Lieutenant Titus from Space Marine 2 has become one of the most recognizable faces in all of Warhammer 40,000 following the massive success of the video game. We’ve already seen Games Workshop double down on the Ultramarines hero with merchandise, an appearance in the Amazon animated anthology Warhammer 40,000 episode “Secret Level,” and various cameos throughout the setting. But now things have evened out – not only for Titus as a Space Marine, but also for his place in the ongoing Warhammer 40,000 narrative.
This week, Games Workshop unveiled Captain Demetrian Titus, Master of the Guard, which means Titus has received a well-deserved promotion since the canonical events of Space Marine 2 and Secret Level. Titus once again becomes the captain of the Second Ultramarines Company, a position he already held before he was arrested by the Inquisition on charges of heresy after the events of the first Space Marine game. What does Titus’ promotion mean for Sevastus Acheran, former Second Company captain and Master of the Guard, who we see in Space Marine 2? Let’s be straightforward: he’s probably dead. Guess he couldn’t spare enough people.
For Titus, his promotion comes with greater and more tough responsibilities: he is entrusted with the defense of the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, the realm of the Space Marine poster boys, the Ultramarines. While Primarch Roboute Guilliman has embarked on his Indomitus Crusade, Titus is now responsible for ensuring the safety of his home, where, as always, modern threats from the Necrons have arisen.
To spice up this narrative expansion, Games Workshop has released a modern trailer below, showing Titus accepting his modern position and what he calls his “impossible mission.” He’s been turning heads since we last saw him and has a chilly modern model to operate in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. Titus is joined by friends fans know well: Ancient Gadriel from Space Marine 2 and veteran Sergeant Metaurus from Secret Level (he’s alive!).
500 Worlds: Titus is the name of the next major narrative expansion for Warhammer 40,000. According to the entry on Warhammer Communitywhich includes a set of four books that will tell the story of the Ultramarian Reclamation and the besieged Vespator Front, where Titus and the Second Company of Ultramarines “wage a desperate battle against Necron forces plagued by the curse of the Destroyer.”
This is an critical moment for Titus, but also for the Space Marine video game series. This is a testament to the character’s importance to Warhammer 40,000 and the seismic impact that Space Marine 2 had on the setting.
Speaking to IGN at gamescom 2025, Tim Willits, head of development at Saber Interactive, said that the popularity of Space Marine 2 opened the door to the bleak setting of Warhammer 40,000 for an army of modern fans who didn’t necessarily have a clue about the intricacies of the universe.
“I’ve heard a lot of people now think the Thousand Sons are the only Chaos faction because that’s what we had in the game,” Willits said, recalling the first year of Space Marine 2.
“And that’s why people say, ‘Oh, I think Thousand Sons is Chaos.’ It’s like, ‘Actually, no, it’s not.’ Actually, it’s just a small faction. But people just say, “That’s the one I played against.”
This assumption of Chaos extends to the Space Marines themselves. The Ultramaines – the chapter used by Games Workshop itself when introducing newcomers to the table with starter sets – are the heroes of the Space Marine 2 campaign, although there are many other factions available to play as in the PvE and PvP modes.
“People have incorrect assumptions about the Warhammer 40,000 universe,” Willits continued. “It’s like the Thousand Sons are the only Chaos faction. It’s kind of funny. And it’s like, ‘Oh, Space Marines are only blue!’ Honestly, it was quite fun, which is good for us.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the already confirmed Space Marine 3 is whether Saber will venture beyond the Ultramarines and Thousand Sons in the next campaign. Necrons seem to have been added to this story, which at this point probably wouldn’t be that big of a surprise for Space Marine 3. But could there be other Space Marine chapters as well? Perhaps other Chaos factions too? We asked Willits about Space Marine 3, but he remained silent.
But now Titus is definitely back in the fold, we have to wonder what the overly suspicious Chaplain Leandros thinks? He spent almost the entire movie Space Marine 2 threatening to kill poor Titus at the first sign of corruption, and even after Titus’s heroics, praise from Chapter Master Marneus Calgar, and what some consider words of encouragement from the Emperor himself, Leandros remained unconvinced. If Titus manages to complete this impossible task and defend the 500 worlds, will he finally win over Leandros? Somehow I doubt it.
All of this likely influences Space Marine 3 in some way. Assuming Space Marine 3 picks up after the events of 500 Worlds, we could see Titus leading armies into battle rather than a single unit.
Wesley is the news director at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
