Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 live support has been officially extended into a third year, publisher Focus Entertainment has announced.
The news comes after the explosive third-person action game hit a hugely impressive 12 million players, two years after its 2024 launch. “Lately, our updates have been very well received by the community, which really motivates us to keep up the momentum for the third year,” Focus said in a community post.
The breakout success of Space Marine 2, set in the grimdark universe of Games Workshop’s tabletop war game, cannot be understated. Tim Willits, development chief of developer Saber Interactive, told IGN soon after the game came out that Space Marine 2 had changed everything for the studio as sales exploded — and they’ve increased at a steady pace since. Space Marine 2’s recent addition to subscription services PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass has only boosted player numbers further. It wasn’t long after Space Marine 2 came out that Space Marine 3 was announced, although we’ve yet to see or hear anything meaningful about it.
The announcement of Year 3 for Space Marine 2, however, means content that didn’t make it into Year 2 will roll over and remain free. Focus didn’t say what to expect, but the hope from fans will be a new playable class at the least. “We’re really excited about what’s coming, and we think you will be too!” Focus teased.
The new updated Year 2 roadmap includes the addition of a Salamanders Champion Pack 2 and a Wargear rework that will let players use class-specific Wargear on other classes. This means, for example, capes and iron halos can be used on the Tactical class. Patch 13 will add those capes and iron halos, and Patch 14 we add tabards and robes, like the full Bulwark robe. However, there are some lore restrictions; snipers, for example, can’t equip the iron halo.
Coming in Patch 13 are Ultragrind Ordeals, part of the Trials of Resolve, are an unlock system for new items. Focus warned these will be “particularly hard to achieve” and are designed to present a long-term grind. Each Ordeal will have up to three difficulty tiers. Some will require you to complete an operation 100 times, or slaying three Majoris or higher enemies with a single headshot on Absolute difficulty. Yikes!
Also coming in Patch 13 is Perks Loadout, one of the most requested QoL features. This means players can have up to three perks loadouts (in a similar way to what already exists for the weapons), for easier selection and less menu navigation. And, helpfully, the Battle Barge is getting a Practice Arena, only available in solo. This will let you test your weapons on the enemies of your choice in any difficulty. There’s even a display showing the total damage dealt and your damage per second. Players have been calling for this for some time now, so it’s a welcome addition.
Patch 13 is due out by the end of June, and Patch 14 is due out by the end of September. That takes us to the end of Year 2 of Space Marine 2 support.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
