For 35 years, Games Workshop’s grim vision of the future has entertained gamers on both on tabletop and the computer screen.
With countless stories of swole space marines, rampaging alien hordes and horrors that lurk in the darkest corners of the warp for you to choose from on PC and consoles, what are the best Warhammer 40k games you can play right now?
Read on as we take you on a trip from Holy Terra to the far-flung reaches of the Imperium. From bustling Hive worlds to alien-infested ships left abandoned in deep space. From the frontline of a rampaging Ork army to the haunting depths of a Necron Tomb World. There’s something on this list to cater to the needs of every Warhammer 40k fan, or gamer looking to find out what all the fuss is about.
1. Space Hulk: Deathwing
- Available on PS4, Xbox One and PC
The latest adaptation of the beloved tabletop game of the same name, Space Hulk: Deathwing sees you plunged into the claustrophobic Xenos-infested corridors of a colossal Space Hulk.
Clad in the tactical dreadnaught armour of the feared first company of the Dark Angels chapter of Space Marines and armed to the teeth with devastating weaponry, your squad of terminators must explore the labyrinthine derelict. However, as your sensors begin to crackle into life and a steady beep can be heard, it’s clear that you are not alone. And before too long the Terminators are beset by the thrashing claws and teeth of the nightmarish genestealers; the vanguard of a Lovecraftian alien consciousness that has only one desire, to consume.
If you’ve ever wondered what Aliens would be like if the marines had been much better equipped, Deathwing is the game for you. This tense, tactical co-op FPS delivers a compelling and challenging experience both in solo play or online. Unlock powerful weapons and abilities on your quest to wipe out the alien threat and uncover the mysteries buried deep with the Space Hulk.
Read our review of Space Hulk: Deathwing
2. Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood and Teef
- Available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and PC
The Orks are a savage race that sweeps across the stars like an intergalactic tide of Millwall away fans. Savage, brutal and crude, these space hooligans take part in great crusades known as Waaaghs! (which is also their battle cry).
In Shootas, Blood and Teef, you and up to three of your boyz can take part in a Waaagh through the hive city of Luteus Prime. You’ll set out on a mission to become to new Warboss and retrieve your precious hair squig.
From the studio that brought us the fantastic Guns, Gore and Cannoli, Shootas, Blood and Teef is a hilarious, satirical shooter that makes for one of the best Warhammer 40K games you can currently play. It’s as much a love letter to the world of 40K as a reminder that we were never supposed to take any of it too seriously.
WAAAAHHHH has never been so much fun.
Read our review of Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef
3. Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr
- Available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC
In this co-op action RPG, players take on the role of an Inquisitor. One of the Imperium’s most powerful agents, it is their job to root out and destroy the demonic taint of chaos wherever they find it.
Conduct your investigation across the Caldari system by yourself or in local or online co-op as. Players have four classes to choose from: the powerful Psyker that uses area-attacks and debuffs to dominate the enemies; the heavily-armoured Crusader capable of ploughing right into the fray with his mighty hammer; the swift and stabby Assassin; and the Tech-Adept who can summon mindless servitors and robots to fight alongside them.
With a clever cover system, plenty of customisation options, destructible environments, and a great story full of twists and turns, Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr is undoubtedly one of the best Warhammer 40k games you can play right now. Particularly if you’re a fan of Diablo.
Read our review of Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr
4. Dawn of War III
- Available on PC
This entry on our list of best Warhammer 40K games is a bit of a cheat. Why? Well, simply because the whole of the Dawn of War trilogy is worth your time. The three games also act as a great entry point into the wider world of the 41st Millennium.
We chose Dawn of War III, however, because it is very much a best-of-both-worlds sequel. It mixes the traditional RTS elements of the first game and the more squad-focused combat of the second. Dawn of War III drops you onto the lost planet of Acheron. With a campaign that has you play as the heroic Space Marines of the Blood Raven chapter, you’ll experience a galaxy-spanning narrative taking you across the imperium and deep into the warp and back again.
This is a great final chapter to a seminal series, that anyone with even a cursory interest in Warhammer 40,000 owes it to themselves to dip into.
Read our Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 Review
5. Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior
- Available on PC via GOG.com (and PS2)
Announced on the same day as the anime-inspired Xenos faction that stars in this unique FPS, Fire Warrior introduces you to the world of the T’au. Taking place over the course of 24 hours, you are Shas’la Kais, a pulse rifle-packing Fire Warrior on their first day on the job. Kais’ first mission is to rescue an important Tau leader, the ethereal Ko’vash, from the clutches of a corrupt imperial governor on the desert planet of Dolumar IV.
If you’re bored of always playing as those despicable humans and always fight for the greater good, Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior is the game for you.
6. Necromunda: Hired Gun
- Available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC
If you’ve ever wondered what life is like in your average human colony in the imperium of man, Necromunda: Hired Gun is probably the closest representation the gaming world has seen thus far.
Set on the crime-riven streets of the bustling hive world of Necromunda, you take on the role of a mercenary working for the criminal gangs vying for control of the industrial planet’s criminal underworld. With your best boy at your side, you blast your way through every ganger, heretic, or mutant that gets in your way.
Featuring dozens of guns to loot and upgrade, and fast-paced first-person action in a similar vein to Dishonored, this is undoubtedly one of the best Warhammer 40K games you can play on modern consoles. Oh, and did we mention that you have your own dog, too? Fans of both 40K and the Necromunda should definitely give this more grounded take on the Warhammer 40K universe a look.
7. Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus
- Available on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC
The Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus are the keepers of what little is left of humanity’s technology. Heavily augmented cyborg scholars, the Mechanicus seek out ancient technology wherever they can find it in service to their machine god the Omnisiah.
In Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, you take on the role of a cadre of Tech-Priests as they scour the ruins of the Necron tomb world or Silva Tenebris in search of ancient technology that could help the imperium. Through the course of this XCOM-like strategy game, your decisions will have far-reaching consequences, not only for your squad of upgradable tech priests, but for the Imperium. You see, each decision changes both the missions available to you and the ending.
Mechanicus boasts plenty of replayability, tons of challenging missions and a great plot that delves into our own relationship with technology, and what that could lead to. This is a must-have for fans of 40K and strategy games alike.
8. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II
- Available on PC
If you’ve always wanted to oversee a fleet of starships that look like the lovechild of an Imperial Star Destroyer and the Vatican, Battlefleet Gothic Armada II might be the Warhammer 40K game for you.
Featuring all 12 factions from the tabletop game, Armada II is the best Warhammer 40k game about space battles ever made. Set against the backdrop of the 13th Black Crusade, it sees the forces of Chaos literally tear a hole in the galaxy. Its compelling narrative and deep, tactical gameplay is bound to bring out the admiral of the fleet in anyone.
9. Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters
- Available on PC
A reboot of the 1998 game of the same name, Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters sees you take on the role of a squad of the Imperium’s most elite warriors, the mysterious Grey Knights.
Tasked with purging the galaxy of the ruinous powers of Chaos that live within the warp, the psychic space marines of the Greyknights chapter are a secret organisation that few ever live to see.
In this turn-based RPG, the Grey Knights have been dispatched to stop agents of Nurgle, the Chaos god of pestilence and disease from unleashing a plague that could infect the entire galaxy. Create and customise a squad of Daemonhunters and send them out to fight in fast-paced XCOM-style skirmishes against the enemies of the Imperium.
If you want a game that really understands 40K as a setting, and what makes its factions tick, Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters is worth checking out. If you love the satisfaction of turning overwhelming odds to your favour, this is one of the best Warhammer 40,000 games you can play.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
- Available on PC (and PS3/Xbox 360)
No list of the best Warhammer 40K games would be complete without Space Marine.
Taking on the role of Brother Titus, a mighty space marine of the Ultramarines chapter (voiced by Tom Strong no less), this third-person shooter is the closest you’ll get to being a space marine. Armed with the iconic bolter and chainsword, your mission is to defend the forgeworld against an invading horde of vicious greenskins.
With satisfying, brutal combat, excellent performances from a top-tier voice cast, and some absolutely insane set pieces, Space Marine is easily one of the best Warhammer 40K games ever made.
Unfortunately, the only way to play this classic at the moment is on the PC. But with Saber Interactive busy on a sequel due out next year, we’re hopeful that a remaster for current-gen consoles might be in the pipeline too. Fingers crossed, anyway.
