Dawn of War 2

0:11 Dawn of War 2 came out on Feb 18, 2009, from Relic and THQ, and it is the biggest break in the series: instead of a base and an army, the campaign gives you, in PC Gamer's words, "no resources, no base and at most 11 men." It scored 85 on Metacritic, and today it is sold with its two expansions as the Anniversary Edition. For Dawn of War 4 players it matters for two reasons: it created Last Stand, which comes back, and it is the model KING Art chose not to follow. The clip is the E3 2008 gameplay trailer.

Quick facts

Sources: Metacritic, PC Gamer, GamesRadar+, Steam.

Squads instead of bases

The campaign is a small-unit game with role-playing systems. You own six squads and take four on each mission, each squad earns experience and spends points on attributes, and every boss and mission drops loot. Loot comes as weapons, armor, accessories and Force Commander items, and capturing communication towers and shrines gives bonuses on the same planet.

Each squad leader is a character in the story, among them Avitus with a three-man heavy bolter team, Tarkus with four standard marines, Cyrus with the Scouts and Thaddeus with the Assault marines. The player's own Commander has no name, and Gabriel Angelos eventually arrives at the head of reinforcements. Missions last about 15 minutes across three planets.

Cover and the co-op campaign

Cover carries the combat. Gunner squads behind rocks or walls take much less damage, though most units beyond the basic ones have a way to beat it, and the melee Tyranids of the late game reduce its value. Soldiers never die in the campaign: they go down until someone revives them.

The whole campaign can be played in co-op. GamesRadar+ put it at 20-plus hours and said most missions are one of two types, an assault ending in a boss or a defense of generators.

Last Stand

6:22 Last Stand is Dawn of War 2's co-op survival mode, built on hero characters. The Anniversary Edition lists it with eight unique heroes, a count that includes the two added by Chaos Rising. KING Art names it as a mode coming back, and in Dawn of War 4 you team up with two allies and pick one of five heroes. See Last Stand. The clip is Dawn of War 4's overview trailer on its own Last Stand, not the 2009 mode.

Reception

Critics liked it more than players did. Its Metascore is 85, and its user score is 7.6, lower than the 8.6 of the first game. PC Gamer's Tom Francis scored it 82, calling it enjoyable but a misstep. Shacknews asked, "Who knew an RTS without base building could be any fun?" PC Gamer's series ranking now sorts by taste: the first game if you want masses of troops, the second if you want a handful of heroes.

Anniversary Edition

The Anniversary Edition arrived in September 2024 as a free upgrade for existing owners, marking 15 years. It bundles Dawn of War 2, Chaos Rising, Retribution, The Last Stand, and all DLC and cosmetics, which Steam sums up as three campaigns and six multiplayer factions. It lists at $49.99 on Steam, and was $9.99 on Oct 31, 2026, in a sale ending Nov 3. The separate Chaos Rising and Retribution store pages show no price now.

What Dawn of War 4 takes from it

2:14 Less than from the first game. KING Art's Jan Theysen calls the first two games "both great games, but very different," and the studio took the first as its model, with Base Building and Resources and Territory back. Named carryovers from the second include Last Stand, world map dialogues, and Cyrus, who returns as Captain Cyrus. In story terms, Theysen says of the second and third games that "the other stuff... happened," but they are not a big part of the new story. The other old games are on Dawn of War Games in Order.

Frequently asked questions

When did Dawn of War 2 come out? Dawn of War 2 came out on Feb 18, 2009, developed by Relic and published by THQ.

Does Dawn of War 2 have base building? Not in the campaign: Dawn of War 2 gives you squads, with no resources or base to manage. The series brought base building back in Dawn of War 3, and Dawn of War 4 keeps it.

Can you play Dawn of War 2 co-op? Yes. Dawn of War 2's whole campaign can be played in co-op, and Last Stand is a co-op mode of its own.

What is in the Dawn of War 2 Anniversary Edition? The Dawn of War 2 Anniversary Edition holds the base game, Chaos Rising, Retribution, The Last Stand, and all DLC and cosmetics.

Do I need to play Dawn of War 2 before Dawn of War 4? No. KING Art says Dawn of War 4 is "very much its own completely new thing," and its story follows Dark Crusade, not Dawn of War 2.

Sources

• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, Metacritic, Oct 31, 2026
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, Metacritic, Oct 31, 2026
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Anniversary Edition, Steam, Oct 31, 2026
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising, Steam, Oct 31, 2026
• Dawn of War 2 review, Tom Francis, PC Gamer, 2009, republished May 24, 2026
• Dawn of War 2 Review, Nick Breckon, Shacknews, Feb 18, 2009
• Dawn of War II review, Dan Stapleton, GamesRadar+, Feb 19, 2009
• Dawn of War 1 and 2 have been re-released as anniversary editions, Jonathan Bolding, PC Gamer, Sep 21, 2024
• The best Warhammer 40K games ranked, Jody Macgregor, PC Gamer, updated Apr 15, 2026
• Gabriel Angelos won't be in Dawn of War 4, Jody Macgregor, PC Gamer, Sep 1, 2025
• The big Dawn of War 4 interview, Matt Purslow, IGN, Aug 28, 2025
• What we're building with Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV, KING Art (Steam news), Nov 14, 2025
• Crafting an epic Dawn of War IV story, KING Art (Steam news), Nov 20, 2025
• Faction Deep Dive - Space Marines, KING Art (Steam news), Oct 8, 2026
• New Trailer: Dawn of War IV Deploys Massive Game Overview, Deep Silver (GamesPress), Oct 21, 2026
• [HD] Dawn of War 2 - E3 2008 - Extended Gameplay Trailer, dawnofwarDE, Feb 24, 2009 (video)
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV - Official Game Overview Trailer, Dawn of War IV, Oct 21, 2026 (video)