Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a premium role-playing game (RPG) from Owlcat Games. Set in the massive Warhammer universe, this sci-fi experience lets you play as the titular Rogue Trader, a member of an ancient class of daring privateers. Explore the outer edges of the Imperium during the M41 era.

As a surprising story-driven experience, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader focuses on the Koronus Expanse and lets you play on virtually all sides of the war. With a wide host of characters, each with a personal storyline to follow, it’s a worthy addition to games like Warhammer: Vermintide 2.

Step up as the Lord-Captain

Whereas Vermintide is a first-person real-time action, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a turn-based combat experience. In this game, you are tasked with exploring the Koronus Expanse during the 41st Millenium, which is largely an uncharted region with limited Imperial strongholds and a lot of untapped treasure. This lawless world sets the stage for a wide range of characters—from servants of the God-Emperor, psykers, and xenos.

One interesting aspect of the game is the extensive content available. You can choose to serve the God-Emperor or work with the enemies of Mankind. Additionally, the characters you meet along the way offer pieces of Warhammer lore, give you tips about the game, and even let you explore their own stories via sidequests. All of this is accompanied by full 3D graphics reminiscent of tabletop games in the franchise.

Of course, like most Warhammer 40,000 games, the initial hurdle with this one is its inaccessibility to new players. Granted, its gameplay is more straightforward than most, but its technical sci-fi and high fantasy elements make the lore hard to appreciate. Also, this game requires a whopping 100 GB of storage space, although the rest of its system requirements are quite manageable.

Official release and goodies

After quite some time spent in the Early Access stage, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader has been officially released. To celebrate such a fortuitous event, the game comes with a free downloadable content pack for everyone who has purchased it—although the reward is only available for a limited time. What’s included are the in-game items Exclusive Rogue Trader Mask and the Magnificent Rogue Trader Cloak.

A promising Warhammer 40K title

Most Warhammer games are steeped in tactics, and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader joins the short list of games between technical strategy and immersive RPG. It focuses on a pivotal moment and location and effectively uses it to introduce a fascinating cast of characters. Rendered in tabletop-style 3D graphics, explore side stories and unlock a lot of content steeped in lore.