Game2009

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Anniversary Edition (Classic)

Strategy

Developer Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac/Linux)

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is a real-time tactics and tactical role-playing video game based on Games Workshop's fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. Dawn of War II was released in North America on February 19, 2009, and in Europe on February 20, 2009, with two expansions Chaos Rising… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

221 reactions from 1 source (Steam reviews) · newest Oct 4, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works

Audience score

71
Fresh

157 positive · 64 negative
95% range 65–77%

Source+−=
Steam reviews157640
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
12,272 of 14,016 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)

What people are saying

Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.

Reactions

60 of 221 · most liked first
  • Steam user Steam user …2084Steam reviews · Aug 19, 2026 · 4 h played

    Love this game and decided to look at the store page for it. I've got to say.... $50 for a game that was released in 2009? For a digital copy? How do you justify that? It's truly ridiculous.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0752Steam reviews · Mar 23, 2026

    Be warned, Dawn of War 2 is incompatible with some modern modern hardware. On my i9-14900KF and RTS 4080 SUPER the game won't launch at all. I've tried setting the game on administrator mode and various other system tweaks to no avail. The best I've gotten in a black screen. This is a VERY common issue found in the forums and there's a host of YouTube videos about this issue. The more modern your hardware, the worse it seems to get. There's a 3rd party patch that may fix this issue but I'm…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2136Steam reviews · Oct 26, 2025 · 10 h played

    As usual i cannot recommend getting this unless you already purchased the previous version and got this one for free. If you have a newer PC the game will most likely not work. and if youre playing on higher resolutions, some of the menu UI elements will be outright broken/obscured behind black bars (goes especially for Ultrawide monitors and such) There are ways to potentially get this game working, as i have, luckily for me it was a simple dll file i had to add due to me having a 32 core…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7583Steam reviews · Jul 15, 2026 · 21 h played

    Who else is playing this in anticipation of IV? Good game btw, even tho it's old.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2310Steam reviews · May 24, 2026 · 236 h played

    Use to play it and the epxansions all the time when they originally came out. Recently reinstalled to play the campaigns again and it doesn't work. Whatever they've done for the Anniversary Edition has broken the game for modern PCs

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3743Steam reviews · Jan 4, 2026 · 37 h played

    It's not a bad game, but as someone that finally found a RTS that liked on DoW 1, this game is disappointing: -No basebuilding -No army -No ingame cutscenes, and the ones here are barely animated -Just you and other 3 heroes. Feels more like that you're playing XCOM -Loot with level and rarity -Boss fights, and they suck -The maps keep repeating with those random defense missions with time limit -Lots of bugs, like one of my heroes simply not moving anymore during a mission Chaos Rising was a…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9961Steam reviews · Aug 16, 2026 · 6 h played

    Read this before buying or installing if you already bought it: The truth is though the game will not work on modern pc's and no fix on the internet helped me to start the game, and yet this game is still being SOLD in the store... I had it for years and now I cannot play it, current owners and steam have idgaf attitude. Anyways do not buy it unless you have old pc. PS: GOG version somehow has no problem for me and I can play it without troubles.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5344Steam reviews · Jul 4, 2026 · 20 h played

    When I first purchased this game back in 2009, I didnt know what to make of it - it felt really jarring from what I experienced with DOW1 and its many expansions, which allowed you to build a base, do research and amass a large army to overpower your opponents. They scrubbed the entire base building/technology aspect and made it more tactical squad-based, more similar to XCOM, albeit in real-time. Your squad commanders/elites earn XP and level up, which allow you to spec into various percs…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0293Steam reviews · Jun 15, 2026

    THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE RETRIBUTION! This product is deceptively named as there is no packaged version for Dawn of War 2 which includes all expansions. If you buy this, you will not be able to play as the Imperial Guard. If you want to play with all content for this game it is best to just get the latest one: Dawn of War II Retribution.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2437Steam reviews · May 24, 2026 · 3 h played

    This Review is for anyone looking for the Retribution DLC in the anniversary edition or having issues playing on a modern PC. This is what I have found that works for both DoW 1&2.( Check my DoW review for help with that one as it has way more issues to actually run) To play the DLC you have to install it as a total separate game (Specifically Retribution as Chaos Rising is somehow in the anniversary edition). I have no idea why it doesn't show up when you run the anniversary edition. You have…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8301Steam reviews · Apr 12, 2026 · 131 h played

    Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, takes a bold turn away from base building and focused on small-scale, squad based tactics. At first it feels strange compared to the orginal, but once it clics, it´s incredibly fun and intense. Pros: (+) Strong tactical gameplay with focus on squads and abilities (+) No base building = faster, more action focused matches (+) RPG style progression and gear system in the campaign (+) Great co-op campaign experiance (+) Excellent voice acting and atmosphere…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5827Steam reviews · Feb 26, 2026 · 24 h played

    I don't normally weigh in, but seeing the mixed reviews on this game is prompting me to jump in. DoW II is such a breath of fresh air, if you're expecting a standard 4x type rts you're going to be disappointed. If you come in expecting an rpg flavored squad based (like company of heroes) type game, you're going to really enjoy it. I love the leveling up, gear upgrades, squad selection before missions, the whole game just scratches an itch I never knew I had. One of my top 5 games, for sure.…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6433Steam reviews · Oct 21, 2025 · 15 h played

    Quite a great choice if you’ve always wanted to try RTS games but found most of them too overwhelming. The pace here is leagues slower than something like Starcraft. Since you only control a few squads with their abilities, it feels much more manageable - closer to Real Time Tactics than a pure RTS. The retreat mechanic is genuinely unique, haven’t really seen anything like it in other rts. The campaign also includes a system with loot accuisition reminiscent of Diablo, which adds a…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9304Steam reviews · Dec 20, 2025 · 2 h played

    Love Dawn of War 1 Hate this one It's so insanely slow There's some good ideas, yes, but the lack of races, unit diversity and the insane slow pace of the game make it unplayable for me edit : I learned you can accelerate a game using cheat engine. After just a tiny bit of testing, the game is so so much better now. I will give a final review after more testing.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2620Steam reviews · Oct 20, 2025 · 56 h played

    It took me three separate attempts to get into this game. I bought it back in 2018 because people kept comparing it to Company of Heroes. Let me be very clear: This game is not Company of Heroes. If you go in expecting base-building, traditional RTS pacing, or wide battlefields, you will walk away frustrated like I did. Twice. I also came in with zero knowledge of Warhammer 40K, and I can confidently say: This is not a gateway into 40K lore. The game assumes you already understand…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3861Steam reviews · Aug 21, 2026 · 3 h played

    Not sure why there are a lot of reviews saying this doesn't work etc. Works just fine so far on my laptop. People mention getting kicked to the Main Menu but I have no issues, I've even closed my laptop to go into sleep mode and come back to finish missions. There is a message saying I am offline and cloud sync isn't enabled until I close the game and reload, which is fine as long as I complete the mission then save & exit game. Runs fine, looks good, no issues on and offline.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2784Steam reviews · Jan 7, 2026 · 23 h played

    This game no longer launches on my latest PC. I don't think a game that doesn't work with the latest software and hardware should be available on the steam store. Purchase at your own risk.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9318Steam reviews · Apr 13, 2026

    Purchased Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Anniversary Edition (Classic) but it does not start. Throws up a crash report. Very sad they released a game which does not run!

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1281Steam reviews · Feb 26, 2026 · 34 h played

    It's a masterpiece of an era that loved games as much as we do. writing 10/10 Gameplay: 9/10 Orcs: GET OFF MY SHIP SPACE MARINE/10 Extra: ♥♥♥♥ the eldar/10

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9078Steam reviews · Feb 21, 2026 · 30 h played

    Just buy DOW 1 unless you are partial to more hero and squad oriented RTS games. I came into this game with expectations of DOW 1 which did effect my enjoyment of the game even as I tried to adjust expectations, since it switches from an army oriented RTS to focusing on heroes and squad tactics which became tedious to micromanage as it relies on you using abilities to get through encounters. I cant even label this as a possible upside for helping tell a more linear story since the first…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3214Steam reviews · Jun 15, 2026 · 227 h played

    A bit steep to repackage this at $50 considering this game is almost old enough to drink in Europe, but that doesn't detract from it being a good game. You'll get three products with this in your steam library: DoW 2, Chaos Rising, and Retribution. Be aware Retribution must be launched separately to access its content (including the Imperial Guard). That aside, this is a fun twist on the RTS genre that takes a lot from games like Company of Heroes (same developer) and some RPG inspiration.…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8158Steam reviews · May 24, 2026 · 4 h played

    Does not start Maybe a Problem with Windows 11 or my CPU Tried all workarounds but nothing works and Publisher/Developer does not care.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5688Steam reviews · Jul 25, 2026 · 1 h played

    Can't even open the game - just immediately goes into 'fail to respond' and the game never opens, locks up my whole PC until I shut it down again in task manager

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2651Steam reviews · Jul 18, 2026 · 105 h played

    Seems like a fun game at first but there are zero options for altering controls. So you get a guy with abilities that trigger with Q W and E but they are put in the order of Q E W. You get two guys with the same ability, but on one of them it's Q and one it's E to trigger. It adds so much unnecessary confusion which would be easily avoidable if you were allowed to adjust the keyboard hotkeys. They game expects you to be able to react almost instantaneously to changes, but gives you no help with…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9437Steam reviews · Apr 26, 2026 · 5 h played

    I've played the original DOW2 back when it was first released, and it was my first introduction to the WH40k universe. Now, I still consider the original DOW2 campaign with Anniversary Edition improvements to be the most fun campaign of DOW2, combining the tactical gameplay with the light strategic choices between the story and the time-limited optional missions. I also still see it as one of the better introductions to the Warhammer 40000 universe, presenting the lore of the factions…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6042Steam reviews · Dec 3, 2025 · 80 h played

    I not too long ago, like a year or so ago became a fanatic about Warhammer and i definitely will be there the day it finally get's on the big screen if done the right way. But i never thought i actually would be into RTS games but because of Dawn of War it's become another favorite game genre of mine. While having become one of my favorite games of all time, definitely finding a physical copy for this.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7176Steam reviews · Nov 12, 2025 · 4 h played

    Really Different from the first series of games, but in a good way. You don't control a base anymore, just squads, but the squads level up. I don't know why I never played this until now, but I'm glad I bought it

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7235Steam reviews · Oct 2, 2026 · 24 h played

    Started with four Space Marines. Apparently that's enough to save an entire planet. The gameplay is different from the first Dawn of War. Less base building, more tactical combat. Take cover. Flank the enemy. Use abilities. Blow something up. Then repeat until the Emperor is satisfied. The campaign is basically four heavily armed men solving every problem by shooting it. Need to clear a building? Shoot it. Need to stop an Ork horde? Shoot them. Need to destroy a tank? Shoot it with…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2204Steam reviews · Sep 21, 2026 · 53 h played

    Unlike many other RTS games of the time, I genuinely believe that this game has only gotten better with age. This game is much slower paced than most other RTS games, allowing me precious moments to read what's happening on the battlefield and react accordingly. Not only that but I do really appreciate the different approach this game offers to how units are managed. The result makes it feel like it's more of a real time tactical strategy game with ARPG elements. As a fan of both tactics and…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3729Steam reviews · Aug 31, 2026 · 3 h played

    This is not like the earlier games. Not fun at all.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7105Steam reviews · Aug 13, 2026 · 12 h played

    Use Chaos Rising. This version will constantly kick you to the main menu while you play because it wants to be connected to the internet 100% of the time. Even alt-tabbing can break this.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8160Steam reviews · Jun 25, 2026 · 9 h played

    bought game hated game immeditly. while later tried again and low and behold i felt something. so completed another mission and started enjoying it. still wishing it was like first one rts. but beggers cant be......well now adays they are

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4078Steam reviews · Jun 22, 2026 · 2 h played

    Shame! Was just starting to have fun on the campaign when I came up against a game breaking bug - the interface on the squad deployment screen doesn't work on wide screen monitors! All I wanted to do was select my jumpy boys for the Eldar mission. WAAAAGGGH!

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3572Steam reviews · May 11, 2026 · 16 h played

    Even after all these years the game still suffers from graphic issues. No matter what I do I cannot play the game on medium, high or ultra settings at all. Despite having more than the required specs to run the game. The game refuses to change graphics from low to medium, high, or ultra. It is forever stuck on low settings no matter what I do.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3221Steam reviews · Mar 30, 2026 · 16 h played

    This game is incredible. I hope the fourth installment is similar... because we don't talk about the third one.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6889Steam reviews · Feb 11, 2026 · 28 h played

    Great game for its age. Story is top notch. RPG elements make you wanna try different combinations and tactics.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4946Steam reviews · Jan 2, 2026

    horribly broken on newer pcs, the stuff ive tried as workarounds for it to still not work is ridiculous, would love to see this updated or a version like DoW enhanced.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4110Steam reviews · Dec 30, 2025 · 27 h played

    Really fun and engaging. The storyline is good and being able to unlock new charcters and upgrade them makes it even funner

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2804Steam reviews · Sep 6, 2026 · 144 h played

    This absolute garbage ass trash rerelease! Can't even get it to run because it locks up the graphics on start up. Guess what works just fine... The original,

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8305Steam reviews · Jul 12, 2026 · 24 h played

    10 years ago, this game was peak. 10 years later, still peak lol. Am playing this because I am playing SM 2 and I forgot what this game was about Back then I didnt know wtf Im playing but now, at least I know what is what. That said, there are some game breaking bugs that makes your controls buggy. Overall 8/10 game. Its fun

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1030Steam reviews · Jun 28, 2026

    Game will not launch and locks up my PC, windows 11. It's insane the game can be sold in this state without any testing.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2695Steam reviews · Jun 15, 2026 · 13 h played

    Hard-locks my machine at launch, and the best help I could find was "download this file." No thanks. I'll just wait for DoW4.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3282Steam reviews · May 17, 2026 · 27 h played

    The best DoW. Period.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6507Steam reviews · Apr 22, 2026 · 15 h played

    Missions done well and a story to go with it , good details to the warhammer franchise . units can customized and boosted and two coop campains

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0607Steam reviews · Apr 18, 2026 · 906 h played

    This game is perfect for anyone who’s into real-time strategy with a lot of action, even if you don’t really know much about the Warhammer 40k lore. As you play, you start to understand what they’re fighting for and who they’re fighting for, no spoilers needed. Back in the day, this game really impressed me. I got so into it that I didn’t even take the time to properly write a review. And Retribution? Shame, that one’s also really good, carries on the experience nicely. For me, when it comes to…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9485Steam reviews · Apr 14, 2026 · 151 h played

    This was a absolutely brilliant game till the update, and then they broke it !!!! now it does not work !!!

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8595Steam reviews · Dec 29, 2025 · 130 h played

    It's a different flavor of grimdark RTS compared to the original. Action-reaction oriented gameflow is enjoyable and the game actually rewards big brain plays. The vanilla multiplayer scene is still active in 2025, Elite Mod is also thriving. My fav of the series so far. Warp Spiders.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1793Steam reviews · Dec 27, 2025 · 4 h played

    Since I have to say something about the game, i recommend it because I liked the whole dawn of war series. But beware! Game's not optimized for modern systems. I was able to even launch the game only with the help of steam community (Thanks guys!) And still I have slight sound delay after trying everything.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4411Steam reviews · Nov 7, 2025 · 6 h played

    Doesn't work on 16 core CPUs. Edit: Turns out it is not Windows 11. It is my 16 core CPU and the game just doesn't run on them.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2329Steam reviews · Nov 3, 2025 · 19 h played

    I see alot of hate towards the game not opening. I understand the frustration and yes it is ridiculous you must do this BUT here is the fix for your game not opening and this fix can be applied to most of the old warhammer titles. (I found a fix for every warhammer game i like with different problems XD) "I've seen a lot of people still giving the old advice of disabling cores, but here is a simple file replacer made by a very kind someone that fixed the issue for my 3950x No other…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4547Steam reviews · Sep 11, 2026 · 175 h played

    A classic Warhammer 40K experience i played it when it originally released and 17 years later it is still fun to play!

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9314Steam reviews · Aug 30, 2026 · 156 h played

    game crashes needs update for new systems

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4517Steam reviews · Aug 22, 2026 · 76 h played

    I've replayed this game more than any other I own, on my fifth go now, and I am not generally a person who replays a lot of games.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1385Steam reviews · Aug 9, 2026 · 22 h played

    Unfortunately very buggy with no apparent fixes or workarounds, probably due to its age.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0558Steam reviews · Jul 11, 2026 · 123 h played

    Is a great game, but doesn't work when run under windows 11.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4156Steam reviews · Jul 4, 2026 · 15 h played

    Bought this game on sale for 7.99. Pros and Cons: - Combat is exciting and tactical, at first. It feels genuinely good to overcome some trials with limited squads. - But then you unlock the Dreadnaught, and enemy unit variety keeps growing in such a way that many enemies become bullet sponges, demanding you bring him along. - The first campaign (Vanilla DW2) is awesome. But Chaos Rising is just more of the same with spongier enemies. Meanwhile, you don't play a new faction; and many of your…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7034Steam reviews · Jul 2, 2026 · 4 h played

    it is pretty tight, The cover mechanics are a pain sometimes. But it is still a good game. I would recommend getting and trying the First one before this one. So what is everyones favorite type of Hot Dog. I like mustard and sourkraut with a nice Beef Dog. At least 2 of those bad boys. Chili and cheese is good too. I am not a big fan of bacon wrapped dogs. I like Bacon, But it is just too much for a dog.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8656Steam reviews · Jun 13, 2026 · 11 h played

    Has one of the best DoW story so far and fun to play!

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3734Steam reviews · Jun 11, 2026 · 68 h played

    States that it includes Retribution when it doesn't. Retribution is a separate install, this "anniversary edition" does literally nothing.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3176Steam reviews · Jun 11, 2026 · 5 h played

    Be careful, this isn't what it says it is. It does not include Retribution in the sense it makes you think it does. You still have to install Retribution seperately and that one is not reworked at all. It's just the oild Retribution. It's fine and it works (Hopefully. For me it does.), but it's a bit erraneously written - and in my opinion purposefully so, cause it prominently says that it includes (!) Retribution in the rework - which it doesn't. Anyway, to themechanics: It works fine, but…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →

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