Developer Humiliation
When developers showcase their games, they typically defeat the enemy AI with ease. However, the recent gameplay footage released by King Art Games for its upcoming real-time strategy title, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4, presented the exact opposite scenario.
In the video, creative director Jan Theysen and senior game designer Elliott Verbiest teamed up against Hard AI Orks in a 2v2 Team Skirmish PvE battle. These two developers have been central to previous Dawn of War 4 battlefield reports, which primarily focused on PvP. This time, they joined forces to confront the enemy AI on its hardest difficulty setting.
The video featured two matches. The first ended in a spectacular defeat for the developers in just over four minutes. They jokingly labeled it a practice round before the second match, where they promised to be “locked in.” They even increased the number of Victory Points required, hoping to extend the match duration.
The Ork Onslaught
Despite their efforts, the brutal and overwhelming Orks decimated the Space Marines, delivering a crushing defeat worthy of a Waaagh! Theysen and Verbiest struggled to keep pace with capturing points and objectives, unable to fend off relentless waves of attacks even with auto-reinforce enabled. Falling behind in Victory Points and starved of resources, they couldn't muster a counter-attack when the Orks pushed towards their base.
“I think I have to have a stern word with our coders about the hard mode difficulty,” Theysen quipped as he realized the Space Marines were doomed. “I mean it’s supposed to be hard but also the boss is supposed to win!”
“I have no doubt that players will come back to us within like a few weeks of launch and tell us, ‘Actually we've managed to beat this within two days,’” Verbiest added.
“I’m pretty sure that the people in the comments will discuss our shortcomings!” Theysen concluded.
The second match, and the video itself, concluded abruptly with Theysen hitting the surrender button before the Orks delivered the final blow. “This might be the second loss in a row which tells you two things,” he stated. “First of all, we are not that good at our own game. And also the AI is pretty strong.
“This is a surrender. It was an honor playing with you, but we didn't make it. Maybe next time. See you soon. Bye.”
Developer Confidence
The second match lasted 13 minutes, a significant improvement over the first, but still not the desired outcome for Theysen and Verbiest. The video was compelling not only for offering a first look at two-player co-op against enemy AI, but also for demonstrating the developers' confidence in their game. They could have discarded the footage and recorded a new match on an easier difficulty, or repeatedly tried Hard AI until they won. Instead, they chose to show Dawn of War 4 as it stands, imperfections and all, even if it meant their own defeat.
Fans have reacted positively to the video. One YouTube commenter noted, “Pretty cool that you guys showed the defeat and how hard the AI can be. Quite interesting!” Another, familiar with Ork tactics, added, “I will never do hard in a Warhammer game Orks just nuke you.”
Release Date and Outlook
Dawn of War 4 is set to launch on PC on December 3, 2026. Many players, like the developers themselves, might opt for a more moderate difficulty setting.
