Skip to main content

‘Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III’ open beta set days before game’s release

Dawn of War III – Announcement Trailer
Relic Entertainment and Sega’s upcoming strategy game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III will host an open beta from April 21 to April 24, the companies announced on Wednesday. The timing is of particular note, as the beta will end just three days before the game is set to launch on April 27.

The beta will be multiplayer only, showcasing “the strengths and weaknesses of each faction as players put powerful heroes and devastating abilities to use, while countering those of their foes,” according to a press release. All three of the game’s factions — Space Marines, Eldar, and Orks — will be available for use, plus “a selection of powerful elite heroes for each.” Lastly, the beta will also include access to the Masters of War skin pack included with pre-orders.

Those interested in joining the beta can sign up on the game’s official site at dawnofwar.com/beta.

Multiplayer betas can serve dual purposes: To allow the developers to stress test their online infrastructure and a game’s internal balance, and to escalate the hype for unreleased games. With only three days between the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III beta and its release, though, it seems this beta is likely focused on the latter, as a scant handful of days likely won’t be enough time to make major changes in between the beta’s end and the game’s launch.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III debuted in May with the CGI reveal trailer above. The press got its first hands-on with the game at the E3 conference the following June, where game director Philippe Boulle described it as “a fast, big, real-time strategy game.” Narratively, the game comes after Dawn of War II and its expansions, though features from the original, including the ability to build barracks and other military structures, make a return.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III launches April 27 on PC in three separate versions, including limited and collector’s editions.

Editors' Recommendations

Michael Rougeau
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mike Rougeau is a journalist and writer who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and two dogs. He specializes in video…
Volgarr the Viking 2 will take you back to your Ghosts ‘n Goblins days
A viking slashes a tree in Volgarr the Viking 2.

Developer Digital Eclipse is working on a surprising project: Volgarr the Viking 2. The 2D retro sequel will launch on August 6 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

The news is an out of left field reveal. The first Volgarr the Viking game released in 2013 and was made as an ode to 1080s classics like Ghosts 'n Goblins. Despite being a small release, it sold over 1 million copies over the past decade. As revealed during today's Guerrilla Collective stream, the series is coming back with a new sequel by Digital Eclipse, the team behind this year's Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story.

Read more
3 Days of Play PS Plus games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Key art for Streets of Rage 4.

June 2024 is shaping up to be a pretty great month for PlayStation players. Not only are we coming off an entertaining State of Play showcase, but a new Days of Play initiative surrounding all the video game showcases this month is bringing a lot of new PS Plus additions with it. Many of those games hit PS Plus this week, and three in particular stand out to us.

For owners of Sony's oft-neglected PlayStation VR2, the first game is one of its rare exclusives that take full advantage of the headset's eye-tracking by seeing how often players blink. The next is a new PS Plus Essential game that's a revival of Sega's classic beat-'em-up series for the modern gaming era. Finally, the last title is an atmospheric and eerie fishing game that should entice fans of Lovecraftian horror.
Before Your Eyes

Read more
3 first-party Xbox Game Pass games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Gears 5 Kait Hero Close Up

Microsoft will hold an Xbox Games Showcase and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct. this Sunday. These shows will provide a much better idea of what to expect from Xbox over the course of the next year or two. That's really needed right now, as Microsoft has struggled to keep online discussions around Xbox positive as it went multiplatform with some games, laid off thousands of developers, and outright shut down the developers of Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall. Based on leaks and my personal expectations for the showcase, there are three games you can play on Xbox Game Pass this weekend to prepare for the event.

The first is the latest first-person shooter in a long-running series by id Software that might be getting a medieval-set spinoff. After that, we have the fifth entry in a sci-fi Xbox series that still looks fantastic on Xbox Series X/S even though it came out in 2019. Finally, you can prepare for Avowed with the latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, a satirical sci-fi game where player choice is critical.
Doom Eternal

Read more