Total War: Warhammer 40,000 gameplay reveal shows massive battles — and potential frame rate pain

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 got its first proper gameplay video this week, revealed at BiliBili World, showing a large-scale battle between the Astra Militarum and orks set in the Armageddon Theatre campaign. The footage is impressive — and immediately has people worrying about whether their PCs can actually run it.

The video shows infantry being directed into barricades, where they appear to dynamically split into smaller squads to fit available cover, including the upper floors of ruined buildings. Heavier units like ogryns and sentinel walkers smash straight through those same barricades, meaning players will need to think carefully about routing big units if they want to preserve cover for their infantry. The footage also includes an artillery barrage sequence, with the narrator delivering a very on-brand Imperial Guard line: "These men did their duty." Visible frame rate drops during the explosion-heavy sequences are already raising hardware concerns among viewers.

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 was announced at The Game Awards in December 2025, with Stranger Things actor David Harbour attached to the project. The game brings Creative Assembly's large-scale RTS formula into the grimdark far future of the 41st millennium — a setting that's been adapted into countless games but never in the Total War mold. A behind-the-scenes look at the same Armageddon battle was shown at the PC Gaming Show last month, but this BiliBili World reveal goes into considerably more tactical detail.

The cover system and unit-scale interactions are shaping up to be the most discussed mechanical features so far. Whether the final game can run smoothly on mid-range hardware remains an open question — one that's clearly on a lot of players' minds already.