King Art Games has announced a delay for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4, pushing the real-time strategy title from its previously planned September 17 release date to December 3. Players who purchased the Commander Edition will still receive three-day early access, allowing them to begin playing on November 30.
Creative director Jan Theysen explained that the additional development time is intended to "further enhance Dawn of War 4 and deliver the quality of experience we’ve always envisioned." The team will focus on optimizing performance, resolving bugs, and applying additional polish to ensure a strong launch.
Following its release, Dawn of War 4 is slated to receive free updates that will introduce new maps, the return of the popular Crusade mode, additional commanders, and a mission editor. The developer also has two story expansions planned.
The original Dawn of War games are highly regarded entries in the RTS genre, and King Art Games' previous work on Iron Harvest has generated confidence that they can successfully revive the series. The game's predecessor, Dawn of War 2, released in 2009 and offered a different take on the Warhammer 40,000 universe, focusing on squad-based tactics and hero units.