PC Gaming Show 2026 Delivers the First Real Look
Nearly six months after the official reveal at The Game Awards 2025, Creative Assembly has finally shown Total War: Warhammer 40,000 in motion. At PC Gaming Show 2026, the studio dropped both new in-development gameplay footage and a behind-the-scenes developer breakdown — enough to confirm this is a real game with real factions doing real Total War things, only with bolters instead of crossbows.
The gameplay shown puts Astra Militarum troops against an Ork invasion on the Shattered Expressway — a war-torn stretch of polluted Imperial city that gives an immediate sense of scale. Infantry columns, heavy armour, artillery fire. The sci-fi setting doesn’t dilute the series’ core identity; it just rewires the vocabulary.
Four Confirmed Launch Factions
Creative Assembly has locked in four playable factions for launch, each with distinct tactical DNA:
- Space Marines — the elite of the Imperium. Few in number, capable of holding ground against entire armies. Quality over quantity, always.
- Astra Militarum — the Imperial Guard in its full mass-mobilisation glory. Cadian Shock Troops, Kasrkin, Ogryns, Sentinels, and the iconic Baneblade super-heavy tank fill their ranks. A faction built on weight of fire and human lives.
- Orks — organised chaos. Boyz, Gretchin, Stormboyz, Deff Dreads, and Stompas crash into enemy lines with overwhelming aggression. The WAAAGH! never retreats.
- Aeldari — the mobility faction. Their standout mechanic is Webway Travel, allowing rapid repositioning of units across the battlefield. Surgical strikes over sustained combat.
Each faction plays differently, which is exactly what a multi-faction strategy game needs to avoid the “same game, different skins” problem.
Armageddon and Iconic Lore Leaders
The game is set during the Wars of Armageddon — one of the most famous conflicts in Warhammer 40,000 lore. Two legendary commanders are already confirmed:
- Commissar Yarrick — the Old Man of Armageddon, hero of the Astra Militarum, whose very name inspires dread in Ork warbands. Bionics and all.
- Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thrakka — the Prophet of the WAAAGH!, the Ork Warboss who launched both great Armageddon invasions. The largest Ork threat the Imperium has faced.
Pitting Yarrick against Ghazghkull is the kind of lore-faithful casting that immediately tells you Creative Assembly understands the source material.
Closed Beta Sign-Ups Now Open
Alongside the gameplay reveal, Creative Assembly confirmed a closed beta is coming later in 2026. Sign-ups are live now on the game’s Steam page. No date was given, but opening registration at this stage suggests the beta isn’t far off.
To register: Steam → Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 → “Get Beta Access”.
What We Still Don’t Know
The reveal showed only real-time battles — no strategic campaign map, no diplomacy screen, no post-battle upgrade menus. How the turn-based layer works in a 40K context remains entirely under wraps. Potential post-launch factions (Tyranids, Chaos, Necrons?) were also conspicuously unmentioned.
The game runs on Warcore, a brand-new engine built from the ground up for the scale of 40K warfare. Our Total War: Warhammer 40K mid-2026 breakdown covers what was known about the technical side before this reveal.
Cautiously Impressive
PC Gaming Show 2026 landed exactly what it needed to: proof that this is a functioning game with visually differentiated factions and a setting that feels earned. The beta will be the real test of whether the strategy depth lives up to the spectacle.