Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 modders have been doing fantastic work with the game ever since its record-breaking release last year. But their latest breakthrough is perhaps the greatest yet.
Tom, aka Warhammer Workshop, the modder behind Space Marine 2’s excellent Astartes Overhaul, signaled the release of 12-player co-op this week and it looks fantastic. Gameplay footage shows multiple players taking on a Tyranid Trygon Prime in a battle reminiscent of an MMO boss fight.
This is not something players thought possible, given vanilla Space Marine 2 supports up to three-player co-op only. But the modding team has not only broken through that barrier to hit 12-player co-op — with the support of developer Saber Interactive itself — but has a grand ambition to turn Space Marine 2 into something even better.
“Honestly, I’m just kind of in awe of Saber’s support for the modding community,” Tom told IGN. “None of us expected 12-player PvE sessions to be possible this soon — but somehow, here we are. Thanks to their generosity and trust, this huge leap forward is finally here, and it completely changes what we can do.”
It’s worth pointing out that the mod available right now is just a test — a test that works well, but a test nonetheless. 12-player co-op makes a mockery of Space Marine 2’s PvE balance, which you’d expect given there are nine more players taking on the Tyranids and the Thousand Sons than Saber designed the encounters for.
But with 12-player now unlocked, modders are building add-ons to make the most of it. Tom told IGN the team is working on modes such as prop hunt, PvP inside operations, “massive” horde mode updates for when the official horde mode finally launches, and, perhaps most exciting of all, raid-style missions “with bosses that hit like trucks, take proper teamwork to bring down, as well as some other completely new mechanics.”
Space Marine 2 modding has grown into a significant community, with some 20,000 tinkerers in the main Discord server.
“As both a modder and a player, it’s hard not to be excited,” Tom continued. “Huge credit as always to the Saber team for not just making all this possible, but continuing to drop amazing content of their own too, without any of the usual predatory battle-pass nonsense we take for granted in modern titles.”
It’s an exciting time for Space Marine 2 generally, with the aforementioned horde mode coming soon, a new class in the works, and of course more Operations maps and weapons. Saber recently detailed Patch 8, confirmed some horde mode mechanics, and revealed the map it’s set on.
Space Marine 3 is officially in development, too, which is no surprise given just how well Space Marine 2 has done. And I’m left wondering whether this 12-player co-op mod might give us an indication of what to expect from the sequel. When Space Marine 3 was announced, we were told to expect “large-scale battles that are even more spectacular.” That sounds a lot like upping the co-op player count limit to me.
Until we find out, modders will be around to keep things fresh and interesting, and this latest effort is a perfect example of just that.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
