All roads lead to XCOM, and the Warhammer 40,000 universe is no exception. A sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters has been officially announced, according to Rock Paper Shotgun, and it's trading in its demon-slaying subtitle for the equally metal "Deathwatch."
For the uninitiated, Daemonhunters was a turn-based tactical RPG that let you stomp around as the Grey Knights - the Imperium's elite daemon-punching squad - in glorious XCOM-flavored fashion. It was exactly as gloriously over-the-top as it sounds, and apparently enough people liked it to warrant a full sequel.
New squad, same galaxy-brained carnage
Deathwatch is a direct sequel to Daemonhunters, picking up the grimdark story right where it left off. The big swap this time around is in who you're commanding - instead of Grey Knights hunting daemons, you're now leading the Deathwatch, described as the Imperium's "most elite alien-hunters." Think less "banishing eldritch horrors" and more "absolutely ruining xenos' day."
The game reportedly keeps the turn-based tactical RPG formula intact, so if you were a fan of the original's XCOM-with-power-armor energy, you should feel right at home. Same grimdark universe, same chunky Space Marine boot-to-face gameplay - just with more tentacled alien punching on the menu.
Why this matters (even if you're not a 40k fan)
Daemonhunters carved out a solid niche as one of the better Warhammer 40k video game adaptations - a franchise that has, shall we say, a wildly inconsistent track record. A direct sequel doubling down on what worked is frankly the most sensible move in a universe where bad decisions are basically a core gameplay mechanic.
No release date has been confirmed yet, but considering the Deathwatch are literally the best of the best when it comes to alien extermination, we can only hope the devs are likewise bringing their S-tier tactics game skills to the sequel. Keep your bolters loaded and your faith in the Emperor topped up - more details are surely incoming.
