Astra Militarum Battles Ork Hordes: New Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 Gameplay Revealed at BiliBili World 2026
Creative Assembly and SEGA have unveiled fresh gameplay footage from their highly anticipated strategy title Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 at BiliBili World 2026, currently taking place in Shanghai, China. The new demonstration showcases an intense battle between the Imperial Guard, officially known as the Astra Militarum, and the brutal greenskin menace of the Ork horde, giving fans their most detailed look yet at how the iconic tabletop wargame will translate to the Total War format.
The footage represents a significant milestone for the franchise, as it marks the first time the Total War series ventures into the grimdark future of the 41st millennium. While Creative Assembly has spent nearly a decade perfecting their Warhammer Fantasy adaptation across three critically acclaimed titles, the jump to the science fiction setting of Warhammer 40,000 presents entirely new challenges and opportunities. The shift from medieval fantasy warfare to futuristic combat featuring tanks, aircraft, and devastating orbital bombardments requires substantial changes to the engine and gameplay systems that fans have come to know.
The Astra Militarum, humanity’s primary fighting force in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, represents one of the largest military organizations in fiction. Numbering in the billions, these ordinary humans stand against nightmarish alien threats and daemonic incursions with little more than faith in the God-Emperor and their trusty lasguns. In the demonstrated gameplay, viewers witnessed the classic Imperial Guard tactics on display: massed infantry formations supported by Leman Russ battle tanks and artillery batteries raining death upon the advancing greenskins. The combination of expendable manpower and overwhelming firepower has always defined the faction’s identity, and Creative Assembly appears to have captured this essence perfectly.
The Orks, meanwhile, showcase their characteristic brutality and love of close combat. These fungal-based aliens live for war, and their ramshackle technology somehow functions through a combination of crude engineering and collective psychic belief. The gameplay demonstration featured massive mobs of Boyz charging across the battlefield, supported by cobbled-together vehicles and towering war machines that would make any Imperial commander nervous. The faction’s chaotic, aggressive playstyle stands in stark contrast to the disciplined firing lines of the Astra Militarum, promising players diverse tactical experiences depending on their chosen army.
BiliBili World 2026 serves as an ideal venue for this reveal, given the massive popularity of both Total War and Warhammer franchises in the Chinese market. The annual event, hosted by China’s leading video-sharing platform, has become a crucial showcase for major gaming announcements targeting Asian audiences. SEGA’s decision to premiere new footage here underscores the publisher’s commitment to growing their presence in one of the world’s largest gaming markets, while also generating significant social media buzz across Chinese platforms.
Industry analysts have noted that the combination of Total War’s proven strategy gameplay with the beloved Warhammer 40,000 intellectual property could result in one of the biggest strategy game releases in years. The original Total War: WARHAMMER trilogy collectively sold millions of copies and maintained active player communities years after release, with the third installment still receiving substantial downloadable content. The 40,000 setting offers even more iconic factions and characters to explore, from the superhuman Space Marines to the ancient and enigmatic Necrons, suggesting years of potential content updates ahead.
While Creative Assembly has not yet announced a specific release date for Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000, the increasingly frequent gameplay demonstrations suggest development is progressing steadily. The studio has confirmed that additional factions will be revealed in the coming months, with speculation running rampant about which beloved armies will make the initial roster. For now, fans can dissect the BiliBili World footage frame by frame, analyzing unit designs, ability icons, and battlefield mechanics as they eagerly await their chance to command armies in the grim darkness of the far future, where there is only war.
