Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is out now. Technically, that’s true, since you can play the action game right now. It doesn’t officially launch until September 9, but like many of today’s biggest games, paying a larger sum upfront unlocks the game a few days early.
In this case, purchasing the Gold or Ultra edition of Space Marine 2 allows you to play early, something thousands of players have already done.
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The result of this excitement (and all the money spent on exorbitant editions) is that Space Marine 2 has shot up the Steam playlist. The game recently topped Valve’s sales charts (where he remains in the lead), so there was a very petite chance that this launch wouldn’t be something large.
Exactly 12 hours ago the servers were launched and Space Marine 2 reached a peak of 134,302 concurrent players on Steamcomfortably landing in the top ten most played games on Steam. The game has over 75,000 players at the time of writing. Given the nature of this release, there’s a good chance that positive word-of-mouth will boost those numbers even more over the weekend, not to mention the boost it’ll receive when the game officially releases on Tuesday.
A quick look at Space Marine 2 reviews on Steam – currently Mostly positive – shows no earnest signs of server issues. While an internet connection is not required to play, most of its content – including the campaign – is designed for cooperative play. There is also a PvE mode, Operations, and a competitive multiplayer mode that can be joined after the main story is complete.
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Warhammer fans are particularly pleased with the way the lore and fiction of the series is presented in the game. Developer Saber Interactive has made every effort to ensure that the game is as exact as possible and respectful of the source material.
Space Marine 2 also impressed most critics, with our own Connor Makar giving it four stars in his VG247 review, calling it one of the most faithful Warhammer adaptations ever. So it seems like everyone is cheerful, which is really great considering it’s also the same week the game will be shutting down less than two weeks after launch.
If you’re just joining the ranks of the Astartes, check out our guides on the best perks for Bolt-Action Rifles and Bolt-Action Heavy Rifles.
