Dawn of War II Goes Gold, Launches One Week Early

Relic Entertainment, the developer of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, has really outdone itself. The guys worked on the game with such vigor that THQ, the publisher, has just announced that it plans to release the strategy title one week earlier, on February 19. The initial release date was February 26. The title is eagerly waited because it is based on the hugely popular Warhammer 40K universe and because it is one of the few PC exclusive blockbusters set to debut in 2009.

The game has gone gold, which means that no changes are being made to the product by the developers and that copies are going out to be multiplied so that retailers have a sufficient supply on release date. Still, the people at Relic are probably hard at work, play testing the game to make sure that it's a balanced and bug free product. If any issues crop up, they'll make sure that they have a day 0 patch ready to go for February 19.

Tarrnie Williams, who is the general manager of Relic Entertainment, has commented that “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II stays true to the fast-paced, brutal heart of the Dawn of War series, while introducing branching single-player storylines and unique unit customization. The deep, tactical gameplay lets players develop and lead personalized elite units who gain experience and grow stronger with every ferocious battle.”

There are two innovations that will make the title very interesting to gamers. First of all, Dawn of War II will have no base building in the single player campaign, with the player needing to conserve resources and plan in advance to be victorious. Also, the game will see the first appearance of the Tyranids, some of the most powerful enemies in the Warhammer 40,000 universe as it was created by Games Workshop. It if manages to handle these two elements well while maintaining the level of polish and tactical depth in the first game of the series, Dawn of War II will prove a very important release for 2009.