Over the last 40 years,Warhammer 40,000has grown in scale exponentially. When playing the tabletop game today, players have the choice of a plethora of factions, each with their own slew of unique units, vehicles, and leaders. Further, for each new unit a faction receives, a new bit of lore is added to theWarhammer 40Ktimeline. After four decades of additions, theWarhammer 40Kuniverse is a sprawling one, with some of the most fleshed out lore of any sci-fi fantasy franchise.
While some pieces ofWarhammer 40Klore have been tweaked over the years, there are a few distinct events that have remained largely the same, but have just been fleshed out via books and codices. The Horus Heresy is one such event. Taking place just before the currentWarhammer 40Ktimeline begins, the Horus Heresy is the catalyst for much of the universe’s action, directly explaining the state of the Imperium of Man andthe forces of Chaos.
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What Is Warhammer 40K’s Horus Heresy?
Taking place over nine Earth years, the Horus Heresy is a human civil war which sees the Imperium of Man split into two distinct sides: the Emperor’s Loyalists and the fallen Space Marine Primarchs led by Horus. This pivotal event begins when the Space Marine Primarch Horus is corrupted bythe Chaos Gods.
One of the 20 genetically-engineered sons of the all-powerful Emperor of Man, Horus was the Emperor’s favorite. Upon being corrupted by the four Chaos Gods, Horus took his loyal Space Marine legion - the Sons of Horus - and turned on the Emperor, seeking his throne at the head of the Imperium.
Being the Emperor’s right-hand man, Horus was able to convince about half of the Primarchs, his “brothers,” to betray the Emperor alongside him. The nine traitor Primarchs, along with their respectiveSpace Marine legions, waged war on the other Primarchs and the Emperor.
Over the following nine years, the brutal civil war raged throughout the Milky Way galaxy. Trillions were killed, whole planets were destroyed due to Chaotic corruption, and a handful of Primarchs on both sides were slaughtered or went missing. As the war grew, more factions joined Horus' side, including a portion of the Mechanicum and a large percentage ofthe human Imperial Army.
In the final year of the war, Horus managed to fight his way to the Emperor’s capital on Terra, the 31st Millennium version of Earth. Once inside the capital, a fierce battle took place betweenthe Emperor’s elite guardsand Horus' Space Marine legions, eventually culminating in one final battle between the Emperor himself and Horus.
Though the final moments of the battle have been heavily speculated on by those in the Imperium, and the official record events can never be trusted fully, it is confirmed that Horus was killed by the Emperor - but not before dealing a fatal wound to his father. As the Emperor was seen as more of a God than a man, his loyal followers designed a way to prolong his life, and keep his strongpsychic (Psyker) powersalive.
The God Emperor was encased in a gigantic, intimidating Golden Throne. Though the Emperor can no longer speak and is essentially just a skeletal husk, he remains atop the Throne, being kept alive with human sacrifices and providing his Imperium the ability to travel through the Warp via his powerful Psyker powers. Upon Horus' death, the remaining traitor legions fled to the Eye of Terror, a rift in the Warp in whichthe Chaos Gods reign freely.
Though 10,000 years have passed since Horus' death, the traitor legions of Chaos, commonly referred to as the Chaos Space Marines, still conduct attacks on the Imperium of Man. While the conflict itself lasted for less than a decade, the Horus Heresy is the direct cause for much of the state of theWarhammer 40,000universe.
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The Horus Heresy is the Perfect Setting for a Warhammer 40K Game
While there have been a handful ofWarhammer 40,000video gamesset during the Horus Heresy, none of these have really captured the large-scale brutality of the conflict. With a board game adaptation and aGwent-like card game being two of the four Horus Heresy video game offerings, there hasn’t been much action injected into the setting. 2017’sThe Horus Heresy: Battle of Tallarn, and 2020’sThe Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calthare two more exciting offerings, but aren’t the best games and don’t really capture the true scope of the war.
A modern Horus Heresy game would have a great deal of potential. With 54 novels set during this period, there’s plenty of inspiration to draw from for a single-player campaign. To capture the immense scale of the galaxy-wide conflict,the 4X strategy genrecould be used, putting the player in the boots of one of the Primarchs on either the Loyalists or Heretic side. From there, players could build their legion’s forces up and conduct raids across the galaxy in a similar vein to games likeSins of a Solar EmpireandStar Wars: Empire at War.
Alternatively, a multiplayer-focused shooter would also fit right in with the Horus Heresy setting. With much of the Horus Heresy’s combat being vicious close-range battles, third-person gameplay similar toWarhammer 40,000: Space Marinewould be a perfect fit. In fact, if Games Workshop wanted to expand theSpace Marinebrand even further than the planned sequel, then it could just set aSpace Marinegame during the Horus Heresy, acting as a prequel to the 2011 title. Setting aSpace Marinegame during the Horus Heresy would also give way to some unique weapons, as being set 10,000 years before the events ofWarhammer 40,000would mean technology isn’t quite as futuristic.
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