Dawn of War Games in Order

The Dawn of War games, in release order, are Dawn of War (Sep 20, 2004), Winter Assault (2005), Dark Crusade (2006), Soulstorm (2008), Dawn of War 2 (Feb 18, 2009), Chaos Rising (2010), Retribution (2011), Dawn of War 3 (Apr 27, 2017) and Dawn of War 4 (Dec 3, 2026). That is four base games and five expansions, with the Definitive Edition of the first game added in 2025. You need none of them to play Dawn of War 4: KING Art calls it "very much its own completely new thing". If you want one for context, make it Dark Crusade, because Dawn of War 4 returns to its planet.

Quick facts

Sources: Metacritic pages in the table below; Steam, prices on Oct 31, 2026; KING Art, Nov 20, 2025.

Every game, by release date

Metascores and dates are Metacritic's, for PC. Steam shows later dates for the older games because it gives the day each one reached Steam (Aug 7, 2007 for the first three), not its launch. Dawn of War 4's date is KING Art's, with a Commander Edition early unlock from Nov 30, 2026; see Release Date and Launch Time.

What each game is

0:01 The first game and its three expansions are a base-building RTS built around capturing map points and reinforcing squads in the field. The armies grow from four in Dawn of War to five in Winter Assault, seven in Dark Crusade and nine in Soulstorm. The clip is an IGN feature with an executive producer of Soulstorm, on its two new races and the total of nine.

Dawn of War 2 is the series' sharpest break. PC Gamer summed it up as "no resources, no base and at most 11 men": a squad RPG with loot and leveling. Chaos Rising and Retribution carry its story on, and Retribution brings requisition, energy and a population cap back into the single-player.

2:59 Dawn of War 3 brings back bases, adds summoned elites, and shipped with one multiplayer mode. Its gap is the widest in the series: a Metascore of 77 against a user score of 4.6. In February 2018 Relic said it "didn't hit the targets we were expecting at launch" and stopped major content. The clip is IGN's review on its bases, its one mode and its elites.

2:14 Dawn of War 4 goes back to the first game as its model. KING Art describes it as "a kind of reimagining of the first Dawn of War", with territorial capture, squad management and base building. The clip is KING Art's Oct 2026 overview trailer.

Which order to play them in

No maker has published a recommended order as of Oct 31, 2026, so what follows is a suggestion from the facts. Release order works, and it is also the order of the stories:

1. The Definitive Edition, in Relic's listed order. That is Tartarus, then Lorn V, then Kronus, then Kaurava, which covers the first game and all three expansions in one purchase. GameWatcher considers the whole single-player package a must for RTS or Warhammer 40,000 fans.
2. Dawn of War 2, Chaos Rising, Retribution. The story runs in that order: Chaos Rising is a year later, Retribution ten years after that.
3. Dawn of War 3, if at all. Its Gabriel Angelos carries the events of the first two games, though PC Gamer recommends the third to neither camp.

By taste, PC Gamer's split is simple: for masses of troops play the first game, for a handful of heroes play the second. PC Gamer's ranking still puts the first game on top of all Warhammer 40,000 games.

What to buy today

All the Steam sales on the older games end Nov 3. Buy the Definitive Edition rather than the first Anniversary Edition unless you want the original build; the two are compared on Definitive Edition. The Dawn of War 2 Anniversary Edition holds Chaos Rising, Retribution, The Last Stand and all the DLC. Relic's dawnofwar.com now lists the Definitive Edition, the Dawn of War 2 Anniversary Edition, Dawn of War 3 and Dawn of War 4, and leaves out the first Anniversary Edition.

The separate expansion pages (Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, Soulstorm, Chaos Rising, Retribution) still load but offer no purchase; that content now comes in the bundles. The older Master Collection bundles do not turn up in a Steam search and appear to be retired, though no publisher statement says so.

Do you need the old games before Dawn of War 4?

1:17 No. KING Art says it did not set out to simply continue the earlier story; it is a new tale with some familiar faces. The links are still real:

• Kronus. Dawn of War 4 is set about 200 years after Dark Crusade on the same planet, at Games Workshop's suggestion.
• The canon. Jan Theysen told IGN that "we assume that the Space Marines won the Dark Crusade". Of Dawn of War 2 and 3 he said they happened but are not a big part of this story.
• Characters. Gorgutz returns from Winter Assault and Dawn of War 3, Jonah Orion from Chaos Rising, and Cyrus, who led the Scouts in Dawn of War 2, is now Captain Cyrus. Gabriel Angelos is deliberately left out. KING Art has not explained how the characters span the gap in years. See Characters and Voice Cast.
• Modes. Crusade Mode comes from Dark Crusade and Last Stand from Dawn of War 2.

Whether owning the older games earns any Dawn of War 4 discount or bonus is not stated on the store page as of Oct 31, 2026. The new story itself is on Story and Setting.

THQ, Sega, Relic and KING Art

Relic was founded in 1997 and bought by THQ in 2004, the year of the first game. Relic told IGN that THQ held "essentially a master licence for 40K video games".

THQ filed for Chapter 11 on Dec 19, 2012, and its studios went to auction the next month. Sega bought Relic for $26.6 million, just ahead of ZeniMax's $26.3 million. Bankruptcy ended THQ's license, so Sega and Relic renewed only the RTS portion, covering the games they were making.

After Dawn of War 3 stalled, Relic moved on to other projects, including Age of Empires 4. It split from Sega Europe in late March 2024, then laid off 41 staff, and took backing from Emona Capital that May; the deal's terms were not published. Relic, Sega and Games Workshop agreed to keep the back catalog on Steam and allow the Definitive Edition.

Dawn of War 4 is the first main game not by Relic; Soulstorm was already Iron Lore's. Theysen's account to IGN is that someone at Games Workshop saw Iron Harvest's open development and asked what KING Art would do with a Dawn of War 4, then came back after that game succeeded, and KING Art brought in Deep Silver. Of Relic he said "we didn't call them or talk to them directly." No maker has published a reason for the move or the rights terms as of Oct 31, 2026. More on the studio is on KING Art Games.

Frequently asked questions

What is the correct order of the Dawn of War games? By release, the Dawn of War games run Dawn of War, Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, Soulstorm, Dawn of War 2, Chaos Rising, Retribution, Dawn of War 3 and Dawn of War 4. The Definitive Edition of 2025 is a remaster of the first game with its expansions.

Which Dawn of War should I play first? Start with Dawn of War: Definitive Edition, which holds the first game and its three expansions in one purchase and plays most like Dawn of War 4's model. No maker has published an official order.

Do I need to play the old games before Dawn of War 4? No. KING Art calls Dawn of War 4 its own new story. It is set on Dark Crusade's planet about 200 years later, so Dark Crusade is the most useful background, but it is not required.

How many Dawn of War games are there? There are four base Dawn of War games (2004, 2009, 2017 and Dawn of War 4 on Dec 3, 2026), five expansions, and the Definitive Edition remaster of 2025.

What is the best Dawn of War game? By Metascore the best Dawn of War is Dark Crusade at 87, then the first game at 86. PC Gamer's ranking puts the first game at the top of its Warhammer 40,000 list.

Did Relic make Dawn of War 4? No. KING Art Games develops Dawn of War 4 and Deep Silver publishes it. It is the first main game of the series not made by Relic.

Is the Dawn of War story connected across games? Partly. Dawn of War 2 through Retribution form one line, and Dawn of War 3's Gabriel Angelos carries the first two games' events. Dawn of War 4 picks up after Dark Crusade and treats the later games as background.

Sources

• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, Metacritic
• Winter Assault, Metacritic
• Dark Crusade, Metacritic
• Soulstorm, Metacritic
• Dawn of War II, Metacritic
• Chaos Rising, Metacritic
• Retribution, Metacritic
• Dawn of War III, Metacritic
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition, OpenCritic
• Definitive Edition, Steam
• Dawn of War Anniversary Edition, Steam
• Dawn of War II Anniversary Edition, Steam
• Dawn of War III, Steam
• Dawn of War IV, Steam
• Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, Soulstorm, Chaos Rising, Retribution, Steam
• Search for "dawn of war master collection", Steam
• Dawn of War, Relic
• Release date announcement, KING Art, Oct 23, 2026
• Crusade mode returns, KING Art, May 21, 2026
• Tacticus x Dawn of War IV, KING Art, May 26, 2026
• Faction Deep Dive, KING Art, Jan 28, 2026
• Crafting an epic Dawn of War IV story, KING Art, Nov 20, 2025
• What we're building with Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV, KING Art, Nov 14, 2025
• Definitive Edition Out Now, Relic, Aug 14, 2025
• The big Dawn of War 4 interview, IGN, Aug 28, 2025
• Warhammer Dawn of War 4 swaps developers, Wargamer, Aug 20, 2025
• The Dawn of War Definitive Edition interview, IGN, May 22, 2025
• Definitive Edition review, GameWatcher, Aug 19, 2025
• The best Warhammer 40K games ranked, PC Gamer, Apr 15, 2026
• Dawn of War 2 review, PC Gamer, republished May 24, 2026
• Relic partners with investment firm to go fully indie again, Game Developer, May 22, 2024
• Relic steps away from Dawn of War 3, PC Gamer, Feb 8, 2018
• Relic have abandoned Dawn of War 3, PCGamesN, Feb 8, 2018
• Beautiful but bittersweet: Dawn of War III review, GamingTrend, Apr 27, 2017
• Interview with Robbie MacNiven, Relic (archived), Nov 12, 2020
• Sega acquires game developer Relic from THQ auction, Computerworld, Jan 25, 2013
• THQ dissolves, PC Gamer, Jan 24, 2013
• Dawn of War II: Retribution review, bit-tech, Mar 2, 2011
• Review: Dawn of War II: Retribution, Destructoid, Mar 2, 2011
• Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising review, bit-tech, Mar 19, 2010
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War -- Soulstorm PC Games Gameplay, IGN, Jun 23, 2011 (video)
• Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 Review, IGN, Apr 28, 2017 (video)
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV - Official Game Overview Trailer, Dawn of War IV, Oct 21, 2026 (video)