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11 This page covers the announced post-launch plans for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV. Everything described here is planned content that has not yet shipped. Dates, contents, and details are pre-release and may change before or after launch. KING Art has outlined both a free Year One content plan and a set of paid expansions.
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33 Year One Free Content
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55 KING Art has announced a Year One plan of free downloadable content running from Fall 2026 to Spring 2027. The plan is set to include the following additions, delivered after the game's December 2026 launch:
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77 Crusade Mode: a turn-based meta-campaign returning to the series as free post-launch content.New map packs for additional battlegrounds.A mission editor for creating custom missions.New Commanders scenarios.
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99 Because this content is planned rather than shipped, the exact release order and the timing of each item within the Fall 2026 to Spring 2027 window have not been finalized. The return of Crusade Mode as free content is notable, as it is a returning mode rather than a launch feature.
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1111 Paid Expansions
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1313 Alongside the free content, KING Art has announced paid downloadable content. Two paid expansions have been named so far, and both are included in the Release Date and Editions:
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1515 Blood Ravens Story Prologue: additional story content centered on the Blood Ravens Chapter.AFTERMATH Campaign Expansion: a campaign expansion that is set to add a new fifth faction to the game after launch.
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1717 The fifth faction introduced by AFTERMATH has not been named or shown. The four Factions available at launch are the Space Marines, the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Necrons, and the Orks; the AFTERMATH faction will join them as a planned post-launch addition. Players who buy the Commander Edition receive both paid expansions as part of that bundle, while Standard Edition owners would need to acquire them separately.
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1919 Free Versus Paid
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2121 It helps to separate what is free from what is paid. The Year One content updates, including the rollout of Crusade Mode, new modes, map packs, the mission editor, and new Commander scenarios, are free for everyone regardless of which edition you buy. The two paid pieces are the Blood Ravens Story Prologue and the AFTERMATH campaign expansion, both of which are bundled into the Commander Edition described in Release Date and Editions.
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2323 On the store, this first year of content is also sold together as a single Year 1 Expansion package, which combines the free updates with the two paid additions. A Crusade is available at launch for five Commanders, with additional Crusades added free as part of this post-launch plan.
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2525 Roadmap Summary
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2727 The table below summarizes the announced post-launch items. All entries are planned and subject to change.
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2929 ItemTypeStatusCrusade ModeFreePlanned (Year One, Fall 2026 to Spring 2027)New map packsFreePlanned (Year One, Fall 2026 to Spring 2027)Mission editorFreePlanned (Year One, Fall 2026 to Spring 2027)New Commander scenariosFreePlanned (Year One, Fall 2026 to Spring 2027)Blood Ravens Story ProloguePaidAnnounced (included in Commander Edition)AFTERMATH Campaign Expansion (new fifth faction)PaidAnnounced (included in Commander Edition; faction unnamed)
3030 Effect of the Release Date Change
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3232 The Year One window on this page was published in May 2026, when the game was still dated for September 17, 2026. On August 12, 2026 the launch moved to December 3, 2026, and the free-content window has not been restated since. Fall 2026 through to Spring 2027 remains the only published wording, but it now begins in the same month the game ships rather than a couple of months after it, so the practical timing of the first free drops should be treated as unconfirmed rather than simply shifted. See Release Date and Editions for the change itself.
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3434 Related Pages
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3636 Release Date and Editions: how the Commander Edition bundles the Blood Ravens Story Prologue and the AFTERMATH expansion.Crusade Mode: the returning turn-based meta-campaign planned as free content.Factions: the four launch factions, with AFTERMATH planned to add a fifth.Commanders: the hero leaders featured in the planned new Commander scenarios.