Dawn of War 3 'Prophecy of War' trailer sets the stage for a grand RTS conflict

An Ork, an Eldar, and a Human walk into bar. Bartender says, "What can I get you?" Simultaneously, they say, "I'll take that pointy stikk." With a start, they glance furtively at each other. A silent beat hangs in the air; a drop of sweat runs down the bartender's cheek. The clock ticks. 14 billion people die.   

To be fair, the description of the new Dawn of War 3 trailer makes the conflict out to be a little more serious than your average watering-hole disagreement: "It’s a race to the pointy stikk as Gabriel Angelos, Farseer Macha, and Gorgutz ‘Ead’unter command their massive armies in a search for a mythical weapon that can control the fate of their races! With the Space Marines, Eldar, and Orks all hunting for the same treasure, there’s only one thing they’re certain to find—war."

It's a three-way fight, but to my mind it's really all about the Orks. That's likely because we all need a break from the grim dark of the future now and then, and nothing says "don't take it too seriously" like a gang of angry green half-wits who don't really care what they're fighting about, as long as they're fighting.   

The trailer makes for a fun show, but you'll probably get a better idea of what it's all about in our recent hands-on with the Eldar faction. Dawn of War 3 is expected to be out later this year. 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.