Dawn of War II was a risky sequel for Relic. It radically changes the gameplay of a series that was already successful for the company. And, as lead designer Jonny Ebbert had feared, I wasn't sure I liked it much at first.

But after giving it a few more hours, and taking a look at the co-op campaign during a long playthrough today, Relic has very predictably proven me wrong. The team has done something I didn't think possible--they simplified their hardcore RTS, and somehow made it more fun in the process.

After wasting a few hundred Orks, I got a chance to talk with Dawn of War II principal designer Jonny Ebbert. A sharp, easy-going guy, Ebbert had plenty to say on Relic's past, present and future as a company, in addition to specific details on the development and future of Dawn of War II.

What sorts of free updates and DLC are in store for Dawn of War II owners? How stable is Relic in this economy? What would a Homeworld sequel look like--and is it even realistic to hope for one? Click on through for the full interview. ... Read more

Update: As promised, the free Dawn of War II beta is now publicly available.

Original: The multiplayer beta test for Relic's RTS Warhammer: 40,000 Dawn of War II will open to the public today at 7:01 PM EST, publisher THQ has confirmed.

At that time, the free PC beta client will be available from Steam and the Games for Windows Live Marketplace, offering 4 playable races and 5 maps. Previously, players had to purchase the Dawn of War Soulstorm expansion to access the early beta.

The beta will run up until Dawn of War II ships to stores around February 19.

Shacknews can confirm that retailer GameStop has halted pre-orders of Relic Entertainment's upcoming PC RTS Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2.

The game's listing has disappeared from GameStop's online store, with multiple brick and mortar locations telling Shacknews that they can no longer accept pre-orders.

Employees assured us that existing pre-orders would be fulfilled upon the game's February 19 release, and suggested that GameStop has sold out of its initial shipment. The retailer is known to pull listings and halt pre-orders in such scenarios.

A supposed inside source told Kotaku that GameStop will not be selling the game because it supposedly requires the installation of Valve's digital distribution platform Steam. However, this seems extremely unlikely, as GameStop... Read more

Just because the Dawn of War 2 multiplayer beta is now underway doesn't mean that developer Relic and publisher THQ are going to stop issuing new trailers for the RTS.

After Space Marines were covered in the last trailer, this one focuses on the Orks. No idea why this one has French subtitles. Fortunately, they're easy to ignore.

The full game hits PC on February 19. The beta goes public next week, on January 28.

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Update: Valve has announced that Dawn of War - Soulstorm has been discounted 75% to $7.50--now a small price to pay for early Dawn of War II beta access.

Original story: THQ has confirmed that the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II early-access multiplayer beta will begin tonight at 7:01pm EST (12:01am GMT).

The beta will feature five multiplayer maps, and all four of the game's playable classes: Space Marines, Orks, Eldar and Tyranids.

Owners of Dawn of War - Soulstorm will be able to download the beta directly from Steam. The beta will open to all fans a week from today on January 27.

Instructions for entering the beta follow:... Read more

Relic Entertainment has revealed that it add two presumably free multiplayer maps to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 within a week of the game's February 19 release.

Producer Mark Noseworthy further informed the Dawn of War 2 Community site that, while the action-centric strategy game went gold yesterday, feedback from the forthcoming multiplayer beta will still be implemented through a Day Zero patch.

The beta, which kicks off tomorrow for owners of the Dawn of War expansion Soulstorm, will run until Dawn of War 2 ships to stores. Soulstorm owners will need to enter their product key into Steam to get the beta in advance of its public debut on January 28.

And though Relic has previously only spoken about "steady doses of free downloadable content" for Dawn of War 2, Noseworthy noted that it is "extremely interested" in offering both free and paid DLC through Games for Windows Live.

"There may even be some [GFW Live] DLC available during the first few weeks after the game's released if everything goes to plan," he added. It was not specified if this would be free or premium-priced DLC, but the producer assured fans that "we've got planned scheduled patches and data updates through 2009 and beyond."

Relic Entertainment's sci-fi strategy game sequel Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 has gone gold, publisher THQ announced today.

The game will be showing up in stores February 19, an unusual Thursday release. As recently as January 8 the game's release date was confirmed as February 23. "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II stays true to the fast-paced, brutal heart of the Dawn of War series, while introducing branching single-player storylines and unique unit customization," said Relic General Manager Tarrnie Williams. "The deep, tactical gameplay lets players develop and lead personalized elite units who gain experience and grow stronger with every ferocious battle."

A multiplayer beta kicks off January 28, or January 21 for Dawn of War: Soulstorm owners. With the game now gold, any changes as a result from beta feedback will have to come through a patch.

The Dawn of War 2 Steam multiplayer beta begins in exactly one week for Soulstorm owners, a fact which makes watching this space marine-centric trailer all the more froth-inducing.

The complete version of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (PC) hits stores on February 23. The Soulstorm owner-exclusive beta begins on January 21, with the rest of us getting in on January 28.

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Gearing up for the impending multiplayer beta, developer Relic has released another Dawn of War II trailer, this time showcasing the Tyranid race.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (PC) hits on February 23. The Soulstorm owner-exclusive multiplayer begins on January 21, with the rest of us getting in on January 28.

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Developer Relic Entertainment has no qualms admitting its shortcomings with the original Dawn of War, especially as the studio hopes to address them in the sequel, which hits PCs on February 23 following a public multilayer beta later this month.

"Our support of [Dawn of War] wasn't up to snuff. We did that to ourselves by making a very difficult patching pipeline, so one of the first things we did was make it very easy to patch [Dawn of War II]," lead designer Jonny Ebbert told Strategy Informer.

Ebbert explained that the "it took us months to create a patch and get it out to the player, which sucked because we couldn't react quickly enough to developments in the community, you know problems and things breaking the game, so our new patching pipeline allows us to respond very quickly which is huge."

Along with delayed patches, Relic was unhappy with the original's... Read more

As promised, developer Relic today issued details on the forthcoming multiplayer beta test for its anticipated PC action-RTS sequel Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II.

Hosted by Steam, the multiplayer beta will be open to all on January 28. Those that bought the last Dawn of War expansion, Soulstorm, will get access on January 21.

The beta will include all four races--the company stressed the inclusion of Tyranids--five multiplayer maps, and Games for Windows LIVE TrueSkill Matchmaking.

Today's announcement also confirmed a February 23 release for the full game, which will be available via retailers and "worldwide" digital distribution platforms.

Thanks to Shackers RetroRedEyeJr and acare84 for the tips.

Developer Relic has unveiled the minimum and recommend system requirements for its PC action-RTS sequel Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War 2, due out later this year.

Along with the specs, Relic's community site teased that more information on the game's multiplayer beta will be released this Thursday, January 8.

Minimum Requirements
• Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista SP1
• P4 3.2 GHz (single core) or any Dual Core processor
• 1 GB RAM (XP), 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)... Read more

Another week, another exciting Dawn of War 2 trailer from Relic. This one shows off all the bad guys.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is set for an early 2009 release on PC.

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What we have here is a big reel of Dawn of War II multiplayer footage. The video offers glimpses of the hero selection, Tyranid bases, and one hell of an artillery barrage.

Relic's Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is set for an early 2009 release on PC.

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Relic has passed out some more media of its upcoming action-RTS Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, showing off the Space Marines squad that players will manage in the single-player campaign.

The PC sequel is still set for an early 2009 release.

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A new trailer of Relic's Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War 2 (PC) has arrived, providing about six minutes of footage from the Space Marine campaign that players will find in the RTS sequel due out next spring.

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Yesterday brought the first screenshots of the much-anticipated Tyranid race in Relic's upcoming RTS Dawn of War II.

Today, the first footage of the insectoid race, and a little news to go with: Dawn of War II will be hitting Steam at release.

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Dawn of War II is set for a PC release this coming spring.

After years of fan anticipation, developer Relic has finally delivered: the Tyranid race will make an appearance in the studio's upcoming RTS sequel Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II.

The announcement was accompanied by two screenshots (below) showing off the insect-like alien race.

"For us, the Tyranids was a way to give the fans something they have been asking for ever since Dawn Of War," wrote the company on its website.

"It wasn't until we designed the Essence 2.0 Engine did we think that the Tyranids could be brought to the Dawn Of War universe they way that we felt we could do them justice and in the way that the fans deserve."

Dawn of War II is set for a PC release this coming spring. For more on the radically different sequel, check out our E3 preview.

Following our flood of content from last week's E3 Media & Business Summit, we'll be highlighting noteworthy previews and features that may have gotten lost in the shuffle.

Imagine a game that takes Dawn of War, mixes it with Company of Heroes, removes base building altogether and adds RPG elements. If you can paint that puzzling picture in your mind, you'll have Dawn of War 2. And this is no exaggeration.

In fact, Dawn of War 2 directly borrows graphical and gameplay elements from Company of Heroes. For instance, CoH's cover system--wherein cover was rated with colored shields, and soldiers' future positions were marked with green dots--is exactly copied in Dawn of War 2. Sticky bombs and grenades are deployed with timers in exactly the same fashion as the World War II shooter.

No longer a traditional RTS, developer Relic has actually deviated from the genre even more with this project than they did with Company of Heroes. Dawn of War 2 could now be described as a small-scale tactical RTS, with a surprising amount of RPG flavor.

The focus of the sequel is clearly on micromanagement and squad-based... Read more

This one may have gotten lost in the shuffle last week, but it's worth a look.

The newest gameplay trailer for Relic's Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 shows off the Eldar race, which had yet to be seen before E3.

For more on the many changes to the Dawn of War formula in this sequel, check out our E3 preview. The game is slated for release early next year on the PC. Plus, they released a pretty sweet Dawn of War 2 cinematic trailer on Shackvideo.