Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

Take a walk on the more obscure side of the humans in the Warhammer universe, but it will be a bumpy ride.

81%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

stability, grinding

87% User Score Based on 24,457 reviews

Critic Score 75%Based on 25 reviews

Platforms

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About

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a single player and multiplayer tactical role playing game with fantasy, dark fantasy and science fiction themes. It was developed by Owlcat Games and was released on August 18, 2023. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Made in a close partnership with Games Workshop, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a story-rich classical RPG from Owlcat Games. Begin your adventure aboard your personal, giant voidship, traveling between the multitude of systems within the Koronus Expanse, a barely charted and incredibly perilous region of space.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader screenshot

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87%

Audience ScoreBased on 24,457 reviews

story3.7k positive mentions

stability1.4k negative mentions

Deep and complex turn-based tactical combat with extensive character customization and synergies, praised for top-tier mechanics and balance compared to similar CRPGs.
Exceptional grimdark atmosphere, immersive storytelling, rich world-building, and faithful Warhammer 40k lore that deeply engage players.
Highly praised music and soundtrack that enhance the game's mood and complement combat and narrative intensity.

Significant bugs and technical issues, particularly in later acts, including crashes, softlocks, and visual glitches that disrupt gameplay.
Steep learning curve and pacing issues with tedious and repetitive combat and grinding, as well as slow and cumbersome management systems.
Poor optimization leading to performance problems, long load times, and stuttering on many systems, compounded by monetization concerns with costly DLCs and microtransactions.

story
9,477 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
57%
3%
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader delivers a rich, sprawling story deeply rooted in the Grimdark lore of the 40k universe, filled with engaging characters, meaningful choices, and intricate companion quests that significantly impact narrative outcomes. While the storytelling is compelling and immersive, praised for its depth and faithful worldbuilding, some players note pacing issues, abrupt plot shifts in later acts, and occasional bugs that affect quest completion. The game heavily favors players who enjoy reading and lore, offering expansive content and multiple paths, though its combat and some narrative elements receive mixed feedback.
- “Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader delivers one of the most atmospheric and story‑rich CRPG experiences I’ve played in years.”
- “The story is incredibly immersive and gripping; every dialogue choice feels important.”
- “This game is a hidden gem if you like some turn based combat and story.”
- “There are entire sections of game which are central to the main story that aren't voice acted.”
- “Last thing about the story, there are pretty significant sections of it that are deferred to the little in-game novel that you progress through via skill checks and dialogue options, which was a little absurd to me; I understand that there may have been some budget issues near the end but I'd have been fine with a few less optional locations if the resolution to Ulfar's entire companion plot was actually playable or the Siege of Euphrates II.”
- “The story starts off strong from the early to mid chapters, though does tend to drop in story quality when it comes to the later segments of the game.”
gameplay
3,904 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
62%
6%
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader offers deep, complex turn-based tactical combat mechanics inspired by tabletop RPGs, with extensive character customization and a rich array of abilities and synergies. The gameplay, while rewarding and engaging especially for fans of crpgs and the 40k universe, suffers from a steep learning curve, occasional bugs, balance issues, and pacing that can become tedious or repetitive over time. Despite some clunky interfaces and underdeveloped side mechanics like space and colony management, the core combat and strategic gameplay provide a satisfying, lore-accurate experience that complements the game’s strong narrative and world-building.
- “Complex CRPG mechanics, wonderful storytelling, a lot to read, well-thought companions with proper development, even if it feels shoehorned sometimes.”
- “The gameplay system itself is very fun, and outside of late game where I could usually solo most fights with a single character, I didn't really get tired of the combat.”
- “So let's start off by saying this game's mechanics and gameplay is top tier. Compared to Kingmaker and WotR, it's much more balanced and easy to pick up; it took me about 20 hours to get full grasp of the systems compared to WotR's 200 hours. I'd even go as far as to say it beats BG3 in some aspects such as line of sight and range.”
- “The gameplay is the weakest part of the game by far.”
- “This is, without any reservations, the worst gameplay system I've ever experienced. In every way, it feels like Owlcat gave no thought to the countless hours they're asking you to dump into these thoughtless and clunky mechanics.”
- “Too often, modern video games rely on flashy cut scenes to dazzle the player and distract from the weak story and gameplay. The gameplay feels very repetitive and boring with little variation in combat encounters.”
stability
1,422 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader launched as a notably buggy and unstable game, with many players encountering crashes, quest-breaking glitches, visual and UI issues, and combat freezes—particularly in the later acts. While patches and developer support have significantly improved stability since release, the game still exhibits bugs that can disrupt progress, making frequent saving and the use of community mods like Toybox advisable. Overall, despite its technical flaws, it offers a compelling 40k experience, but the stability issues remain a significant caveat, especially beyond Act 3.
- “It runs great on desktop with keyboard and mouse, on Steam Deck, and on a big 4K TV screen with a controller.”
- “At this point, the game is mostly bug free with a good RPG system integration and reasonably deep character building.”
- “The game is generally not buggy and during the intro I encountered no mechanical bugs, though there were occasional visual bugs such as a servitor gliding towards me with no animations. Other reviews reference softlocking bugs late game that break progression, but I did not encounter any.”
- “The game mostly functions until the end of act 3, then as other people have said, it turns into a buggy mess.”
- “The tl;dr: even now, a year and a half after release, the game remains a buggy, glitchy, unfinished mess, with the level of sheer shoddiness rising steadily from act iii onwards - and that is something i, personally, have no intention of either ignoring or forgiving, regardless of any other qualities the game may have.”
- “The latter acts seems more ambitious in spectacle, though occasionally a bit buggy, on the whole pretty polished by now.”
- “Everything past act 3 is just an unfinished and bug ridden mess.”
- “The game is great; draws out the feeling/atmosphere of 40k and has great room for future dlc, but the game is currently very buggy in acts 4 and 5.”
- “The rest are a wildly buggy mess, requiring the toybox mod to manually start several quests or debug other problems.”
- “The big issue at the moment is that chapters 4 and 5 are extremely buggy.”
- “Game is an absolute buggy mess.”
- “The game is currently extremely buggy (more so than the last owlcat release) which could be a big deal breaker for some.”
- “Buggy mess, but what else can you expect from owlcat games.”
graphics
1,297 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
59%
7%
The game's graphics effectively capture the grimdark, gothic sci-fi aesthetic of the Warhammer 40k universe, featuring detailed environments and striking artwork that fans appreciate. While some reviewers note that the visuals feel dated and the character models and animations lack polish compared to modern AAA titles like Baldur's Gate 3, the art style, lighting, and atmosphere are praised for immersion. Performance issues and occasional graphical bugs temper the experience, but overall the graphics are considered good for a CRPG with a modest budget, prioritizing thematic fidelity over cutting-edge visuals.
- “I love what Owlcat did with the Warhammer 40k universe; they nailed the aesthetic and the role playing.”
- “The game is gorgeous across many levels – the graphics, the voice acting, and the story – thriving in the grimdark universe of Warhammer.”
- “Visually, the game nails the gothic sci-fi aesthetic perfectly, with stunning environments, gothic architecture, and haunting music that draws you into the universe.”
- “The graphics are dated.”
- “The graphics are awful and uninspiring.”
- “The optimisation is dreadful despite average graphics.”
music
1,035 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
40%
1%
The music in Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader is widely praised for its dark, gothic, and industrial soundtrack that perfectly captures the grimdark atmosphere of the 40k universe. Featuring a blend of orchestral, electronic, choir, and metal elements, the score is immersive, impactful, and often described as a highlight that enhances storytelling and combat intensity. While some mention repetition due to limited track variety over long playtimes, the overall soundtrack is considered exceptional, memorable, and integral to the game's immersive experience.
- “The music is one of the most magnificent parts of this game – it is dark and brooding, holy and reverent, screaming with its guts all over the pentagram, telling you that you won’t survive unless you make damn sure nothing else does.”
- “The soundtrack is an absolute banger, and I found myself vibing to the music rather than actually taking turns in combat, because the songs are that good.”
- “Top notch music, combat, progression, and story. The music perfectly complements the game's atmosphere, enhancing the sense of epic scale and drama.”
- “The music is a lot of loud bombastic pipe organ and dark electronic noise, which can be overwhelming.”
- “The battle sound effects and music become repetitive after a while, with space battles being boring 75% of the time.”
- “The soundtrack is a bit underwhelming compared to the incredible music from other Warhammer 40k games.”
atmosphere
866 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
42%
1%
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is widely praised for its exceptionally immersive and authentic grimdark atmosphere that faithfully captures the tone, lore, and aesthetic of the 40k universe. The combination of detailed environments, gothic art style, haunting music, sharp writing, and rich world-building creates a compelling sense of scale and dread that deeply engages both fans and newcomers. While some note repetitiveness and technical bugs, the game's atmosphere remains its standout strength, often compensating for other flaws and elevating the overall experience.
- “The atmosphere, music, story, characters - everything is just top-notch.”
- “Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader delivers one of the most atmospheric and story-rich CRPG experiences I’ve played in years.”
- “It perfectly captures the atmosphere and weirdness of the Warhammer 40k world.”
- “That was very disappointing, and the atmosphere suffers because of it.”
- “The gameplay does not stand on its own without the story and atmosphere, and I am not going to sit reading endless paragraphs of text to experience it.”
- “There is so much exposition, much of which is badly written, poorly and partially voice acted, and featured in stop-start cut sequences that create no immersion or atmosphere at all.”
grinding
541 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
2%
97%
Grinding in the game is widely described as tedious and repetitive, particularly due to frequent and lengthy combat encounters, a complex and time-consuming level-up system, and slow, cumbersome space travel with constant random encounters. While initial gameplay and combat can be engaging, many players find the experience increasingly monotonous and overwhelming as they progress, especially when managing large parties and navigating the abundance of buffs, skills, and micro-management tasks. Some aspects like ship combat, colony management, and map navigation add to the sense of grind, often detracting from narrative flow and overall enjoyment.
- “Really strong plot, the game isn't grindy at all and the side stories and plots are well worth completing.”
- “That doesn't mean it's easy (although the standard difficulty was a tad too easy for me and I raised it one level), there are tactics and managing your attributes and items to win combats, but there's almost no grinding on potions, preparing spells or limiting unilateral uses of abilities.”
- “No grinding I have seen so far, but it doesn't need it.”
- “Leveling up characters can become a little tedious - in a no-DLC run I was about level 50 by the end, and 50 levels for everyone in the party is a lot to click through when most of those levels involve selecting incremental passive bonuses from very long lists.”
- “Combat is hideously tedious and slow to the point where it degrades the quality roleplay choices the game gives you.”
- “The leveling system is beyond tedious and so frequent I would not doubt over a quarter of my playtime was just me reading skills for a character system that doesn't make any sense why they would set it up like that.”
optimization
367 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
55%
26%
Optimization for this game is notably poor, with frequent complaints of stuttering, long load times, and performance drops—even on high-end PCs. While it runs adequately on some systems, issues worsen in later acts and during complex battles, often requiring players to use optimized builds or lower settings to maintain playability. Despite the technical shortcomings and bugs typical of Owlcat's releases, many fans appreciate the core gameplay and story, though performance improvements remain a critical need.
- “The only noticeable issue was occasional optimization problems - for example, the game sometimes stutters during complex burst attacks.”
- “Performance was solid for the most part, certainly moreso than what appears to be a bit of a rough launch state.”
- “The latest patch (1.0.2) has resolved some reported issues but more work is needed to perfect the game performance of act 4 and 5.”
- “Wow, this is the worst performance optimisation I have ever seen!”
- “Out for over a year, still runs like trash, and instead of fixing the awful optimization, they just slapped it into the FAQ.”
- “The game has potential, but the optimization is dreadful - making it virtually unplayable.”
humor
311 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is a well-received blend of dark, grimdark, and satirical elements that perfectly capture the Warhammer 40k universe's tone, providing genuinely funny dialogue, character interactions, and over-the-top moments. Players often find amusement in the exaggerated, sometimes absurdly unbalanced combat and character builds, as well as the numerous quirky bugs and glitches that add unintended comedic relief. Overall, the humor enriches the grim setting without undermining its seriousness, offering a unique mix of levity and depth that players appreciate.
- “And everything comes together to perfectly capture the dismal, grimy, baroque and frequently hilarious atmosphere of the 40k universe.”
- “The game's writers clearly have a sense of humor, even if it doesn't take center stage, and I greatly enjoyed it.”
- “Dialogue is sharp and full of 40k’s dark humor, and player choices actually matter, will you embrace chaos and become a walking, talking disaster, or stick to the emperor’s path and turn every decision into a moral minefield?”
replayability
305 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
60%
2%
The game boasts high replayability driven by a deep character creation system, multiple moral paths (dogmatic, iconoclast, heretical), diverse builds, branching storylines, and numerous companion options that significantly impact gameplay and narrative outcomes. Expansions and DLC further enhance this with added content and choices, providing players with hundreds of hours of varied playthroughs. While some note that core story beats remain consistent and bugs affect experience, the overall consensus highlights rich role-playing depth and meaningful decisions that encourage multiple replays.
- “The unending number of story options makes the game incredibly replayable.”
- “Your decisions significantly impact the narrative and the fate of your crew, which adds a layer of replayability that’s rare to find.”
- “The branching structure, while occasionally uneven, lends genuine replayability to the campaign, encouraging different playstyles and moral paths.”
- “There's replay value, sure, but the main story beats mostly stay the same.”
- “With three morality paths (heretic, iconoclast, and dogmatic) you might be thinking there's some replayability, and I guess there is a little with the heretic path having a "hidden" companion after losing up to 3 of your own in return, but you're still going through the same story and events.”
- “Other than that there really is no replayability.”
character development
156 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
62%
3%
Character development in the game is praised for its depth, complexity, and meaningful choices that significantly impact gameplay and story, offering a highly immersive RPG experience within the Warhammer 40K universe. While the system provides extensive customization and unique character growth paths with rich companion interactions, it can also feel overwhelming, with a steep learning curve and occasionally poor guidance or pacing. Despite some narrative and mechanical inconsistencies later in the game, character development remains a standout feature that rewards exploration and strategic play.
- “The individual characters have their own story and character development that makes your journey throughout the koronus expanse alive and engaging.”
- “Character development for you and your companions is deep to the point of absurdity: upon level up, you are frequently presented with a choice of over 30 or 40 possible options of various skills and talents, which are influenced by your character's 'archetype' (essentially their class) and origin world, plus additional options if you're a psyker.”
- “Excellent writing and character development, freedom to make meaningful choices and take different paths, engaging and varied gameplay, and gorgeous world building.”
- “From a certain point on, progression starts to feel more like accounting than character development.”
- “The skill trees are elaborately constructed but frequently devolve into comparing minor algebraic stat variations rather than offering meaningful character development or impactful builds.”
- “While I want to give this game a positive rating (since I'm a sucker for anything 40k), I just can't because of a multitude of glaring issues, including some of the worst writing and character development I've seen in an Owlcat game.”
emotional
105 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
3%
The game delivers a uniquely immersive emotional experience within the Warhammer 40k universe, with many players praising its complex characters, heartfelt story arcs, and moments of genuine emotional impact. While some find the narrative and character development deeply engaging and moving—occasionally evoking tears—others note a lack of emotional depth or attachment to certain characters, citing uneven pacing and occasional superficiality. Despite some bugs and rough edges, the game's emotional storytelling and rich lore connection stand out as significant strengths that resonate strongly with fans.
- “Such a wholesome experience.”
- “This game adds a level of emotional connection to the 40k setting that is rare in other Warhammer media while still retaining the grimdark absurdity in a way that feels canonical.”
- “Each character has their own moral compass, emotional depth, and personal journey that feels entwined with your dynasty’s fate.”
- “Characters felt flat and uninspired, making it hard to connect emotionally with the story.”
- “The story was boring and failed to evoke any meaningful emotion.”
- “Interactions between characters were bland and uninteresting, detracting from any emotional engagement.”
monetization
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
21%
69%
The monetization of the game is widely seen as a cash grab, marked by numerous expensive DLCs and season passes that feel essential for the full experience, leading to player frustration. There are concerns about microtransactions, incomplete content at release, and the perception that much effort is directed more towards profit than quality or completeness. While some acknowledge the developer's effort and potential long-term improvements, skepticism about future DLCs and monetization practices remains high.
- “Decent enough story with alright DLC. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the monetization aspect, but I suppose we'll find out as more DLCs come out whether this is the 'more correct' way to monetize.”
- “Microtransactions - in-game purchases.”
- “The DLC and monetization: as expected, in this economy.”
- “Cash grab, expensive, many DLCs planned to be integrated with main campaign, so you are sort of forced to buy them if you want to have the full experience instead of, for example, finishing main campaign and then playing extension, season pass 1, season pass 2. I will think twice before buying anything else from Russian Owlcat.”
- “For me, Rogue Trader is nothing more but a shameless cash grab - they put all the effort into shipping multiple paid DLCs split between multiple season passes (really?) and two years after release some of the main characters are not even fully voiced.”
- “It was released as a cash grab and people are basically paying to be beta testers for this product.”

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75%Critics’ scoreBased on 25 critic reviews

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80h Median play time

83h Average play time

20-130h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 230 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a tactical role playing game with fantasy, dark fantasy and science fiction themes.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Steam Deck, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 83 hours playing Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader was released on August 18, 2023.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader was developed by Owlcat Games.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, Wasteland 3, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, Pathfinder: Kingmaker — Enhanced Plus Edition, Divinity: Original Sin 2 and others.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

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