Total War: Warhammer's Immortal Empires campaign goes standalone in September

Starting September 24, you won't need to own any Total War: Warhammer game to jump into Immortal Empires — the massive trilogy-spanning grand campaign. Buying any single Lords of the End Times character pack is all it takes, and those start at around $9 (£7.49).

The Lords of the End Times expansion itself is a hefty drop: Nagash and his undead legions, Boris Todbringer leading Middenland, the Glottkin's nurgle-soaked hordes, and Thanquol alongside his giant rat-ogre Boneripper. The official DLC description confirms that purchasing any of that content "grants access to the colossal Immortal Empires campaign with no need to own any of the Total War: Warhammer games" — explicitly calling it a new entry point for players who've never touched the trilogy. Immortal Empires itself packs in 14 factions and 24 legendary lords, and that's before counting the Free-LC lords, heroes, and entire free factions like Bretonnia added over the years.

The entry requirements for Immortal Empires have been gradually relaxed since launch. Originally you needed all three games; then it dropped to just owning Warhammer 3; now it'll cost as little as a single character DLC. Total War: Warhammer 3 is currently $9 in a 10th anniversary sale, but after September that same $9 spent on a Lords of the End Times lord gets you Immortal Empires plus a brand-new legendary lord — skipping the Realms of Chaos campaign, which is the weaker of the two, but landing you in the far larger and more content-rich grand campaign. Warhammer 1 and 2's standalone campaigns are similarly redundant at this point: Warhammer 2's Great Vortex map is fully absorbed into Immortal Empires anyway.

September 24 is shaping up to be a strong moment to finally take the plunge on the series. The Lords of the End Times release also brings an endgame rework to Immortal Empires, so even veteran players have a reason to return — and when the new lords eventually go on sale, the barrier to entry will drop even further.