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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV is set on the world of Planet Kronus, roughly 200 years after Dawn of War: Dark Crusade. That earlier conflict is referenced only as a point on the timeline: Kronus is the shared planet that links the two, and it is the stage on which this game's entirely new story plays out. The narrative is written by John French.
A Galaxy Split by the Great Rift
The galaxy of the setting has been torn apart by the Great Rift, a vast tear in reality that has split it in two. This catastrophe is the backdrop against which the war for Kronus unfolds, isolating forces, throwing the wider region into turmoil, and setting the stage for the factions that converge on the planet.
The Blood Ravens Stranded
Among those caught up in the upheaval are the Blood Ravens, the Chapter of Space Marines at the heart of the campaign. Stranded by the chaos of the Great Rift, they arrive at Kronus to rebuild their Chapter. What begins as an effort to recover and regroup soon turns dire: on Kronus they uncover a sinister threat, one that endangers not just their own survival but the entire galactic sub-sector.
A Tomb, or a Prison?
A second thread of the story belongs to the Adeptus Mechanicus. An expedition arrives on Kronus and discovers what they at first believe to be a tomb. Only later do they come to a far more unsettling realization: it is not a tomb at all, but a prison. The obvious and chilling question follows, a prison for what? The mystery of exactly what lies imprisoned beneath Kronus is what draws all of the factions to the planet, each with its own reasons for wanting to reach or contain it.
The Necrons Awaken
There is a trigger behind the timing. The Necrons had long assumed Kronus held nothing more of interest for them, until they received a mysterious signal originating from the planet. Kronus is a dormant tomb world, which is why what the expedition is digging toward matters so much to them, and it is Thothmek's stirring that rouses the tombs beneath the surface. The Necron threat does not come from below alone: they converge on Kronus from an invasion fleet as well as from the tombs, with Thothmek commanding the fleet in orbit.
As the other factions arrive and begin to dig, they do not go unnoticed. The Necrons, ancient and deathless, slowly awaken in response to the intrusion on their world. Their stirring adds a fourth power to the struggle and raises the stakes for everyone fighting over Kronus, turning the planet into a contested battleground for all four launch Factions.
Four Perspectives on One Conflict
These threads do not unfold in isolation. Each faction has its own Campaign that follows its perspective on the war for Kronus, and all four campaigns connect into a single overarching narrative. The events on the planet can therefore be experienced from multiple sides, with each faction's story revealing another facet of the same unfolding mystery. For the named figures who carry these stories, see Characters.
Setting: Planet Kronus, about 200 years after Dawn of War: Dark Crusade.
The Great Rift: A tear in reality that has split the galaxy in two.
The Blood Ravens: Stranded by the Rift, they arrive to rebuild and uncover a threat to the sub-sector.
The discovery: An Adeptus Mechanicus expedition finds a supposed tomb that proves to be a prison.
The Necrons: Slowly awaken in response to the intrusion on their world.
Writer: Story written by John French.
Who Is Writing It
The campaign is written by John French, an author for Games Workshop's in-house fiction imprint, a detail KING Art confirmed when it announced the game's cast. Pairing an established setting author with the studio's own writing team is how the developers have described their approach to making the story sit correctly inside the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe. For the performers behind the characters, see Voice Cast.