Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 4 Is Making History With Its Playable Characters
Warhammer 40k has become a bit of an obsession of mine this year, to the point where I can hear my wallet groaning at the mere sight of one of the stores.
It’s an expensive hobby and several purchases need to be made before you can even think about playing it, which is why I’ve been loving the video games so much.
One that’s held a firm position on my wishlist this year is Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War IV, as my preview at Gamescom left me amazed by the innovations developer King Art Games has brought to the series. The game’s latest trailers have only gotten me more excited after it was confirmed that the legendary space marine faction the Dark Angels would be joining the battle of Kronus.
I spoke with Jan Theysen, creative director of King Art Games, to learn more about how the Dark Angels will factor into the story, including their glorious Primarch Lion El'Jonson, the first playable Primarch in any Warhammer 40k game.
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King Art Games has been working very closely with Games Workshop on the new Dawn of War, and while the Warhammer company is known to be very protective of its IP, it was apparently very lenient when it came to what should and shouldn’t be included in the story.
After deciding to continue the legacy of the Dawn of War series by making the Blood Ravens the main space marine faction, Theysen said it was Games Workshop that asked if the studio would like to borrow another.
“So we thought about it and we discussed some ideas about what might be cool, what might be interesting, and who is around, right?” Theysen told me.
Eventually, the team landed on the Dark Angels, mainly because the faction is “very prominently” within the Segmentum Nihilus, which is the area of space that Kronus resides in. The conversation with Games Workshop didn’t stop there though. Theysen said, “At some point they mentioned, ‘Hey, if you really want, maybe there's also a way that you could get the Lion in,'" obviously referring to Lion El'Jonson.
For those not caught up with their Warhammer 40k lore or those new to the series, Lion El'Jonson is one of several Primarchs who are basically demi-gods with unimaginable power and authority within the galaxy.
Including one of these Primarchs in Dawn of War IV was essentially a no-brainer for King Art Games with Theysen perfectly putting it when he said, “If you get the opportunity to have a Primarch in your game, for the first time in any video game, you take that opportunity.”
Of course, including such a powerhouse comes with its own challenges though, and for those who thought they’d be tearing their way across the entirety of Kronus, Lion Sword in hand, guess again.
“We were like, ‘If we can have him, absolutely, let's have him,’ but at the same time, we're also very aware that we can't really make him like a normal character because he's just too strong. We also didn't want him to make him weaker than he should be lore-wise … so pretty quickly we said, ‘Let's have him, but he's more like a special guest.’”
In the full game, the Primarch will make a special appearance here and there but won’t be part of the main character roster, and you also won’t be able to take him into the multiplayer either.
That shouldn’t diminish just how cool it is that he’s here in the first place though, as King Art Games has made history by giving us our first playable Primarch in any Warhammer 40k game, and I can’t wait to take The Lion for a spin.
Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War IV launches in 2026 exclusively for PC, once again bringing war to Kronus.