fleeting moment in the saga, which could be so easily missed on first viewing of the 2019 film.

In recent months, we have continued to learn behind-the-scenes details about The Rise of Skywalker. The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker book shed new light on axed storylines and a tank-like version of BB-8, while Anthony Daniels told IGN that C-3PO nearly had a bigger role in Episode IX.

For even more on the final Skywalker Saga film, find out why we think The Skywalker Legacy documentary is essential viewing after The Rise of Skywalker.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Horizon Zero Dawn Minimum and Recommended PC Specs Have Arrived

System requirements for the Horizon Zero Dawn PC port have arrived ahead of the game’s launch next week.

Revealed via the Horizon Zero Dawn Steam page, we can now see the minimum and recommended specifications necessary to play the game.

Horizon Zero Dawn – Minimum Specs

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bits
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K@3.3GHz or AMD FX 6300@3.5GHz
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 (3 GB) or AMD Radeon R9 290 (4GB)
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Storage: 100 GB available space

Horizon Zero Dawn – Recommended Specs

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bits
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K@3.5GHz or Ryzen 5 1500X@3.5GHz
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) or AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB)
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Storage: 100 GB available space

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Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition will launch on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on August 7th, 2020. We included Horizon’s setting in our article running through the best open worlds in video games – check out what else made the cut.

A sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn was revealed during the PS5 Showcase in early June. The game, titled Horizon: Forbidden West, will see Aloy encounter new robot fiends and friends on the West Coast of America. It seems unlikely we’ll see that sequel on PC anytime too soon, given PlayStation chief Jim Ryan wants to make PS5 exclusives that make the most of the new console.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.