Warhammer 40,000

The assembly and painting of models is a major aspect of the hobby, as much as the actual game.

Games Workshop sells a large variety of gaming models for Warhammer 40,000, although Games Workshop does not sell ready-to-play models. Rather, it sells boxes of model parts. Players are expected to assemble and paint the miniatures themselves. Games Workshop also sells glue, tools, and acrylic paints for this purpose. Most Warhammer 40,000 models are made of polystyrene, but some models—those of exotic characters which are made and sold in small volumes—are made of lead-free pewter or epoxy resin.

Each miniature model represents an individual warrior or vehicle. In the rulebooks, there is an entry for every type of model in the game that describes its capabilities. For instance, a model of a Tactical Space Marine has a "Move characteristic" of 6 inches, a "Toughness characteristic" of 4, and is armed with a "boltgun" with a range of 24 inches.

Warhammer 40,000 is meant to be played on a table. The official rulebook recommends a table width of 4 feet (1.2 m).[6] In contrast to board games, Warhammer 40,000 does not have a fixed playing field. Players are expected to construct their own custom-made playing field using modular terrain models. Games Workshop sells a variety of proprietary terrain models, but players often use generic or homemade ones too. Unlike certain other miniature wargames, such as BattleTech, Warhammer 40,000 does not use a grid system. Players must use measuring tape (and templates in other editions) to measure distances. Distances are measured in inches.

Officially, Warhammer 40,000 does not have a scale, but the models approximate to a scale ratio of 1:60.[7] For instance, a Land Raider tank model is 17 cm long but conceptually 10.3 m long. This scale does not correspond to the range of firearms: on the table, a boltgun has a range of 24 inches, which corresponds to only 120 feet (36.6 m) at 1:60 scale.

Players are not restricted to playing with a specific and symmetrical combination of warriors. However, there are some rules to ensure that whatever warriors the players choose, their armies will be balanced.

The model warriors are classified into "factions". In a matched game, a player can only use warrior models that are all loyal to a common faction, such as "Imperium" or "Chaos".[8] Thus, a player cannot, for example, use a mixture of Eldar and Necron models—that would not make sense, for in the game's fictional setting, Eldar and Necrons are mortal enemies and would never fight alongside each other. Each faction has its own strengths and weaknesses due to the particular warriors and weapons it has access to. For instance, the Tau faction favours ranged combat because its army does not have many melee units but does have a variety of powerful ranged units.

The players must agree as to what "points limit" they will play at, which roughly determines how big and powerful their respective armies will be. Each model has a "point value" which roughly corresponds to how powerful the model is; for example, a Tactical Space Marine is valued at 13 points, whereas a Land Raider tank is valued at 239 points.[9] The sum of the point values of a player's models must not exceed the agreed limit. 1,000 to 2,000 points are common points limits. In the most recent edition of the game, power levels are assigned to each model, which can be used to simplify or vary the process of creating an army list.[10]

Distances between models on the playing field must be measured with tools, as there is no grid.

At the start of a game, each player places their models in starting zones at opposite ends of the playing field.

At the start of their turn, a player moves each model in their army by hand across the field. A model can be moved no farther than its listed "Move characteristic". For instance, a model of a Space Marine can be moved no farther than six inches per turn. If a model cannot fly, it must go around obstacles such as walls and trees.

Models are grouped into "units". They move, attack, and suffer damage as a unit. All models in a unit must stay close to each other; each model in a unit must finish a turn within two inches of another model from the unit.

After moving, each unit can attack any enemy unit within range and line-of-fire of whatever weapons and psychic powers its models have. For instance, a unit of Space Marines armed with "boltguns" can shoot any enemy unit within 24 inches. The attacking player rolls dice to determine how much imaginary damage his models inflicted on the enemy unit. The attacking player cannot target individual models within an enemy unit; if an enemy unit suffers damage, the enemy player decides which models in the unit suffered injury.[11] Damage is measured in points, and if a model suffers more points of damage than its "Wound characteristic" permits, it dies. Dead infantry models are removed from the playing field. Disabled vehicles are turned upside down and serve as obstacles for surviving models.

Victory depends on what kind of "mission" the players choose for their game. It might involve exterminating the enemy, or holding a location on the field for a certain length of time, or retaining possession of a holy relic for a certain length of time.

Rick Priestley cites J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Dune, Paradise Lost, and 2000 AD as major influences on the setting. Priestley felt that Warhammer's concept of Chaos, as detailed by his colleague Bryan Ansell in the supplement Realms of Chaos, was too simplistic and too similar to the works of Michael Moorcock, so he developed it further, taking inspiration from Paradise Lost.[14] The story of the Emperor's favored sons succumbing to the temptations of Chaos deliberately parallels the fall of Satan in Paradise Lost. The religious themes are primarily inspired by the early history of Christianity.

The Emperor of Man was inspired by various fictional god-kings, such as Leto Atreides II from the novel God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, and King Huon from the Runestaff novels by Michael Moorcock. The Emperor's suffering on the Golden Throne for the sake of humanity mirrors the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

To me the background to 40K was always intended to be ironic. [...] The fact that the Space Marines were lauded as heroes within Games Workshop always amused me, because they're brutal, but they're also completely self-deceiving. The whole idea of the Emperor is that you don't know whether he's alive or dead. The whole Imperium might be running on superstition. There's no guarantee that the Emperor is anything other than a corpse with a residual mental ability to direct spacecraft. It's got some parallels with religious beliefs and principles, and I think a lot of that got missed and overwritten.

— Rick Priestley, in a December 2015 interview with Unplugged Games[15]

The Imperium of Man is an authoritarian human empire that comprises about a million worlds and has existed for over 10,000 years. The Imperium is a highly religious society, centred on the worship of the God-Emperor of Man, who was the Imperium's founder and is still its nominal ruler. Anyone who does not worship the Emperor properly is liable to be persecuted for heresy; this is a major theme of the setting. Although the Imperium has highly advanced technology, the Imperium has long ceased practising science and its technologies have not improved for thousands of years. Imperial citizens are taught to obey authority without question, to worship the Emperor, to hate and fear aliens, and to be incurious about anything that does not concern their duties.

Of all the factions, the Imperium has the largest catalogue of models, which gives Imperium players great flexibility in designing their army.

Within the parallel universe known as the Warp dwell the Chaos Gods, who are monomaniacal and depraved entities formed from the most base thoughts and emotions of mortals. The Chaos Gods have the ability to twist the minds of mortals, amplifying certain emotional traits and inspiring reverence, like a supernatural form of brainwashing. Worshipers of Chaos, most of whom are human, tend to be insane, violent, and depraved; and they often exhibit grotesque physical mutations such as extra mouths or limbs replaced with tentacles.

Like the Imperium, the forces of Chaos have access to a large variety of models, meaning a Chaos army can be designed for any style of play. Their forces include Chaos Space Marines, Traitor Titans, Lost and Damned, and Daemons.

The Necrons are an ancient race of skeleton-like androids. Millions of years ago, they were flesh-and-blood beings, but suffered cancerous and short lives due to radiation poisoning from their star. Seeking to extend their naturally short lifespans, they transferred their minds into robot bodies to achieve immortality. However, the transference process was flawed, and all but the most high-ranking Necrons became mindless automatons. They are waking up from millions of years of hibernation in underground vaults on planets across the galaxy, and seek to rebuild their old empire.

Necron infantry have strong ranged firepower, tough armour, and slow movement. Necron units have the ability to rapidly regenerate wounds or "reanimate" slain models at the start of each turn. All Necron models have a Leadership score of 10 (the maximum), so Necrons rarely suffer from morale failure. Necrons do not have any psykers, which makes them somewhat more vulnerable to psychic attacks. The Necrons possess "C'tan shards" which function much like psykers, but since these are not actual psykers, they cannot make Deny the Witch rolls, nor can their powers be countered by enemy Deny the Witch rolls.

An Eldar Farseer.

The Eldar are based on the High Elves of Warhammer Fantasy. They are an ancient species who view humans and other non-Eldar as vermin. Eldar have very long lifespans and all of them are psykers. The Eldar travel the galaxy via a network of magical tunnels called "the Webway". In the distant past, the Eldar ruled an empire that dominated the galaxy, but it was destroyed in a magical cataclysm along with most of the population. The surviving Eldar are divided into the ascetic inhabitants of massive starships called Craftworlds, and the Dark Eldar, a race of sadistic space pirates who inhabit a city hidden within the Webway. Additionally, new factions have arisen. These include the Harlequins, followers of the Laughing God Cegorach, and the Ynnari, followers of the death god Ynnead. Although it has been 10,000 years since their empire's fall, the Eldar have never recovered, due to their low fertility and attacks by other races.

Craftworld Eldar infantry tend to be highly specialised and relatively frail, often described as "glass cannons." Because of their lack of staying power, Eldar armies can suffer severe losses after a bad tactical decision or even unlucky dice rolls, while successful gameplay can involve outnumbered Eldar units which outmanoeuvre the opponent and kill entire squads before they have a chance to retaliate. Eldar vehicles, unlike their infantry counterparts, are very tough and hard to kill because of many evasive and shielding benefits. With the exception of walkers, all Eldar vehicles are skimmers which allow them to move "freely" across the board and, with upgrades, at speeds only matched by the Dark Eldar and the Tau armies. Craftworld Eldar have some of the most powerful psykers in the game.

Dark Eldar are similar to Craftworld Eldar in many ways. The major differences are that they have no psykers whatsoever and they tend to be even faster.

The Orks are green-skinned aliens based on the traditional orcs of high fantasy fiction. Orks are a comical species, having crude personalities, wielding ramshackle weaponry, and speaking with Cockney accents. Their culture revolves around war for the sake of it. Unlike other races which generally only go to war when it is in their interests, the Orks recklessly start unnecessary conflicts and will flock to warzones in the hope of finding a good fight, because Orks do not fear death and combat is the only thing that gives them emotional fulfilment. Ork technology is usually ramshackle and should not function, but Orks emit a magical field that overcomes the flaws in their gear and makes them functional.

In the tabletop game, Ork infantry units are slow-moving and relatively tough. The Orks are oriented towards melee combat; they can re-roll failed charge rolls.[16] Infantry units are cheap (by point cost), so a favourite strategy is "the Green Tide": the player fields as many Orks as they can and simply marches them across the playing field to swarm their opponent. Orks do have a number of specialised units who can use psychic powers and attack vehicles (among other things), but typically Ork warfare is about brute force and attrition. Ork gameplay is viewed as being fairly forgiving of tactical errors and bad die rolls.

The Tyranids are a mysterious alien race from another galaxy. They migrate from planet to planet, devouring all life in their path. Tyranids are linked by a psychic hive mind; individual Tyranids become feral when separated from it. Their "technology" is entirely biological; their ships and weapons are living creatures.

Tyranids have a preference for melee combat. Their infantry units tend to be fast and hard-hitting but frail. They have low point values, meaning Tyranid armies in the game are typically fairly large to compensate. Tyranids have the most powerful counter-measures against enemies with psychic powers: many Tyranid units possess a trait called "Shadow in the Warp", which makes it harder for nearby enemy psykers to use their psychic powers.[17]

There is a sub-species of the Tyranid race called "genestealers". Genestealers are visually inspired by the monster from the movie Alien, and also take inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft's short story The Shadow Over Innsmouth. When a human is infected by a genestealer, they are psychically enslaved and will sire children who are human-genestealer hybrids. These hybrids will form a secret society within their host human society, steadily expanding their numbers and political influence. When a Tyranid fleet approaches their planet, they will launch an uprising to weaken the planet's defences so that the Tyranids may more easily conquer it and consume its life.

In earlier editions of the game, genestealers could only be used as auxiliaries to a regular Tyranid army, but in the latest edition (8th), they can be played as a separate army. Although there is a dedicated line of genestealer models, a player can also use units from the Imperial Guard (a sub-faction of the Imperium) in their genestealer army. This is an exception to the common-faction rule and is based on the logic that these "human" units are actually genestealer hybrids who look perfectly human. Like other Tyranids, genestealers are hard-hitting but fragile. All genestealer infantry have a trait called "Cult Ambush" that allows them to deploy anywhere on the battlefield instead of just the designated starting zones (similar to the Space Marines' "Deep Strike" ability).

The Tau are a race of blue-skinned aliens inhabiting a relatively small but growing empire located on the fringes of the Imperium of Man. The Tau Empire is the only playable faction in the setting that integrates alien species into their society. They seek to subjugate all other races under an ideology they call "the Greater Good". Some human worlds have willingly defected from the Imperium to the Tau Empire. This was later revealed to be due to mind-influencing pheromones exuded by the Tau's leadership caste called Ethereals, which has enabled the Tau to easily integrate most alien species they have encountered including among the most fanatical and disciplined human soldiers. Although humans are effectively second-class citizens in Tau society, despite being equal in principle, they tend to have a better quality of life than Imperium citizens, because the Tau still practice science and encourage the spread of technical knowledge (political ideas are another matter). The Tau are divided into five endogamous castes: the Ethereals, who rule; the Fire Caste, who fight on the ground; the Air Caste, who operate starships; the Water Caste, who are merchants and diplomats; and the Earth Caste, who are scientists, engineers, and labourers.

The Tau are oriented towards ranged combat and generally die quickly in close quarters. They have some of the most powerful firearms in the game in terms of both range and stopping power. For instance, their pulse rifle surpasses the firepower of the Space Marine boltgun,[18] and the railgun on their main battle tank (the Hammerhead) is the most powerful ranged weapon in the entire game. They heavily use the Overwatch special rule, which allows them to shoot back at their enemies when charged with relatively devastating power. The Tau do not have any psykers nor units that specialize in countering psykers, which makes them somewhat more vulnerable to psychic attacks. Most Tau vehicles are classified as flyers or skimmers, meaning they can move swiftly over difficult terrain. The Tau also incorporate aliens into their army: the Kroot provide melee support and the insectoid Vespids serve as jump infantry. There is also an option to include human auxiliaries, armed with superior Tau firearms.

A first edition Space Marine model, from the 1980s.

The first edition of the game was titled Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. "Rogue Trader" had been the game's working title during development, and shortly before release, Games Workshop decided to add "Warhammer 40,000" to the title so as to brand it as a sci-fi spin-off of Warhammer Fantasy. The "Rogue Trader" subtitle was dropped in subsequent editions. It was published in 1987.[21] Game designer Rick Priestley created the original rules set (based on the contemporary second edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle) alongside the Warhammer 40,000 gameworld. The gameplay of Rogue Trader was heavily oriented toward role-playing rather than strict wargaming. This original version came as a very detailed, though rather jumbled, rulebook, which made it most suitable for fighting small skirmishes.[22] Much of the composition of the units was determined randomly, by rolling dice. A few elements of the setting (bolters, lasguns, frag grenades, Terminator armour) can be seen in a set of earlier wargaming rules called Laserburn (produced by the now defunct company Tabletop Games) written by Bryan Ansell. These rules were later expanded by both Ansell and Richard Halliwell (both of whom ended up working for Games Workshop), although the rules were not a precursor to Rogue Trader.[23]

In addition, supplemental material was continually published in White Dwarf magazine, which provided rules for new units and models. Eventually, White Dwarf provided proper "army lists" that could be used to create larger and more coherent forces than were possible in the main rulebook. These articles were from time to time released in expansion books along with new rules, background materials and illustrations. All in all ten books were released for the original edition of Warhammer 40,000: "Chapter Approved – Book of the Astronomican", "Compendium", "Warhammer 40,000 Compilation", "Waaagh – Orks", two "Realm of Chaos" ("Slaves to Darkness" and "The Lost and the Damned"), "'Ere we Go", "Freebooterz", "Battle Manual", and "Vehicle Manual". The "Battle Manual" changed and codified the combat rules and provided updated stats for most of the weapons in the game. The "Vehicle Manual" contained a new system for vehicle management on the tabletop which was intended to supersede the clunky rules given in the base hardback manual and in the red softback compendium, it had an inventive target location system which used acetate crosshairs to simulate weapon hits on the vehicle silhouettes with different armour values for different locations (such as tracks, engine compartment, ammo store, and so on). "Waaagh – Orks" was an introductory manual to Orkish culture and physiology. It contained no rules, but background material. Other Ork-themed books instead were replete with army lists for major Ork clans and also for greenskin pirate and mercenary outfits. The "Realm of Chaos" books were hefty hardback tomes, which included rules for Chaos in Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Warhammer Fantasy Battle (3rd edition).

The second edition of Warhammer 40,000 was published in late 1993. This new course for the game was forged under the direction of editor Andy Chambers. The second edition came in a boxed set that included Space Marine and Ork miniatures, scenery, dice, and the main rules. An expansion box set titled Dark Millennium was later released, which included rules for psychic powers. Another trait of the game was the attention given to "special characters" representing specific individuals from the background, who had access to equipment and abilities beyond those of others; the earlier edition only had three generic "heroic" profiles for each army: "champion", "minor hero" and "major hero".

The third edition of the game was released in 1998 and, like the second edition, concentrated on streamlining the rules for larger battles.[24] Third-edition rules were notably simpler.[25] The rulebook was available alone, or as a boxed set with miniatures of Space Marines and the newly introduced Dark Eldar. The system of army 'codexes' continued in third edition.

Towards the end of the third edition, four new army codexes were introduced: the xeno (that is, alien) races of the Necron and the Tau and two armies of the Inquisition: the Ordo Malleus (called Daemonhunters), and the Ordo Hereticus (called Witchhunters); elements of the latter two armies had appeared before in supplementary material (such as Realm of Chaos and Codex: Sisters of Battle). At the end of the third edition, these armies were re-released with all-new artwork and army lists. The release of the Tau coincided with a rise in popularity for the game in the United States.[26]

The fourth edition of Warhammer 40,000 was released in 2004.[27] This edition did not feature as many major changes as prior editions, and was "backwards compatible" with each army's third-edition codex. The fourth edition was released in three forms: the first was a standalone hardcover version, with additional information on painting, scenery building, and background information about the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The second was a boxed set, called Battle for Macragge, which included a compact softcover version of the rules, scenery, dice, templates, and Space Marines and Tyranid miniatures. The third was a limited collector's edition. Battle for Macragge was a 'game in a box', targeted primarily at beginners. Battle for Macragge was based on the Tyranid invasion of the Ultramarines' homeworld, Macragge. An expansion to this was released called The Battle Rages On!, which featured new scenarios and units, like the Tyranid Warrior.

The fifth edition of Warhammer 40,000 was released on July 12, 2008. While there are some differences between the fourth and fifth editions, the general rule set shares numerous similarities. Codex books designed prior to the fifth edition are still compatible with only some changes to how those armies function.[28] The replacement for the previous edition's Battle for Macragge starter set is called Assault on Black Reach, which features a pocket-sized rulebook (containing the full ruleset but omitting the background and hobby sections of the full-sized rulebook), and starter Ork and Space Marine armies. Each army contains a HQ choice, either an Ork Warboss or a Space Marine Captain.

New additions to the rules include the ability for infantry models to "Go to Ground" when under fire, providing additional protection at the cost of mobility and shooting as they dive for cover. Actual line of sight is needed to fire at enemy models. Also introduced is the ability to run, whereby units may forgo shooting to cover more ground. In addition, cover has been changed so that it is now easier for a unit to get a cover save. Damage to vehicles has been simplified and significantly reduced, and tanks may now ram other vehicles.[28] Some of these rules are modelled after rules that existed in the Second Edition, but were removed in the Third. Likewise, 5th edition codexes have seen a return of many units previously cut out in the previous edition for having unwieldy rules. These units have largely been brought back with most of their old rules streamlined for the new edition. Fifth edition releases focused largely on Space Marine forces, including the abolishment of the Daemonhunters in favour of an army composed of Grey Knights, a special chapter of Space Marines, which, in previous editions, had provided the elite choices of the Daemonhunter's army list. Another major change was the shift from metal figures to Resin kits.

Sixth edition was released on June 23, 2012. Changes to this edition include the adoption of an optional Psychic Power card system similar to that of the game's sister product Warhammer Fantasy Battle as well as the inclusion of full rules for flying vehicles and monsters and a major reworking of the manner in which damage is resolved against vehicles. It also includes expanded rules for greater interaction with scenery and more dynamic close-combat.[29] In addition to updating existing rules and adding new ones, 6th Edition introduced several other large changes: the Alliance system, in which players can bring units from other armies to work with their own, with varying levels of trust; the choice to take one fortification as part of your force; and Warlord traits, which will allow a player's Commander to gain a categorically randomised trait that can aid their forces in different situations. Replacing the "Assault on Black Reach" box set is the "Dark Vengeance" box set which includes Dark Angels and Chaos Space Marine models. Some of the early release box sets of Dark Vengeance contained a limited edition Interrogator-Chaplain for the Dark Angels.

Announced in White Dwarf issue 15, pre-orders for May 17 and release date of May 24, 2014.[30]

The 7th edition saw several major changes to the game, including a dedicated Psychic Phase, as well as the way Psychic powers worked overall,[31] and changeable mid-game Tactical Objectives. Tactical Objectives would give the players alternate ways to score Victory Points, and thus win games. These objectives could change at different points during the game.[32][33]

As well as these additions, the 7th edition provided a new way to organise Army lists. Players could play as either Battle-Forged, making a list in the same way as 6th edition, or Unbound, which allowed the player to use any models they desired, disregarding the Force Organisation Chart.[34] Bonuses are given to Battle-Forged armies. Additionally, Lord of War units, which are powerful units previously only allowed in large-scale ("Apocalypse") games, are now included in the standard rulebook, and are a normal part of the Force Organisation Chart.

Announced on April 22, 2017[35], pre-orders for June 3[36] and release date of June 17, 2017.[37]

The 8th edition was a major revision, intended to make it easier for new players to enter the hobby. In this respect, the game introduced the Three Ways to Play concept: Open, Matched, and Narrative.[38] The core ruleset was simplified down to 14 pages, as a free PDF booklet available on the Games Workshop website.[39] The more complex rules are retained in the updated hardcover Rulebook. The narrative of the setting has also been updated: an enlarged Eye of Terror has split the galaxy in half,[40] while the Primarch Roboute Guilliman returns to lead the Imperium as its Lord Commander, beginning with reclaiming devastated worlds through the Indomitus Crusade.[41]

The 8th Edition introduced a new box set called "Dark Imperium", which featured a new Imperial-aligned faction, the Primaris Space Marines, as well as introducing new characters and rules to the Death Guard Chaos Space Marines.

Announced on May 23, 2020[42], with the first update to the Warhammer 40,000 logo in 22 years. Unlike 8th edition, 9th edition won't be a total overhaul of the rules, as Games Workshop have already stated existing codexes will still be valid, although they have stated that the Forge World Indexes are being replaced. [43][44]

The album Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness by British death metal band Bolt Thrower features lyrics as well as artwork based on the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 brands, with the album's title design being identical to that of the eponymous Games Workshop books.

In the early 1990s Games Workshop set up their own label, Warhammer Records. The band D-Rok were signed to this label; their only album Oblivion featured songs based on Warhammer 40,000.

Following the 1987 initial release of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 wargame the company began publishing background literature that expands previous material, adds new material, and describes the universe, its characters, and its events in detail. Since 1997 the bulk of background literature has been published by the affiliated imprint Black Library.

The increasing number of fiction works by an expanding list of authors is published in several formats and media, including audio, digital and print. Most of the works, which include full-length novels, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, and audio dramas, are parts of named book series. In 2018, a line of novels for readers aged 8 to 12 was announced, which led to some confusion among fans given the ultra-violent and grimdark nature of the setting.[49]

Games Workshop first licensed Electronic Arts to produce Warhammer 40,000 video-games, and EA published two games based on Space Hulk in 1993 and 1995. Games Workshop then passed the license to Strategic Simulations, which published three games in the late 1990s. After Strategic Simulations went defunct in 1994, Games Workshop then gave the license to THQ, and between 2003 and 2011 THQ published 13 games, which include the Dawn of War series. After 2011, Games Workshop changed its licensing strategy: instead of an exclusive license to a single publisher, it broadly licenses a variety of publishers.[50]

Games Workshop have produced a number of standalone "boxed games" set within the Warhammer 40,000 setting; they have licensed the intellectual property to other game companies such as Fantasy Flight Games. The Games Workshop-produced boxed games tend to be sold under the aegis of the "Specialist Games" division. Titles include:

• Battle for Armageddon
  • Chaos Attack (Expansion for Battle for Armageddon)
• Doom of the Eldar
• Oi! Dat's My Leg!
• Space Hulk (Four editions were published; expansions are listed below.)
  • Deathwing (An expansion boxed set adding new Terminator weapons and a new campaign.)
  • Genestealer (An expansion boxed set adding rules for Genestealer hybrids and psychic powers.)
  • Space Hulk Campaigns (An expansion book released in both soft and hard-cover collecting reprinted four campaigns previously printed in White Dwarf.)
• Advanced Space Crusade
• Assassinorum: Execution Force
• Bommerz over da Sulphur River (Board game using Epic miniatures.)
• Gorkamorka (A vehicle skirmish game set on a desert world, revolving principally around rival Ork factions.)
  • Digganob (An expansion for Gorkamorka, adding rebel gretchin and feral human factions.)
• Lost Patrol
• Space Fleet (A simple spaceship combat game, later greatly expanded via White Dwarf magazine with material intended for the aborted 'Battleship Gothic', itself later relaunched as Battlefleet Gothic.)
• Tyranid Attack (An introductory game reusing the boards from Advanced Space Crusade.)
• Ultra Marines (An introductory game reusing the boards from Space Hulk.)

Although there were plans to create a full-fledged Warhammer 40,000 "pen and paper" role-playing game from the beginning,[51] these did not come to fruition for many years, until an official Warhammer 40,000 role-playing game was published only in 2008, with the release of Dark Heresy by Black Industries, a Games Workshop subsidiary. This system was later licensed to Fantasy Flight Games for continued support and expansion.

Formerly Games Workshop licensed a number of Warhammer 40K themed products to Fantasy Flight Games. They specialise in board, card and role-playing games. Included in the licensed product were:

• Horus Heresy – a board game focusing on the final battle of the Horus Heresy the battle for the Emperor's Palace; this game is a re-imagining of a game by the same name created by Jervis Johnson in the 1990s.
• Space Hulk: Death Angel – a game with a merge of board and card game mechanics, based on the popular "Space Hulk" board game, featuring Space Marines against Genestealers.
• Space Hulk: Death Angel, The Card Game – the card game version of Space Hulk. Players cooperate as Space Marines in order to clear out the infestation of Genestealers on a derelict spaceship.
• Warhammer 40,000: Conquest – a Living Card Game where players control various factions of the Warhammer 40,000 setting in order to rule the sector.
• Forbidden Stars – a board game that pits 4 popular Warhammer 40,000 races against one another to control objectives and secure the sector for themselves.
• Relic – an adaptation of the board game Talisman to the Warhammer: 40,000 setting.
• Munchkin Warhammer 40,000 - a Warhammer 40k edition of Munchkin for 3-6 players released in 2019
• The Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay series of tabletop role-playing games, which share many core mechanics as well as the setting:
  • Dark Heresy – players may assume the roles of a cell of Inquisitorial acolytes, or assume a different and equally small-scale scenario following the game's rules. The recommended scenarios and ruleset present a balance between investigation and combat encounters.
  • Rogue Trader – players assume the roles of Explorers, whose rank and escalated privileges allow for travelling outside the Imperium's borders. Due to extensive expansions for Rogue Trader, campaigns can be largely different and altered by game masters. Its most significant difference from any of the other Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay titles is that it contains rules for capital spaceship design and space combat.
  • Deathwatch – the game allows players to role-play the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, who are the gene-enhanced superhuman elite combat units of the Imperium of Man. In light of this, its ruleset heavily emphasises combat against difficult or numerically superior enemies, rather than negotiation and investigation, compared to Dark Heresy or Rogue Trader.
  • Black Crusade – Black Crusade allows players to role-play Chaos-corrupted characters. This instalment will be concluded with supplements. It is notably different in that it allows much more free-form character development, with experience costs being determined by affiliation with a Chaos God.
  • Only War – Only War puts players in the boots of the Imperial Guard, the foot soldiers of the Imperium of Man. Despite the human-level capabilities of the characters, it also emphasises combat over interaction, much like Deathwatch.
• Risk: Warhammer 40,000 — due in autumn of 2020, this is a WH40K-themed variant of the board game Risk.[52]

On December 13, 2010,[53] Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie was released directly to DVD. It is a CGI science fiction film, based around the Ultramarines Chapter of Space Marines. The screenplay was written by Dan Abnett, a Games Workshop Black Library author. The film was produced by Codex Pictures, a UK-based company, under license from Games Workshop. It utilised animated facial capture technology from Image Metrics.

On July 17, 2019, Games Workshop and Big Light Productions announced the development of a live-action TV series based on the character Gregor Eisenhorn, who is an Imperium Inquisitor.[54] Frank Spotnitz, will be the showrunner for the series. The series is expected to be based on the novels written by Dan Abnett.[55]