There will be no “major” expansion content for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III and the studio has turned to other projects, Relic confirmed to us today, despite intentions to the contrary discussed last year. The Games Workshop-themed strategy game was met with a divisive response due to its abandonment of real-time strategy mainstays in favour of more of a hero unit approach, in addition to an overly-formulaic singleplayer campaign.

DOW’s active players have slumped in the ten months since release – to the point that there were, over the past 30 days, twice as many people playing the original, 2004 Dawn of War and its expansions as there were last Spring’s Dawn of War III. (more…)

Another year over, a new one just begun, which means, impossibly, even more games.> But what about last year? Which were the games that most people were buying and, more importantly, playing? As is now something of a tradition, Valve have let slip a big ol’ breakdown of the most successful titles released on Steam over the past twelve months.

Below is the full, hundred-strong roster, complete with links to our coverage if you want to find out more about any of the games, or simply to marvel at how much seemed to happen in the space of 52 short weeks.

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War… war has changed. The latest (and largest) Dawn of War 3 update, “Endless War”, is now live. It adds new multiplayer maps, new elite units and new cosmetics to the Warhammer RTS.

If you don’t own DoW3 but want to get in on the action, there’s also a free weekend running from now until 9pm on Sunday, along with a 50% discount if you want the game for keepsies.

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Because weird unlock systems are near-mandatory these days, Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 3 [official site] initially required players to unlock special units and perks by spending a ‘Skulls’ currency earned by playing. It introduced a load of faff and grind that stopped people playing with the full spectrum of options, in return for the minor fleeting joy of unlocking shiny new bits. A poor trade-off. Well, that’s gone. Last week, Relic removed Skulls and unlocked their unlocks for everyone.

“After listening to how fans felt about the Skull system, and watching how players interacted with it in-game, we’ve decided to unlock all Elites and doctrines for everyone,” Relic said.

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While Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 [official site] has not been to everyone’s tastes (our review was fond of its multiplayer but not the singleplayer, for the record), players do now have extra options to tinker with and improve it. Developers Relic Entertainment today launched a big update which includes new mod tools to let folks create new modes and bits, fiddling with it in ways beyond the level editor that was already out. And for those who already like what Dawn of War 3 is, hey, the update included a shedload of balance tweaks. (more…)

Relic Entertainment say they’ve been listening to what players think of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 [official site] since its launch almost seven weeks ago, and they’re going to make some changes. They’re adding new multiplayer modes they say are closer to the first Dawn of War, which will “challenge you to wipe out every last Waaagh Tower and Webway Gate to earn that victory screen.” They’re also reintroducing buildable turrets through Doctrines, for turtlefolk. Hey, don’t look at me: they say this is what you wanted. These won’t replace the the old multiplayer modes, sitting alongside ’em. Look for the launch in a free update next week. … [visit site to read more]

If fighting Orks, Space Marines and Eldar was easy, then the universe of the 41st millennium wouldn t be embroiled in a never-ending, brutal war, and all those poor Nobz, Terminators and Wraithknights would be on the dole. But it doesn t need to be a slog, either. Allow me to give you a leg up in Dawn of War 3 s [official site] savage multiplayer battles with this guide to its myriad complexities. By the end, you ll be smashing your enemies frail bodies and crushing their dreams. … [visit site to read more]

In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion checks to see which ten games sold best on Steam over the past week. He just can’t sleep until he knows whether Prey made it to number one or not. … [visit site to read more]

Proper patches and updates for Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 3 [official site] will start hitting the battlefield next week, developers Relic Entertainment have announced. They’ve released a few wee emergency hotfixes since the waaagh-roaring RTS launch last week but come Monday they’ll start with additions like a Surrender option, followed by server improvements and balance changes. … [visit site to read more]

Did you know: the weekly Steam charts, in which we round-up the ten games which sold best on Steam over the previous week, are broadly the most-read articles on RPS these days?

That means I can never stop. Never. Stop.

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