Space Marine 2 was a hit, making millions for Games Workshop, and guaranteeing the saga of Ultramarine Demetrian Titus would continue in Space Marine 3. But it was also a boon to developers of other 40K games, like Darktide studio Fatshark and Rogue Trader studio Owlcat.
“We definitely saw a boost in player numbers after Space Marine 2”, said Mike Knight, Darktide narrative lead at Fatshark. “It makes sense, people play a game and like it, so they look around for something else that’s similar.”
Anton Emelianov, brand manager at Owlcat Games, agreed. “Definitely. When one Warhammer game does well, it lifts the others. We saw a noticeable uptick in interest around Rogue Trader when Space Marine 2 launched—people wanted to explore the setting further, often in different genres.”
And they sure are different genres. The multiplayer-focused third-person action of Space Marine 2 is worlds away from the immersively singleplayer CRPG Rogue Trader, but I guess it’s adjacent to co-op FPS Darktide. Though unless you’re playing an ogryn, Darktide gives you more of the experience of being one of those lasgun-toting troopers Titus and his mates barrel past in Space Marine 2. It’s cool that players want more from their 40K games than just space marines blowing stuff up, even if that’s what shifts the most units.
“We’ve been making games set in the Warhammer/Warhammer 40,000 IPs for a while now”, Knight continues, “and know that its lore is ripe for the kind of games we like to make. Space Marine 2’s success is awesome, but only reinforces what we already know to be true. Warhammer is awesome and makes a great setting for games!”
“It certainly reinforced what we already believed: Warhammer has a huge and ever-growing audience,” says Emelianov, “and there’s plenty of room for new stories within the setting. While our games are very different—and CRPGs are often seen as more of a niche genre—the success of Space Marine 2 is inspiring and motivates us to keep raising the bar.”
As part of the recent Warhammer Skulls event, Darktide and Rogue Trader crossed over, with Darktide’s sapper shovel arriving as a weapon in Rogue Trader and the Rogue Trader’s compass inspiring a new weapon trinket in Darktide. Both games are also available in a discount bundle on Steam for a limited time.
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