Warhammer Survivors is officially happening—and yes, it’s very deliberately cut from the same gloriously compulsive cloth as Vampire Survivors. Developed by Auroch Digital in partnership with Warhammer and poncle (the studio founded by Vampire Survivors creator Luca Galante), the new roguelite “survivors” game is confirmed for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PS5 later this year, with Xbox Series and PC (Steam) also in the mix.
This matters because it’s not just another clone chasing a trend: poncle is directly involved, the game is built on the same underlying tech as Vampire Survivors, and it’s pulling from both Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar—two universes that are basically custom-built for screen-filling chaos.
Auroch Digital + poncle + Warhammer: a “Survivors” power trio
Let’s get the headline out of the way: Warhammer Survivors is a standalone release that takes the “survivors-like” template—tight movement, escalating waves, absurd power scaling, weapon evolutions, and that hypnotic loop of “just one more run”—and injects it with Warhammer’s factions, icons, and tone.
The developer is Auroch Digital, best known here for Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, and the collaboration details are the real hook. poncle isn’t just a name slapped on a press release; the game is being made in partnership with them, and it’s been stated that it uses the same engine and tech as Vampire Survivors. That’s why, visually and structurally, it’s immediately recognizable as part of that lineage.
Warhammer’s involvement also isn’t limited to a single setting. The game is explicitly spanning both 40K and Age of Sigmar, which opens the door to wildly different enemy types, arenas, and weapon fantasies—bolters and chainswords on one side, mythic Mortal Realms carnage on the other.
Gameplay: bullet heaven, weapon evolutions, and endless hordes across two universes
Officially, Warhammer Survivors is described as a “fast-paced roguelite survivors’ game” where you pick from a roster of iconic characters and fight “endless tides” of enemies. The pitch is pure bullet heaven: avoid clusters, scale into absurdity, and evolve your kit until the screen becomes a fireworks show of damage numbers and particle effects.
Auroch Digital’s overview leans hard into variety across settings. You’ll be able to “choose your universe” and fight across locations ranging from the “open and ashen plains of Aqshy” to the “tight and confined corridors of an abandoned Space Hulk.” In other words: wide-open kiting maps and claustrophobic pressure-cooker stages—two very different flavors of survivors-like pacing.
On the content side, the game is promising:
- Multiple stages and modes
- A growing roster of unlockable characters, weapons, abilities, and rare relics
- Meta progression (death isn’t the end; you build power over time)
- “Esoteric secrets” and collectibles to uncover
And yes, the weapons are exactly the kind of fan-service you want from a Warhammer spin on this genre. Alongside staples like a Boltgun and Astartes Chainsword, there are also explicit “easter eggs” like a pot of Citadel Nuln Oil paint—an in-joke that’s going to land with tabletop players immediately.
Characters, factions, and the kind of Warhammer fan-service that actually fits
Warhammer is at its best when it commits to excess, and the early character and enemy reveals suggest Warhammer Survivors understands the assignment.
From the initial roster details, confirmed playable characters include:
- Malum Caedo (the hero from Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun)
- Trooper Kozlowski (Cadian Shock Trooper)
- Brother Luca (Space Marine Intercessor)
- Neave Blacktalon (Stormcast warrior in Age of Sigmar)
- Gotrek Gurnisson
- Sharynn Azurwrath (Stormcast Eternal Vanquisher)
On PS5, additional reveals include major-name heavy hitters and a wonderfully unhinged twist: you can command a Leman Russ Tank as Knight-Commander Pask. That’s not a throwaway gag—he’s described as the largest character revealed so far, and the fantasy is exactly what you’d hope: smaller enemies getting churned up under tank treads while bigger threats get deleted by heavy firepower.
Other newly revealed characters and content include:
- Commissar Yarrick
- Marneus Calgar (Chapter Master of the Ultramarines)
- “The Legend of Catachan”
- A newly revealed enemy menace: Orks
The Ork reveal is especially juicy because it comes with specific enemy types and a named boss. The faction includes threats like exploding Bomb Squigs and even a “giant conjured foot” that can crush anything in its path. And leading the charge is Ghazghkull Thraka, positioned as a major threat with a multi-part moveset—Power Klaw slashes, ranged “dakka,” and the ability to call in tides of Orks in a full-on Waaagh.
There’s also a clear structure to runs: at the end of every stage, you’ll face an Extremis Boss—powerful faction leaders with their own attack patterns and mechanics. That’s a smart way to give survivors-like runs a sense of punctuation beyond “survive until the timer ends,” and it’s also a natural fit for Warhammer’s hierarchy of “bigger, meaner, more named.”
Weapons get similarly specific callouts. Marneus Calgar’s Gauntlets of Ultramar are described as an evolved weapon that crushes enemies in an arc and unleashes exploding bolter fire. And then there’s the D6 Dice, a cross-universe weapon that rains dice onto the screen, bouncing and exploding with damage based on the rolled face value. It’s both mechanically flavorful and deeply Warhammer-brained—randomness as spectacle.
Release platforms and timing: Switch 1, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series, and PC confirmed
Here’s what’s locked in right now:
- Nintendo Switch – confirmed, launching this year
- Nintendo Switch 2 – confirmed, launching this year
- PlayStation 5 – confirmed, launching later this year
- Xbox Series X|S – confirmed
- PC (Steam) – previously announced and still confirmed
The key caveat: while the console release window is “later this year,” there is no specific release date yet. Pricing also hasn’t been announced in the available details, and there’s no confirmed word on performance targets (resolution, framerate) for Switch or Switch 2.
Still, the platform spread is exactly what you want for a survivors-like: portable-friendly hardware, quick sessions, and a loop that thrives on “one run on the couch, one run in bed, one run on the commute.” If the Switch versions land cleanly, this could be a perfect fit for Nintendo’s audience—especially with Switch 2 in the picture.
Why this isn’t “just another clone”—and why Warhammer is a perfect match
The survivors-like boom has been loud, messy, and full of copycats that don’t understand why Vampire Survivors worked. Warhammer Survivors has two advantages most imitators can’t buy:
- poncle is involved, and the game uses the same engine/tech as Vampire Survivors.
- Warhammer’s fantasy is inherently scalable, which is the entire point of this genre.
This format lives and dies on escalation: you start weak, you end up godlike, and the screen becomes a storm of effects. Warhammer—whether it’s 40K’s industrial firepower or Age of Sigmar’s mythic heroics—already speaks that language fluently. A Leman Russ mowing down fodder, a bucket of D6 dice exploding across the screen, Orks swarming in a Waaagh: these aren’t forced crossovers. They’re natural expressions of the setting.
And crucially, the game isn’t limiting itself to one corner of the brand. By bridging 40K and Age of Sigmar, it can deliver radically different vibes while keeping the same core loop. That’s how you avoid the “same map, different skin” trap.
What Remains Unknown
Even with a chunky reveal, there are still big unanswered questions:
- Exact release date (only “later this year” / “this year” has been confirmed)
- Pricing on Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series, and PC
- Whether there will be cross-save or cross-progression between platforms
- The full list of modes and how they differ (multiple modes are mentioned, but not detailed)
- How many stages will be available at launch, and how post-launch support will work
- Any specifics on Switch 2 enhancements versus Switch 1 (performance, visuals, feature parity)
For now, the takeaway is simple: Warhammer is getting its own Vampire Survivors-style bullet heaven, it’s coming to Switch 1 and Switch 2 this year, and the combination of Auroch Digital craftsmanship plus poncle DNA makes this one far more than a trend-chasing imitation. If you’ve ever wanted to turn Warhammer into pure arcade chaos—this is the shot.
