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Auroch Digital’s gloriously chunky boomer-shooter Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 continues the Xenos-crushing adventures of Malum Caedo next year. While the game’s reveal trailer looked very similar to the original game, the developers are cooking up a tonne of new features for this blood-soaked sequel.
Speaking to VideoGamer after the reveal of the second game, lead designer Matt Bone and lead producer Zachary Cundall teased some of the new things that fans can expect to see in the next Boltgun adventure.
Warhammer 40,000 fans will be pleased with Boltgun 2
While Saber Interactive’s Space Marine 2 was a massive step up from its then-decade-old predecessor, Auroch Digital’s upcoming Warhammer 40,000 game is more of an iterative jump over the still-fresh original game.
Think of the jump from the original 1993 Doom to 1994’s Doom II: Hell on Earth, albeit with a Warhammer coat of paint and heaps more detail. We’re not getting a major expansion of core gameplay mechanics, but we’re getting a lot more variety from enemies to weapons to level design.
“Variety is a pillar for us. We’ve seen a lot of fans requesting more – different enemies, different environments, and so on, so we’re keen to deliver that,” Bone explained. “There’s a lot more on that front I’m dying to share but can’t just yet! Suffice to say we want to surprise players as well.”
Bone teased that major improvements are being focused towards the game’s level design with the team aiming to get “more diversity in there, and tighter, memorable experiences” for players.
Player feedback is really important to us. And we’ve been listening to that a lot based on what we’ve learned since making Boltgun 2.”
Lead producer Zachary Cundall
“[We want] players engaged with things they haven’t seen before whilst leaning into the over-the-top charm of Boltgun,” they continued. “That said, players loved the core gameplay of Boltgun 1 – the fast-paced retro shooter gameplay – so we’re keen to not stray too far from that. We want to enhance and refine that core, rather than fundamentally change it.”
At the end of the day, the team behind Boltgun 2 are hoping to create a much better version of an already great game without alienating fans of the original. Bone explained that the shooters are designed to “deliver the idealised version of that nostalgia” of 90s gaming. It’s not actually as clunky as, say, Redneck Rampage, but it inherits the spirit of those DOS and early Windows shooters, but you can also run at speeds that would make those floppy-disk-fed cogitators.
“The gameplay can feel refreshingly different to more modern shooters,” Bone said while describing the appeal of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2. “[Boomer shooters are] often more stripped down, with a tighter focus on that gameplay and innovative level design. I think they’re both very accessible and contain the potential for a high level of mastery. There’s also a lot of appeal in the retro visuals: in Boltgun 1 and 2, fans of Warhammer 40,000 are getting to see a universe they love represented in a totally unique way.”
Alongside the team’s wishes to massively improve Boltgun 2 over its cult-classic predecessor, the developers are also looking at the reams of fan feedback from the original game.
“Player feedback is really important to us,” explained lead producer Zachary Cundall. “And we’ve been listening to that a lot based on what we’ve learned since making Boltgun 2.”
Auroch Digital is keeping its hands close to its chest concerning the plot and specific surprises coming to Boltgun 2. Since the original was a sequel to Space Marine, could this somehow tie into Space Marine 2? Who knows? Not me, they didn’t tell me.
Warhammer 40K is more popular than ever with new games selling millions of copies and an Amazon Prime show in the works. While Boltgun is a considerably smaller title than games like Space Marine 2, these smaller titles are offering incredible takes on the series that players barely get to see.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is scheduled to release in 2026 for PC and console.
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