No, you do not need to play the older Dawn of War games before Dawn of War 4. KING Art Games sets Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV some 200 years after Dawn of War: Dark Crusade on the planet Kronus, and the studio says its story is “linked to the older Dawn of War games, but it’s very much its own completely new thing.”
That said, the new game leans on a lot of series history: a returning planet, returning Orks, the Blood Ravens and a revived Crusade mode. Below is where Dawn of War 4 fits, what KING Art has revealed about the story (nothing beyond its own announcements, so no spoilers), every earlier game in release order, and why Dawn of War: Definitive Edition is not the same thing.
When Dawn of War 4 Takes Place
KING Art’s story blog on Steam puts the game “some 200 years after Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, the expansion to the original Dawn of War.” In the years between, a tear in reality called the Great Rift has split the galaxy, and Kronus has ended up on the wrong side of it, stranded along with part of the Blood Ravens Chapter.
Kronus is the link that matters. It is the same world Dark Crusade was fought over, and Dark Crusade’s own Steam page describes a Necron necropolis buried under the planet’s central desert. KING Art says the Necrons “haven’t been playable in the series since Dark Crusade,” and that setting the game on Kronus gave the studio the perfect excuse to bring them back.
The studio is just as clear about what the game is not. Its goal “wasn’t to simply continue a story that the first three games had told,” but to tell a new story “that just happens to feature some familiar faces from the previous games.” So the game does not pick up from the ending of Dawn of War II or Dawn of War III, and you will not need either one to follow it.
What KING Art Has Revealed About the Story
Everything here comes from KING Art’s own spoiler-free posts and trailers.
- The Blood Ravens return to Kronus. Captain Cyrus and Chief Librarian Jonah Orion head to Kronus, the Chapter’s old recruiting world, hoping to rebuild their dwindling ranks. They instead find “a sinister threat that places the entire galactic sub-sector in danger.”
- The Orks get there first. According to the story trailer breakdown, Warboss Gorgutz ambushes the Blood Ravens in orbit, and once both sides crash planetside, the Beastboss Guzcutta is already hunting human forces on the surface.
- The Adeptus Mechanicus dig too deep. An expedition has found a Necron complex “deep beneath the sands of Kronus.” They believe it is a tomb, then a prison, “but a prison for what?”
- The Necrons wake up. The Necrons receive a mysterious signal from Kronus, which KING Art calls a dormant tomb world.
- The Dark Angels answer the call. When the Imperial forces send out a call for aid, the Dark Angels respond, and Lion El’Jonson, the Dark Angels’ Primarch, appears in a “small but pivotal role.”
The structure is new for the series. There are four faction campaigns (Space Marines, Orks, Necrons and Adeptus Mechanicus), each with its own storyline feeding one overarching story, and more than 70 missions in total that you can play solo or with a friend. Missions branch, and some choices have consequences: KING Art’s example is choosing to defend a Manufactorum Complex rather than a Hive City, where one may survive at the expense of the other. The story was written with Black Library author John French, whom KING Art describes as “a huge Dawn of War fan.”
Every Earlier Dawn of War Game, in Release Order
Here is every earlier game and expansion, summarized from their official Steam store pages:
| Game | Year | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Dawn of War | 2004 | The Blood Ravens campaign on Tartarus, with Space Marines, Orks, Chaos and Eldar |
| Winter Assault (expansion) | 2005 | Lorn V, adds the Imperial Guard, Order and Disorder campaigns racing to recover a Titan |
| Dark Crusade (expansion) | 2006 | Kronus, a non-linear campaign for seven races, adds the Tau and Necrons |
| Soulstorm (expansion) | 2008 | The Kaurava System, adds the Sisters of Battle and Dark Eldar for nine factions |
| Dawn of War II | 2009 | A squad-focused take on the series, with a co-op campaign and squads that level up |
| Chaos Rising (expansion) | 2010 | The Blood Ravens against the Black Legion’s Chaos Space Marines |
| Retribution (expansion) | 2011 | A campaign playable with any of six races |
| Dawn of War III | 2017 | The world of Acheron, with Gorgutz, Macha and Gabriel Angelos fighting over a catastrophic weapon |
If you want one piece of homework, make it Dark Crusade. It is the game Dawn of War 4 names as its starting point, it is set on the same planet, and it is where the Crusade mode came from. KING Art says that mode “had its origins in the first game’s Dark Crusade expansion,” and it returns as a free post-launch update for Dawn of War 4.
Dawn of War Definitive Edition Is a Different Game
This trips people up because Relic’s remaster came out the same week Dawn of War 4 was announced. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition is Relic’s remaster of the original 2004 game, released on Steam on August 14, 2025. It bundles Dawn of War with Winter Assault, Dark Crusade and Soulstorm: four campaigns, nine factions and over 100 maps, with upgraded textures and lighting, an improved camera, pathfinding updates, 64-bit support and a built-in Mod Manager.
It is not Dawn of War 4, and buying one does not get you the other. Dawn of War 4 is a brand-new game from a different studio, launching on December 3, 2026. The older Anniversary Edition (Classic) listing of the original game is also still on Steam.
Is Dawn of War 4 a Sequel to Dawn of War 3
Not in the story sense. Dawn of War III was Relic’s 2017 game, set on Acheron, and Dawn of War 4 jumps back to Kronus instead. In gameplay terms KING Art goes further back still: the studio says it started by asking “What would a modern interpretation of the first Dawn of War look like?” and describes the game as “a kind of reimagining of the first Dawn of War,” with base building, territory capture and squad management at its core.
Dawn of War 4 is also the first numbered Dawn of War game not developed by Relic Entertainment. KING Art, the Bremen studio behind the RTS Iron Harvest, is making it, and Deep Silver is publishing. Some characters still cross over: Warboss Gorgutz, an Ork leader in earlier Dawn of War games, returns as one of the Ork Commanders, voiced again by Brian Drummond.
If You Want to Catch Up Anyway
You do not need to, but if you have time before launch:
- Play the Dark Crusade campaign for Kronus and its Necrons. The Definitive Edition is the simplest way to get it.
- Play the original Dawn of War campaign if you want to meet the Blood Ravens and Gorgutz where they started.
- Try Dawn of War II’s Last Stand if you plan to play co-op. KING Art says it brought back features from the other games when they fit its vision, “such as Last Stand,” which returns in Dawn of War 4 as a three-player mode.
Newcomers are covered either way. KING Art says each of the four campaigns opens with a CGI cutscene built “to set up the faction” and introduce key units, followed by in-engine scenes and dialogue on the campaign map between missions. For more backstory from the new game itself, the planned Blood Ravens Story Prologue DLC covers the events leading up to the start of the campaign.
If you want more Warhammer 40,000 while you wait, Boltgun 2 is out now, and our Warhammer 40,000 hub collects every guide we have for the setting. Dawn of War 4 is also on our list of upcoming game releases.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Dawn of War 4 take place? Some 200 years after Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, on the planet Kronus, after the Great Rift has left Kronus and part of the Blood Ravens Chapter stranded.
Is Dawn of War 4 connected to Dark Crusade? Yes, through its setting. Both games take place on Kronus, and the Necrons, last playable in Dark Crusade, return as one of the four factions. The story itself is new.
Is Dawn of War Definitive Edition the same as Dawn of War 4? No. The Definitive Edition is Relic’s 2025 remaster of the original Dawn of War and its three expansions. Dawn of War 4 is a new game from KING Art Games and Deep Silver.
Do you need to play Dawn of War 3 first? No. Dawn of War 4 does not continue Dawn of War III’s story, and KING Art modeled its gameplay on the first Dawn of War rather than the third.
Who wrote the Dawn of War 4 story? KING Art Games wrote it with Black Library author John French.
What order should you play the Dawn of War games in? Release order works best: Dawn of War, Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, Soulstorm, then Dawn of War II, Chaos Rising, Retribution and Dawn of War III. For Dawn of War 4, only Dark Crusade is worth playing first, and only if you want the history of Kronus.