Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 is a long-awaited third person shooter sequel with some very large ceramite boots to fill. Following up on Relic’s 2011 original game a full 12 years later, Space Marine 2 rejoins Ultramarines Captain Titus (now a Primaris marine) in a big fight against a lot of gribbly alien Tyranids. This guide tracks everything we know about the Space Marine 2 release date, trailers, gameplay, and news.
Games Workshop’s mighty Space Marines are by far the best known of the many Warhammer 40k factions and, as such, they star in a fair few of the best Warhammer 40k games (especially the noble, blue-clad Ultramarines). Most people learning how to play Warhammer 40k will start out with a few squads of these big, burly boys.
The original 2011 Space Marine videogame stands in a class of its own among Warhammer media – when the sequel was announced in December 2021, expectations were always going to be high. Our time playing a Space Marine 2 preview build has us sufficiently excited that we’ve begun compiling a Space Marine 2 walkthrough with everything revealed for the game so far.
Here’s everything we know – or can confidently hypothesise – about Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2:
Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 release date
The Space Marine 2 release date is set for September 9, 2024. This is much later than we were originally expecting. At first, the Steam page had listed a generic 2023 release date, and we’d estimated that we’d have our copies of Space Marine 2 by Christmas.
But thanks to delays, it was not so – and the new release date was announced at The Game Awards on December 7, 2023. You can see the release date trailer here:
It’s confirmed to be coming out on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Basically, if you have a current generation computer or console, you should have everything you need to be able to start slaying xenos scum.
Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 gameplay
The latest Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 gameplay trailer was released on August 30 as part of the Nova Open gaming convention. It has 10 minutes of new gameplay footage.
Wargamer got to try out a Space Marine 2 preview build, and can confirm that this gameplay trailer is in keeping with what we played, though it’s set in the ruins of an Imperial city – the demo saw us chop and slash our way around an overrun jungle, bunker complex, and orbital laser facility.
There was a year between the reveal of Space Marine 2 and the first Gameplay trailer, which arrived at The Game Awards on December 9, 2022 – but we reckon it was worth it.
Opening with shots of the besieged city from 2021’s World Reveal trailer, we swiftly get our first in-engine 3d view of Captain Titus – all battle-damaged azure ceramite and gleaming gold trim.
From there, it’s all blood, fire, and destruction – we see gameplay footage of Titus laying into crowds of chittering Tyranids (and even a gnarly, kerb-punching finishing move). There’s delicious detailed footage attack animations for several iconic Space Marine 2 weapons, including the thunder hammer, chainsword, power sword, boltgun, and occulus bolt carbine.
We’re keeping detailed notes on every bit of Space Marine 2 gameplay. To learn more, check out these guides:
- Space Marine 2 executions
- Space Marine 2 combat
- Space Marine 2 co-op multiplayer
- Space Marine 2 enemies
- Space Marine 2 walkthrough
Before that, in June 2022, we got the Official Developer Update Trailer, with numerous figures at developer Saber Interactive waxing lyrical about their commitment to making a “passion piece” that’s luxuriously loyal to the 40k source material.
We also got our first glimpse of the player character slamming down into a fight using a jump pack – which got a lot of Warhammer 40k tabletop game fans excited, because it looks very much like a bona fide Primaris Assault Marine, something that doesn’t exist yet in the tabletop wargame. That ain’t no Inceptor in this trailer, and it ain’t no Reiver either…
It all kicked off with the World Premiere Reveal trailer at The Game Awards in December 2021.
The first part of the trailer shows the Ultramarines landing on an unnamed plane before laying into the Tyranids with almost mechanical brutality. We get to see Thunderhawk gunships descend from the skies, disgorging their Space Marine payloads before the carnage begins.
The whole pre-rendered sequence is framed by Imperial Guardsmen gawking from the sidelines, giving us an idea of the scale of both the space marines and their Tyranid foes. This section of the trailer ends with the reveal of Captain Titus himself, older, more battered, but still the same Captain we grew close to back in 2011.
From there, the trailer gives us a little taste of Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 gameplay. Much like the original, it looks to be impactful, weighty, and very bloody indeed. If you ever wanted to set foot in the ceramite shoes of a space marine, this may be the closest you’ll get.
What is Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2?
Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 is a third-person action game. Taking control of Space Marine Lieutenant Tyco, the game blends ranged firepower with savage melee combat.
The Warhammer 40k name has often been tarnished when venturing into the world of video games. For every Total War: Warhammer 3, Dark Omen, Blood Bowl, or Dawn of War, there’s been a Fire Warrior or a Storm of Vengeance. For Warhammer fans, the very idea of a Warhammer videogame can often be something to be distinctly wary of.
But then there’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. Slamming down onto the deckplates of gaming with all the fury and power of a thunder hammer, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine released all the way back in 2011 and showed the world what a game featuring a space marine should be like. It never received the critical acclaim some of its Warhammer siblings did, but for atmosphere, feel, and overall space marineyness – it’s a Warhammer 40k videogame that cannot be beaten.
Sadly, the original developers weren’t able to provide a follow-up and, for many years, it seemed the story would end there. However, unlike in the Warhammer 40k universe, hope reared its head in December 2021, with the news that Saber Interactive were developing a sequel to be published by Focus Entertainment.
As Space Marine 2 is a sequel, there’s some big questions to be answered about what happened after the end of the first game and why Captain Titus is free once more. Speaking of Captain Titus (or rather, speaking as Captain Titus), Clive Standen will be taking over the vocal reins from Mark Strong to voice the lead character in this new instalment.
In terms of gameplay, we know that Space Marine 2 will feature brutal melee and ranged combat much like the original, albeit with the benefit of over ten years of technological advancement.
Thanks to the game’s reveal trailer, we know that Captain Titus will be mainly facing off against Tyranids, painting the universe in lashings of their xenos blood.
The original game featured several multiplayer modes, including a co-op horde mode as well as team-based player vs. player modes. It’s not known yet if they’ll be making a return but we’ll be keeping a close eye on any developments over the coming months.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 looks set to pick up where the last game ended, both in terms of plot and gameplay. As in the original, players will take on the mantle of Captain Titus of the Ultramarines in this third-person action game as they hack, slash, and smash their way through hordes of enemies in the name of the God-Emperor, armed with both melee and ranged weapons.
The original game took place on the Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World Graia as it came under siege by Orks. Determined to protect the planet’s precious manufacturing capabilities and technology, Captain Titus, Veteran Sergeant Sidonus, and Tactical Marine Leandros made landfall to fight their way to critical objectives, securing the planet against the tide of greenskins. A betrayal led Warhammer 40k Chaos forces into the fray, ending with Captain Titus successfully banishing the Ruinous Powers from the planet.
However, due to his suspicious ability to resist Chaos and stay – apparently – uncorrupted, and thanks to the testimony of Leandros, Captain Titus was placed under arrest at the end of the game by the Inquisition, led away under guard by Black Templars space marines.