The Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series is one of the games that really got me hooked on RTS games. It was a major transition away from the Command and Conquer style titles which dominated the late 90s and early 2000s. With its release in 2004, Dawn of War merged squad-based gameplay, base building and a well-known, widely regarded universe into one of my all time favourite games. Recently, Relic Entertainment’s Dawn of War turned 20, and its sequel, Dawn of War II, hit the 15-year milestone. To celebrate, Anniversary Editions for both games have been released, offering gamers a chance to revisit these classics with all expansions and DLC included as free upgrades for current owners.
The Anniversary Editions are a welcome reminder of how the Dawn of War series revolutionised real-time strategy gaming. The original brought the brutal, fast paced battles of the Warhammer 40K universe to life in a way which had never been seen before with base-building, squad customisation, and dynamic combat mechanics. Dawn of War II eschewed base-building and streamlined the formula into more tactical, squad-based gameplay whilst introducing RPG mechanics. Dawn of War II is a perfect example of the “good game, bad sequel” phenomena. A perfectly acceptable standalone game, but disappointing when compared to what many fans expected to see.
The Anniversary Editions include the base games and all the expansions and DLCs for each title. For Dawn of War, the Anniversary Edition includes the original game along with its expansions: Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, and Soulstorm, giving players access to the full range of factions and campaigns that defined the early years of the series. For Dawn of War II, this means everything from the original campaign to Chaos Rising and Retribution, plus all multiplayer skins and wargear previously sold separately.
Could a Dawn of War Remaster Be Next?
The Anniversary Editions are a love letter to fans of the series and have sparked some speculation as to what happens next. As one tweeter pointed out:
“The last time a 40k game did that it was Space Marine 1 a few months before the announcement of Space Marine 2… Are you cooking something?”
The notion of a Dawn of War Remaster is tantalising but complex. It would be no easy feat. For starters, the original Dawn of War series runs on the Essence Engine, which was groundbreaking at the time but is no longer suited to modern gaming hardware. Designed in an era before 64-bit processors and multi-core systems became standard, this engine wasn’t built to handle today’s technical demands. The limitations of the Essence Engine in its original form make it difficult for the game to take full advantage of modern CPUs and GPUs, which now rely on multi-core processing and larger memory pools. This creates challenges when it comes to optimizing performance or upgrading visuals without fundamentally reworking the game’s technical foundation. As a result, even seemingly straightforward enhancements—such as improving graphics, adding modern physics, or supporting higher resolutions—become nearly impossible without significant changes to the underlying architecture.
A remaster of Dawn of War would almost certainly require rebuilding the game from the ground up on a new engine. Fortunately, Relic Entertainment already has a modern engine that could be explored for this purpose: the Essence Engine 5.0, which was used in Company of Heroes 3. This engine is not only built for modern hardware but also supports key features like 64-bit processing, multi-core optimization, and more advanced physics and destruction models.
Relic’s experience with Company of Heroes 3 could serve as a blueprint for remastering Dawn of War. Company of Heroes 3 brought new life to the World War II strategy genre by maintaining the tactical depth fans loved, while enhancing the gameplay with destructible environments, more detailed unit models, and a dynamic battlefield. If Relic were to adapt the Essence Engine 5.0 for a Dawn of War remaster, they could achieve the same level of modernization. Imagine the visceral destruction and chaos of a Warhammer 40,000 battlefield rendered in modern fidelity, with space marines and orks tearing through environments, all powered by today’s multi-core processors.
There’s also a precedent for such a shift. Company of Heroes 3 was released not long ago, demonstrating that Relic is still committed to pushing their strategy games forward. Could this mean a Dawn of War remaster—or even a Dawn of War 4—is possible? The release of Company of Heroes 3 shows that Relic can deliver modern RTS experiences without compromising on what made their earlier titles great, suggesting they could do the same for the Dawn of War series. With the community’s interest piqued by the recent anniversary editions, it seems like the perfect time for Relic to explore these possibilities.
Dawn of War 4: Could It Happen?
Beyond the possibility of a remaster, there’s a bigger question: Is Dawn of War 4 in the works? The success of anniversary releases for iconic franchises often foreshadows future announcements. Considering the renewed interest in the Warhammer 40,000 universe – especially with the recent release of Space Marine 2 – it’s not entirely out of the question that Relic could be cooking up a fourth instalment.
We talked previously about the demand for Dawn of War 4. If it was to happen, it would have to strike a delicate balance. The series has experimented with different gameplay formats, and opinions are divided on which approach worked best. While Dawn of War II focused on tactical squad-based combat, some fans missed the traditional RTS mechanics of base-building and resource management that made the original so engaging. Dawn of War III attempted to blend the two but failed to capture the magic of either, leading to mixed reviews. A fourth game would need to carefully consider which elements to bring back and which to evolve for modern strategy gamers.
A new engine would be critical to bring a new entry in the franchise up to modern expectations. It would need to allow for larger, more dynamic battlefields, improved AI, and more complex physics. With modern hardware capabilities, a new Dawn of War could deliver the kind of large-scale, intense RTS experience fans have been waiting for, all while leveraging the grimdark appeal of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
In the Grim Darkness of the Far Future, There is Only Dawn of War
Maybe it’s a pipedream for this dedicated Warhammer 40K fanatic, but nothing would bring me greater pleasure than a Dawn of War Remaster or a new franchise entry. The Anniversary Editions are a perfect opportunity for me to take a trip down memory lane and explore just how wonderfully hammy the campaign was. The future of the franchise remains uncertain but exciting. The Anniversary Editions have reignited interest, and if history is anything to go by, where there’s smoke, there’s often fire. For now, we’ll have to wait and see if Relic has something big in the works for the Dawn of War franchise. But one thing is clear: in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only Dawn of War.
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