Retribution

Retribution is the standalone 2011 expansion to Dawn of War 2, with campaigns for six races and the return of an army and resources in single-player. It was the last Dawn of War game before THQ collapsed and Sega bought Relic, six years ahead of Dawn of War 3.

Retribution is the second expansion to Dawn of War 2, released on Feb 28, 2011 as a standalone game at $29.99. It gives six races a campaign each, and its Metascore is 80. It was also the last new Dawn of War under THQ: the next game, Dawn of War 3, came six years later from a different publisher.

Quick facts

Released	Feb 28, 2011 (Destructoid gave Mar 1)
Developer and publisher	Relic, THQ
Launch price	$29.99, standalone
Metascore	80 from 52 critics
Metacritic user score	7.7
Playable campaigns	Space Marines, Chaos, Orks, Tyranids, Eldar, Imperial Guard
Length	About seven or eight hours per campaign
Setting	Aurelia, ten years after Chaos Rising

Sources: Metacritic, Destructoid, bit-tech.

Six campaigns, one story

0:07 Retribution tells one basic story molded to fit each faction, at about seven or eight hours per race. It is set in Aurelia ten years after Chaos Rising: a Chaos agent has infiltrated the Blood Ravens, and the Imperium sends a fleet to sterilize the region's planets by Exterminatus. The cost of six campaigns shows, since bit-tech found the missions play identically whichever race you pick. The clip is the CGI trailer, which shows a Space Marine with a hammer and a ship over a planet, not the campaigns themselves.

Armies return to the campaign

The bigger change is mechanical. Retribution puts population cap, requisition and energy into single-player, so you can swap heroes for squads, reinforce up to a full army and call in global abilities. That moved the campaign part of the way back toward the first game, after Dawn of War 2's no-resources design.

Reception

PC Gamer's Tom Francis called it "more fun than Dawn of War 2 ever was" and scored it 88, above his 82 for the base game. Destructoid, at 85, wrote that "It's hard not to recommend Retribution." Its Metascore of 80 is still the lowest of the three Dawn of War 2 releases, against 85 and 84.

What led to Dawn of War 3

The gap to the next game comes down to THQ's collapse. THQ announced a default on a $50 million loan on Nov 13, 2012, and filed for Chapter 11 on Dec 19, and its assets went to auction in January 2013. Sega paid $26.6 million for Relic, just beating ZeniMax's $26.3 million.

The license had to be redone too. Relic says THQ held "essentially a master licence for 40K video games," that Chapter 11 ended it, and that Sega and Relic then renewed only the RTS portion. Dawn of War 3 followed on Apr 27, 2017, with Sega publishing.

The story thread runs through Gabriel Angelos. Relic's own recap says he ordered the Exterminatus of Rahe's Paradise, slew the tainted Chief Librarian Azariah Kyras in a Chapter civil war, and became Chapter Master, which is who he is in Dawn of War 3. Retribution's several endings are described only by fan sources, so this page leaves them out.

Frequently asked questions

When did Dawn of War 2: Retribution come out? Metacritic gives Feb 28, 2011 for Retribution, and Destructoid's review gives Mar 1.

Which races can you play in Dawn of War 2: Retribution's campaign? Retribution has campaigns for Space Marines, Chaos, Orks, Tyranids, Eldar and Imperial Guard.

How can you buy Dawn of War 2: Retribution today? Retribution's Steam page shows no price. It comes with the Dawn of War 2 Anniversary Edition.