Warhammer 40Kis best known as the franchise that gave players the word “grimdark.” An over-the-top science-fantasy franchise of epic scale and almost unrivaled scope, theWarhammer 40Ksetting has been adapted to numerous books and video games in addition to the original tabletop strategy games. But for some reason, it seems no one has yet to adaptWarhammer 40Kinto an isometric old-school RPG.
Owlcat Games, the developer ofPathfinder: KingmakerandPathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, evidently decided to correct the problem by announcingWarhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. The upcoming CRPG doesn’t have a release date just yet. However,Warhammer 40Kfans at least have a dramatic new teaser trailer to pick apart.
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The roughly two-minute trailer contains a mix of animation and in-game footage. The latter is quite reminiscent ofFiraxis Games’ rebootedXCOMseries.Rogue Trader’strailer begins with the player character’s predecessor explaining that their family has always been loyal servants of the Imperium of Man. As a result, they’ve been entrusted with the dangerous but vitally important tasks of exploring the galaxy in search of lost artifacts and potential threats. This part of the trailer includes brief clips of inside the player’s ship, of explorers activating a strange relic, and of a skirmish between Imperial Guardsmen and alien Tau soldiers on a lush jungle planet.
AsRogue Trader’strailer continues, the narrator wonders whether her heir’s fate will lead them down a path of service, glory, or heresy. This is intercut with scenes of the player’s party battling the forces ofWarhammer 40K’sChaos and Dark Eldar. It ends with the ominous statement, “One can only hope it will be better than mine,” as her ship approaches the orbital ruins of a massive Necron structure.
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, as the name implies, puts players in the shoes of a Rogue Trader, the latest in a long line of privateers serving the Imperium of Man. Equal parts merchant and explorer, players will carve a mercantile empire from the uncharted frontier known as the Koronus Expanse. According to Owlcat’s website, players will contact planets both friendly and hostile, and decide the fates of entire worlds. Along the way, they’ll gather a party of fellow adventures including one of40K’spower-armored Space Marines, a skilled Eldar Ranger, and a devout and deadly Sister of Battle.
