Delaying Space Marine 2 Was 'The Smartest Thing We Ever Did' — Saber Reflects on the Biggest Warhammer 40,000 Game of All Time After a Year of DLC and Looks to the Future

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is simply a breakout deed for developer Saber Interactive, selling implicit 7 cardinal copies successful little than a year. As the crippled approaches its archetypal anniversary, and with the hotly anticipated Patch 10 imminent, improvement main Tim Willits has a batch to beryllium blessed about.

“It has not been connected immoderate streaming service,” Willits told maine successful an interrogation astatine gamescom 2025. “You privation to play it, you got to bargain it. And it's conscionable rocking and rolling. And it wasn't overpriced. It wasn't overscoped. It wasn't over-designed."

But Space Marine 2 was not a guaranteed success. No video crippled is. In fact, things were looking ropey erstwhile Saber and steadfast Focus Entertainment announced a important hold to the game, from 2023 to the 2nd fractional of 2024.

This, Willits says, was the “smartest” determination Saber has ever made - and you tin spot why. Space Marine 2 is easy the biggest Warhammer 40,000 video crippled of each time, impressing seasoned fans of the celebrated grimdark tabletop crippled and newcomers alike. Huge subordinate numbers followed arsenic good arsenic grounds sales. As Willits told maine past year, Space Marine 2 changed everything for Saber, and it wasn’t agelong earlier the inevitable Space Marine 3 was announced. A afloat 2nd twelvemonth of contented for Space Marine 2 is besides successful the works.

“With Space Marine 2, if you remember, we really delayed that,” Willits said. “It was f***ing worthy it! And that was the smartest happening we ever did.”

Reflecting connected Space Marine 2's archetypal year, Willits admitted it is an ongoing situation to merchandise capable DLC, some escaped and premium, to fulfill fans who are ever bare for much content. He pointed to the escaped horde mode, dubbed Siege, arsenic a peculiar precocious constituent of Space Marine 2’s archetypal year. “Can you sanction immoderate elephantine AAA games that merchandise escaped modes wrong months aft the game?” Willits wondered. “The squad is passionate astir it. They're ace Space Marine nerds, and instrumentality appetite for it is implicit the top.”

Saber, who evolved its awesome zombie tech for anterior crippled World War Z and applied it to the Tyranids for Space Marine 2, was prepared to supply DLC post-launch, Willits said. “We learned our acquisition successful World War Z. So erstwhile World War Z came out, we were unprepared to beryllium honest. We were like, ‘Oh my god, this is simply a success. Go!’ And truthful we were mode much prepared. We had radical moving connected worldly a twelvemonth positive earlier we released, due to the fact that we knew. We knew. And we learned our lesson. But you're right, feeding the instrumentality is hard.”

Space Marine 2 is surely acceptable for plentifulness of DLC successful its 2nd year, but volition it get a communicative expansion? Or volition fans person to hold until Space Marine 3 comes retired to find retired what happens adjacent to Titus and friends? “I mean we person immoderate plans, but we person to enactment with Focus to get the close announcement,” Willits teased. “Nothing is disconnected the table.”

Space Marine 2’s occurrence has adjacent positively impacted the improvement of different Saber games, and fixed the institution the assurance to hold again knowing however beneficial it tin beryllium successful the agelong run. John Carpenter's Toxic Commando, for example, was delayed retired of this twelvemonth and into aboriginal 2026, and Willits is perfectly calm astir it.

“Space Marine 2 was truthful palmy for america that we wanted to marque definite that we didn't unreserved retired Toxic Commando instantly aft that,” helium explained. “And we wanted to marque definite that the squad had resources and the clip and the testing. We've done aggregate beta tests, we've got mean radical playing it. We had sign-up a fewer weeks ago.

“That is 1 of the large things astir Saber. We negociate our concern good and we bash not implicit scope, implicit plan and bloat our teams oregon our projects, which past allows america to beryllium like, ‘Hey, you cognize what? Let's really walk a small much clip connected Toxic. Space Marine's doing great, we're making contented for that. People emotion it.’

“Because gamers are smart. They ever cognize erstwhile a crippled is rushed oregon like, ‘You could person done amended if you’d spent a small much clip with it.’ So we are successful a presumption due to the fact that of however we marque games and however we bash work, and that gives america the flexibility and state to absorption connected making definite the games are arsenic bully arsenic they tin be. So yes, it's a small longer past Space Marine, but I deliberation it'll beryllium overmuch better.”

Hats disconnected to Titus and Space Marine 2. Image credit: Games Workshop.

While Warhammer 40,000 was doing fantastically good for Games Workshop earlier Space Marine 2 came out, the video crippled has surely lifted the mounting to different level. Games Workshop precocious announced the archetypal ever officially licensed wearable Space Marine helmet — and it’s styled aft Lieutenant Titus from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.

Surprisingly, Willits didn’t cognize astir it erstwhile I brought it up. “That's cool. I had nary idea!” helium said. “And I usually bargain each that stuff.”

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].