Dawn of War 4 Dev Claims Most Single-Player Content Ever in an RTS

Ever feel like modern RTS games skimp on the single-player campaign? King Art Games, the developer behind Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4, is promising the exact opposite. They claim the game will launch with more single-player content than any other RTS ever.

That's a bold statement, but the numbers back it up. Dawn of War 4 features four full campaigns—one for each launch faction: Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, and Adeptus Mechanicus. In total, there are over 70 campaign missions at launch. To put that in perspective, the original Dawn of War had 11 missions. Dawn of War 2 had a non-linear structure with many repeatable missions, but an average playthrough was 20-30 missions. Dawn of War 3 had 17. So yeah, 70+ is a massive leap.

In an interview with IGN, creative director Jan Theysen didn't hold back. He said each of the four campaigns is bigger than the entire Dawn of War 1 campaign—not just in mission count, but likely in gameplay hours too. "I would say you are up for a treat because this is really what was our focus," Theysen said. "We come from single-player games, and we like stories and campaigns." He acknowledged the difficulty of such claims—someone could always find an RTS from 1994 that was bigger—but he believes they've probably got more single-player content than any other RTS at launch.

Because each campaign has a branching storyline that feeds into the overarching story, you won't see every mission in a single playthrough. Theysen explained that the Ork campaign has around 18 missions total, but any given playthrough will be about 14 or 15. Still, that's a lot compared to Dawn of War 1. "If you're a single player fan, I think this is really a game for you," he added.

The campaign kicks off with two tutorial missions where you play as the Astra Militarum (formerly the Imperial Guard). These teach the basics, but each faction's campaign dives deeper into unique mechanics. The Orks are first after the tutorial, introducing their economy, build system, upgrades, and stratagems. Later, the Adeptus Mechanicus campaign has a mission centered on the Imperial Knight, unlocking its use and teaching you how it works. "The campaigns become more interesting because people get new stuff all the time," Theysen said. "And also, we are not front-loading everything. Your head would explode if we tried to explain everything in the first couple of missions."

While multiplayer is a big part of the RTS scene, there's a huge audience that plays mostly for the single-player. For them, this offering is a dream come true. And the content doesn't stop at launch. Dawn of War 4 arrives in December, and more is coming: Crusade Mode and Map Pack 1 early next year, then a second map pack and Lord Ahmnok Last Stand Crusade in early spring. A third map pack and mission editor follow, with a fourth map pack and Guzcutta Last Stand Crusade in early summer. There are also two paid additions: the Blood Ravens story prologue in spring and the Aftermath campaign expansion with a new faction in summer.

So, if you're a single-player RTS fan, Dawn of War 4 is shaping up to be a feast. Will you be diving into all four campaigns? Let us know in the comments!