Home / Games / Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Dark Crusade
Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® - Dark Crusade
Deep under the central desert of Kronus, a vast honeycomb of skull-lined tunnels and funeral chambers house the awakening Necron menace. Eons ago, these were the boulevards and squares of a great necropolis built to house the bones of the races who had fallen to the Necrons, and ultimately were wher
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-08-31 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-12.
What reviewers agree on
26 of the 92 reviews raise this.
“Been playing this and Soulstorm for years. I go back and forth between the two. Depends if i want my bases to persist or rebuild each time”
“Played this 15 years ago as a kid, and it still holds up in 2026 as one of the best warhammer 40k game ever made. The feeling of base building and commanding large army just can't be replaced by RPG style gameplay.…”
4 of the 92 reviews raise this.
“Very Replayable”
3 of the 92 reviews raise this.
“The war gear and honor guard systems are my favorite parts of the campaign. I hope it comes back in DOW 4”
3 of the 92 reviews raise this.
“this works”
“Another "cult classic" wh40k dawn of war that is just overrated. Boring music, boring story, clanky gameplay. PS. This one, at least, supports modern resolutions”
3 of the 92 reviews raise this.
“Possibly the best Sci-Fi RTS game in terms of content and still fairly balanced.”
4 of the 92 reviews raise this · 2 of them still recommend the game.
“Awesome expansion pack I do not like the lack of a campaign but the new world map and turned based gameplay on said map is pretty cool barebones but cool. Its even better with the definitive edition.”
“YOOOOOOOOOO. This is by FARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR the worst of the DLC for Dawn Of War. HOLYYYY. On insane, all the other games were fun, some loses, some tough campaign missions, but winnable. This trash…”
“Another "cult classic" wh40k dawn of war that is just overrated. Boring music, boring story, clanky gameplay. PS. This one, at least, supports modern resolutions”
Counted across 92 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 96.2% positive rating · as of 2026-05-12
“Still a top tier RTS game, even if the graphics are outdated, the gameplay it's still there.”
— a player, Steam review · 2 hrs played“Still holds up, and 0 mods to make it run on modern hardware. This game was my first real taste of the 40k universe. Been hooked ever since.”
— a player, Steam review · 14 hrs played“Dark Crusade expands the formula into a planetary campaign and every victory strengthens your grip on Kronus. Seven playable factions, each with their own stronghold mission, personality, and strategy, make this one of the most replayable RTS games ever made. Each race feels…”
— a player, Steam review · 231 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Dawn of War III Pre-Order Available Now!
PREPARE FOR BATTLE http://branding.relic.com/img/forums/pre-order-steam-announcement.png The wait is almost over! We're excited to announce that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III will be available on
Dawn of War III Pre-Order Available Now!
PREPARE FOR BATTLE http://branding.relic.com/img/forums/pre-order-steam-announcement.png The wait is almost over! We're excited to announce that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III will be available on
Dawn Of War III Announced!
http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/285190/ss_d64adae592b8ab145ceaec15f51a4ee6b081e363.600x338.jpg?t=1462290401 After years of secrecy, we’re finally ready to confirm that the game you’ve bee
Dawn Of War III Announced!
http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/285190/ss_d64adae592b8ab145ceaec15f51a4ee6b081e363.600x338.jpg?t=1462290401 After years of secrecy, we’re finally ready to confirm that the game you’ve bee
THE NECRON OVERLORD
http://promotion-assets.relic.com/DOW2_Steam_Necron_600x600.png Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution is turning five, and there's a brand new hero arriving in time for the party. The Necron O
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-12.
| Genres | Strategy |
| Player tags | Strategy · Warhammer 40K · RTS · Base-Building · Sci-fi · Multiplayer · Singleplayer · Games Workshop · Real-Time · Classic · War · Gore (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Multi-player · Steam Cloud · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - Spain |
| Official site | http://www.dawnofwar.com |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: Windows 2000/XP, 2.0 Ghz Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon XP or equivalent processor, 512 MB RAM, 3.5 GB free hard drive space, 64 MB DirectX 9.0b compatible AGP video card with Hardware Transformation and lighting, 16-bit DirectX 9.0b compatible sound card, DirectX 9.0c, Mouse, Keyboard Recommended: 2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent, 512 MB system RAM (required for 8-player multiplayer games), nVidia GeForce 3 or equivalent with 64 MB of Video RAM , Sound Blaster X-Fi Series Required for Multiplayer: Internet: Cable modem, DSL modem, or better for online multiplayer play; Network: LAN