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Post-Launch Roadmap and DLC - Version 6 vs Version 7
Sep 16, 2026, 04:21 AM
Replaced the Fall 2026 to Spring 2027 window with the revised 2027 roadmap, added the ordered four free drops with their paired map packs, and rebuilt the roadmap table
Sep 16, 2026, 04:25 AM
Embedded the official Year 1 Expansion roadmap image
11This 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.2233Year One Free Content445+56KING Art has announced a Year One plan of free downloadable content. The window first given for it, Fall 2026 through to Spring 2027, has since been superseded: see How the Window Changed below. The plan is set to include the following additions, delivered after the game’s December 2026 launch:6778Crusade 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.89910The order of those additions is now published. The Year 1 Expansion roadmap art pairs each free headline item with a numbered map pack and lays them out along a timeline that begins at 2027 and runs through markers labelled Spring and Summer.10111112OrderFree Headline ItemPaired Map Pack1Crusade ModeMap Pack I2Lord Ahmnok, added to Last Stand and CrusadeMap Pack II3Mission EditorMap Pack III4Beastboss Guzcutta, added to Last Stand and CrusadeMap Pack IV1213Two points are worth separating. The Commander entries are not new characters: Lord Ahmnok is already a playable Necrons Commander and Guzcutta is already a playable Orks Commander. What the roadmap adds for them is availability in Last Stand and Crusade. The studio prints its own caveat on the same image, that DLC and release windows are subject to change, so the markers are targets rather than dates.13141415Paid Expansions15161617Alongside 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:17181819Blood 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.19202021The 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.21222223Free Versus Paid23242425It 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.25262627On 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.27282829Roadmap Summary29303031The table below summarizes the announced post-launch items. All entries are planned and subject to change.31323233ItemTypePublished WindowCrusade Mode and Map Pack IFreeFirst free drop, at the start of the published 2027 timelineLord Ahmnok for Last Stand and Crusade, with Map Pack IIFreeSecond free drop, before the Spring markerMission Editor and Map Pack IIIFreeThird free drop, around the Spring markerBeastboss Guzcutta for Last Stand and Crusade, with Map Pack IVFreeFourth free drop, at the Summer markerBlood Ravens Story ProloguePaidShown near the Spring marker; included in the Commander EditionAFTERMATH Campaign Expansion, adding a fifth factionPaidShown near the Summer marker; included in the Commander Edition; faction unnamed3334How the Window Changed34353536The original Year One window was published in May 2026, when the game was still dated for September 17, 2026, and read Fall 2026 through to Spring 2027. After the launch moved to December 3, 2026, that wording went unrestated for several months and this page said so.36373738It has since been restated. The roadmap art republished in September 2026 drops the Fall 2026 framing entirely and runs its timeline from 2027 through Spring to Summer, which pushes the whole free plan later and spreads it across more of the year than the original wording implied. The four free drops above follow that revised timeline. See Release Date and Editions for the launch date change itself.38393940The Year 1 Expansion Package40414142The first year of content is also listed on the store as a single product, the Year 1 Expansion, and its official description is the tightest published summary of the whole plan: new modes, map packs, playable Commanders and a Mission Editor added in a series of free updates, while the Blood Ravens Story Prologue and the Aftermath Campaign Expansion deepen the story further and include a new playable faction.42434344That package is what the Commander Edition bundles on top of the base game. See AFTERMATH Expansion for the paid expansion in detail and Release Date and Editions for the edition comparison.44454546Related Pages46474748Release 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.