How many Warhammer 40,000 games are coming out within this year and the next? 5. That's right, 5 games are coming out. Dawn of War (1 and 2), Space Marine, and Space Hulk Ascension might have captivated audiences and gamers before, but now Games Workshop has seen fit to disseminate their license across a myriad of developers. Which isn't bad- on the contrary, thanks to their aggressive action, we can now look forward to more grimdarkness over this year extending to 2016.

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The first of these is a game that has already been released, albeit as an Early Access title on Steam. It's called Warhammer 40,000: Regicide, and it's very loyal to the board games. In fact, one of the game modes is basically chess with Space Marines and Orks. However, don't let this bore you if it's not your thing. The true value of this game comes out in the campaign, where chess is reinvented to assume 40k rules. It's very addicting, fun, and best of all- it looks gorgeous. Or disgusting, depending on who you talk. The kill cutscenes are visceral and gory, with Orks and Space Marines dying in spectacular showers of blood and guts. What else could you ask for?

Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/322910/

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The second game is Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr. This one looks to be the most promising because it's arguably the most fun. An action RPG, Inquisitor doesn't really tell us much about what it is about... except the developers have told us what features the game itself will have. There is a sandbox mode that will kick in after the core campaign is over. According to a developer: "The story continues in a colossal sandboxed game set in the same secluded sector of this vast universe. This persistent setting grants years of constant entertainment, gradual development and a continuous flow of content that enriches the Action-RPG gameplay." A 40k game that acts like the Rogue Trader RPG, looks like Space Marine, and is set in the Inquisition like Dark Heresy? Emperor be praised! This game is expected to come out by 2016, so it will be a while before we can go exterminate heretics. Oh well...

Trailer: http://www.pcgamer.com/warhammer-40000-inquisitor-martyr-announced/

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Warhammer will be getting its' own MOBA with Dark Nexus Arena, a twin stick shooter MOBA where warriors from all over the galaxy will be forced to fight against each other in the dark colosseums of Commorragh and the arenas of the Wych Cults. Anything from Space Marines to Tau and even Eldar will be up for fighting in this brutal arena that's set to be released fully by 2016.

Trailer: http://www.pcgamer.com/warhammer-40000-joins-the-moba-milieu-with-dark-nexus-arena/

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Space Hulk: Deathwing is an interesting game. It's 40k, yes, and it's Games Workshop, yes... but beyond that we don't know much. The trailers show beautifully made cutscenes of Space Marine Terminators and Tyrannid Genestealers duking it out aboard a Space Hulk, but that's about it. When it was announced last year, it was born as a first-person shooter, the first for Games Workshop. Even Space Marine was third-person (The better to admire the MC, of course), so only time (and hopefully, more trailers!) will tell what's up with this intriguing game. Hopefully the illumination is a lot better than the previous Space Hulk games, where you'd need to have night vision goggles to even see five feet ahead of you.

Trailer: http://www.pcgamer.com/the-terminators-rise-in-new-space-hulk-deathwing-trailer/

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FInally, there is Battlefleet Gothic: Armada. Another ambiguous ambiguity, this game offers little clues as to what it's all about beyond it's title and a few presumably in-game images... and a beautiful, beautiful teaser trailer. It's obviously about ships and starfleets, and the staff says it's an RTS about battling for control of the Gothic sector of space at the head of an Imperial, Chaos, Eldar, or Ork fleet. It doesn't offer much else in the way of a description, but what's important is that you control huge spacefaring cathedrals with enough firepower to bring a planet to it's knees. No release date set anytime soon, but more information will be oncoming!

Trailer: http://www.pcgamer.com/battlefleet-gothic-arm...aser-reveals-massive-flying-castles-in-space/