Frontier’s Warhammer fantasy RTS Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin is finally here, and – though early reviews and sales were poor – we think it’s got loads to love. This guide records the final Realms of Ruin release date, and all our pre-release reporting on the game – including gameplay and factions details.
As the game is now fully released, you can find more detailed info in our complete Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin review.
It isn’t the best Warhammer fantasy videogame – maybe not even in the top five – but Realms of Ruin doesn’t deserve the hate it got on release.
You can learn more about Games Workshop’s Age of Sigmar setting and miniature wargame with our complete guide to all the Age of Sigmar armies – plus targeted handbooks for the three factions included in Realms of Ruin: the noble Stormcast Eternals, cunning Kruleboyz, and ghostly Nighthaunt.
Here’s what you need to know about Realms of Ruin’s release:
Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin release date and platforms
Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin was released for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on November 17, 2023.
Console RTS games have always been a dicey proposition, as the control scheme doesn’t translate naturally to a controller.
Frontier Developments has included a new system called ‘DirectStep’ in Realms of Ruin’s console editions, which it says means that “using the analogue sticks and a few simple button presses, players can quickly cycle through their squads, issue orders and engage the enemy”.
Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin
gameplay previews
Wargamer got an early sneak peek on May 17, 2023 at a hands-off preview by developer Frontier Developments, and the parallels with classic real time strategy games like Company of Heroes were immediately obvious.
The press preview showed gold-armored Stormcast Eternals battling green-skinned Orruk Kruleboyz over a control point – which Frontier Developments calls an “Arcane Conduit” – in a way that was immediately reminiscent of Company of Heroes and the classic Warhammer 40k game, Dawn of War.
New units are produced at the interdimensional Realmgate portal on your side of the battlefield. Frontier promised that, just like all the best PC RTS games, players would be able to “upgrade and specialize their forces via tech trees”. Though we didn’t see them during the press presentation, we were told that those upgrades are attached both to your Realmgate, and to an upgradeable “Command Post” building.
Classic rock-paper-scissors gameplay is core to how units fight, with different unit types – light infantry, heavy infantry, and ranged – performing best against their preferred target.
Frontier said multiplayer matches would be “quickfire and exciting”, designed to last 30 minutes or less. The scoring system for multiplayer is pure Company of Heroes: you need to hold more Arcane Conduits than your opponent to drain your enemy’s victory points faster than they can deplete yours.
Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin factions
The two Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin factions revealed early on – which Wargamer got to see fighting it out during the press preview in May – are the Stormcast Eternals and Orruk Kruleboyz. At that time, Frontier Developments promised “four playable factions that are completely distinct from one another visually and strategically” when the game releases.
Now the game is out, we know the four playable Realms of Ruin factions at launch were:
- Stormcast Eternals
- Kruleboyz
- Nighthaunt
- Disciples of Tzeentch
If you’re an RTS fan not familiar with Age of Sigmar armies already, here’s a quick rundown: the Stormcast Eternals look like humans, but they’re a lot weirder. Sigmar, god of lightning and order, claims the souls of great heroes as they die, and reforges them on the Anvil of Apotheosis into superior warriors.
If they die again their souls will (usually) return to Sigmar to be reforged; repeated deaths gradually erode their memories and humanity. Stormcast are elite and tanky, in the lore and in the Realms of Ruin preview, taking lots of punishment to put down.
One high-tier unit shown off early in development was the Stormdrake Guard, an elite-of-the-elite Stormcast knight riding a dragon. Frontier told us that each faction has squads of equivalent scale and power.
The Orruk Kruleboyz are a lot easier to understand: they’re swamp-dwelling, slave-taking, monster-harnessing, poison-using, sneaky Orc gits. They’re a lightly-armored horde army.
The ethereal Nighthaunt are an army of revenant ghosts in service to the Great Necromancer Nagash – in game, their units are cheap, fast, and fragile – but it’s their speed that’s key, helping them cover more of the board more often than the other factions.
Finally, the Disciples of Tzeentch are the closest Realms of Ruin comes to a micro-management heavy faction, as their best units are ranged attackers you’ll need to keep out of harm’s way. Keep in the game long enough to tech up, and you’ll get powerful daemons and eventually a magical nuke attack.
Realms of Ruin single player campaign
The single player campaign follows the Stormcast Eternals under commander Sigrun. Her warriors are part of a Dawnbringer crusade attempting to found a settlement in the primeval realm of Ghur. After reaching its destination, the crusade is attacked by the Kruleboy followers of Killaboss Dankfeer, which prompts a quest for the Stormcast to find a magical macguffin among the rancid swamps of Ghur.
The story is co-authored by veteran Warhammer 40k book author Gav Thorpe; it’s not his first videogame rodeo, having written for For Honor and Warhammer 40k: Deathwing.
Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin multiplayer beta dates
Developer Frontier Developments announced on June 12 that the first Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin multiplayer beta would run from July 7 to July 10. Though a second beta was originally planned, this was cancelled.