Relic Entertainment has been pretty busy lately; they’ve just released the first standalone expansion pack for their RTS hit, Company of Heroes. They’ve also announced the third expansion pack to their Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War franchise.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm, will be an expansion that is a standalone release (much like Dark Crusade), meaning you won’t need any other previous Dawn of War games to enjoy Soulstorm.
Planned for a spring 2008 release on PC, Soulstorm will add, "an extensive interplanetary campaign spanning an entire star system in the Warhammer 40,000 universe," along with two brand-new races. The announcement also revealed that Titan Quest developer Iron Lore Entertainment will be assisting Relic in development.
Tarrnie Williams, general manager at Relic Entertainment, said, "In Dawn of War – Soulstorm, we’ve taken Games Workshop’s epic war from one planet to an entire star system. Allowing gamers to play nine unique races, introducing air units and providing multiplayer achievements for the first time creates a tremendous amount of new and challenging strategic gameplay for all players."
Color me particularly excited since the Dawn of War series is one RTS series I’ve been greatly enjoying. But I’m still waiting for a Dawn of War game to utilize Relic’s Company of Heroes engine — now that’ll be an awesome spectacle to behold.
Here’s more information about Soulstorm:
"Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm is set in Games Workshop’s (LSE: GAW) Warhammer 40,000 universe – a dark, futuristic, fantasy setting where armies of technologically advanced warriors, fighting machines and hordes of implacable aliens wage constant war – and is played by millions worldwide. Executive produced and co-developed by Relic Entertainment in association with Iron Lore Entertainment, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm is a complete standalone title and will feature two all-new armies, including the malicious Dark Eldar, for an unprecedented total of nine playable races. In addition to new units across each of the seven existing races, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm will incorporate air units for the first time and introduce multiplayer medals, adding a whole new level of depth to online battles. The revolutionary meta-game introduced in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade is further expanded to an interplanetary scale in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm, allowing players to battle across an entire star system."
