Overview

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 Leak, also known as DOW 4 Development Rumors, refers to an alleged leak of a video game survey about the still-in-development and yet-to-be-announced Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 real-time strategy (RTS) game that an anonymous 4chan user posted in late January 2025. The supposed leak featured screenshots of the rumored environments and maps that will be featured in the game, as well as details about the upcoming project, such as claims that Dawn of War 4 will have five game modes, a nonlinear campaign for each faction, four different factions, 150 unique types of units, 12 unique heroes and other details. The rumors quickly gained traction among fans of the franchise, which has been silent since 2017's mixed reception with DOW 3, sparking debates about the sequel and the authenticity of the leaked information.

Background

On January 29th, 2025, an anonymous^[1] 4chan user shared a post titled, "I just took a market research survey for Dawn of War IV," adding a screenshot they provided that they stated was the pre-production environments design of DOW 4 (seen below).

The post also claimed the upcoming game will feature:

• 5 game modes
• Nonlinear campaign for each faction
• 4 different factions
• 150 unique types of units
• 12 unique heroes
• Customizable units
• The storylines are written by an "award-winning author"

A few hours later, the same anonymous user shared an alleged question featured in the survey (seen below), which claimed the project is an "upcoming real-time strategy (RTS) game for PC." The screenshot^[2] also mentioned that the story is "co-written by an award-winning sci-fi author and will unfold over the course of 70 missions with nonlinear mission choices."

Online Reactions

The alleged leaked survey and details of a previously unknown DOW 4 in development gained viral attention among the Warhammer 40,000 fanbase online as it spread, especially on YouTube, Reddit and X / Twitter in late January and early February 2025.

For instance, on January 30th, 2025, 40K YouTuber^[3] Chapter Master Valrak posted a video commenting on the rumored Dawn of War 4 leak, which received more than 24,000 views and 1,500 likes in three days.

On February 1st, 2025, Redditor^[4] u/TEMISTOCLES1984 also shared the same information about the leaked survey to the /r/GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit, which received roughly 230 upvotes and 80 comments in a day.

Additional discussion threads also appeared on the /r/dawnofwar^[5][6] subreddit on February 1st, each receiving dozens of upvotes and comments over the following 48 hours as players discussed the rumor and 4chan post.

Also that day, a post to the official Age Of Empires forums titled "Relic Entertainment is probably working on Dawn of War 4: if true, Relic will not work on AOE4 anymore" was started by a user to discuss the leaks and return of DOW 1-3 developer Relic Entertainment, receiving roughly 400 views and 20 likes in two days.

Search Interest

External References