Warhammer 40K’s grim future of inter-species war is perhaps the only universe you could get away with a ‘kill except the number would be well into the thousands. But traditional online RPG models – all stilted combat and ritualistic toolbar presses – are anathema to a universe based on the sole unifying principle of smashing the faces off everything that ever existed. Dave Adams, founding father of developers Vigil, adds his perspective: “at first we said ‘let’s make a standard MMO. Guy goes in, dude’s standing there, patrol walks by. I tap, select him, and hit one.’ It was lousy.” It didn’t fit with the game played on tabletops across the world, it didn’t fit the team’s imagined experience, and most importantly, it didn’t fit with 40K’s endless, rapid-fire carnage.

Dave explains his vision of the universe, developed from 25 years of familiarity with Games Workshop products: “We’re designing a cinematic, action-oriented MMO, balanced in terms of player-on-player and player-versus-environment battles. There’s a lot of ranged combat, but also a healthy dose of melee. You’re not gonna have a bunch of static spawns, you’re not gonna have a bunch of random patrols.” Vigil are playing in a universe defined by a quarter of a decade of development, tightened but enhanced by reams of backstory. Were they to produce a retextured WoW, they’d be chainsworded to death by armies of angry fans – and rightly so.