Warhammer 40k 11th edition is very likely to be in the works at Games Workshop, and is likely to release in summer 2026. The firm has not announced that it is working on a new edition of its flagship science fiction wargame, but unless it has abandoned its strategy of releasing new editions of its main game every three years, work must already be underway. Here’s what we can infer about the new edition, based on everything we know about Games Workshop.
New editions of Warhammer 40k are a massive event. They offer new fans a great time to jump on board, and are accompanied by an impressive launch box set bursting with new models. They’re also an opportunity for the game designers to overhaul the rules, either by consolidating errata and updates into a new rulebook, or – more rarely – with a total rewrite.
Warhammer 40k 11th edition release date
Games Workshop has not yet announced Warhammer 40k 11th edition, much less a release date for it. However, the firm has released new editions of 40k on a three year cycle since seventh edition in 2014. Warhammer 40k 10th edition launched in June 2023; accordingly, we expect 11th edition to release during the summer of 2026.
Warhammer 40k 11th edition rules
We expect the Warhammer 40k 11th edition rules to be an evolution of 10th edition, with the 10th edition codexes fully compatible until they are replaced by the 11th edition versions. 10th edition is working very well and has attracted many fans to the hobby – the main challenge for newcomers is the number of errata that have accumulated since the edition launched.
Games Workshop still has to release army books for a lot of Warhammer 40k factions this edition. The firm’s most recent roadmap of upcoming 40k codex releases covers all but four of them, one of which the firm has previously stated is coming this year. It can fit the remaining three books in before summer 2026, but some will have an extremely short lifespan unless they’re compatible with 11th edition.
Warhammer 40k 11th edition launch box set
So far, Games Workshop has not announced a Warhammer 40k 11th edition launch box set. Since 2020, Games Workshop has launched new editions of its tentpole games with a limited edition launch box set, containing two armies of brand new models, and the hardback rulebook for the game. These are phenomenally popular, so there is no obvious reason for GW to abandon this strategy.
Games Workshop might not have said anything about an 11th edition launch box, but you can be certain that Space Marines will be one of the two forces in the box. That’s because the Space Marine chapters are always one of the two forces in Warhammer 40k starter sets and launch boxes.
The launch box sets for 40k ninth edition and tenth edition both contained new Primaris versions of old firstborn Space Marineunits. Ninth edition had Outrider bikers, while 10th edition had Terminators and Sternguard Veterans.
The current Space Marine models for Vanguard Veterans and Assault Terminators are both showing their age, making them good candidates for replacements in the 11th edition launch box set.
Eight edition 40k featured the Death Guard as the opposing force, ninth edition featured the Necrons, and 10th the Tyranids. As the Dark Eldar, Votann, and Chaos Daemons will all receive new codex army books very close to the end of 10th edition, they’re not likely to be the opposing force for 11th edition.
Given that a Chaos force was last the antagonist of a launch box set in 2017, some kind of Chaos army seems likely. The Orks are also another classic starter set opponent, and they have a good number of old kits that would benefit from an update.
Warhammer 40k 11th edition story
So far, Games Workshop has not revealed any information about the Warhammer 40k 11th edition story. 10th edition’s story began with a massive incursion of Tyranids attacking the Segmentum Solar, sparking the fourth and largest Tyrannic war. That will need to be tied up in some way before GW can make another new faction into the title baddy of 11th edition.
Games Workshop tends to wind down editions of 40k with campaign supplements that advance the narrative. Eighth edition 40k wrapped up with the Psychic Awakening supplements, while ninth edition ended with the Arks of Omen books. The recent narrative supplement Crusade Nachmund Gauntlet puts a lot of emphasis on the Night Lords Chaos Space Marines as a major threat, but we are at least a year out from 11th edition.
When 40k seventh edition ended, the loyalist Space Marine primarch Roboute Guilliman was resurrected. At the end of ninth edition, the Dark Angels primarch Lion El’Jonson returned. Games Workshop has revealed that the Salamander Space Marines will receive some kind of standalone codex supplement before the end of 2025. There’s a chance that this will lay the groundwork for their primarch Vulkan to return.
There are possible story threads in the Warhammer 40k books published by Black Library. The Dawn of Fire series notionally follows the current timeline of 40k in the Era Indomitus. It has built up a coalition of Chaos warlords called the Hand of Abaddon as the main antagonists. However, those stories haven’t caught up to the Arks of Omen or the fourth Tyrannic war yet – if they are seeding villains for the new edition, there’s going to be a continuity jump.
Whatever form it takes, 11th edition has big boots to fill: the launch of 10th edition gave Games Workshop its best sales month ever. When it arrives, we’ll be there to cover it. To keep up to speed with the latest Warhammer 40k news, make sure to follow Wargamer on Google news to see us in your feeds more often!
Source: Wargamer
