Games Workshop just released an official teaser trailer for Astartes II and the 40k fans are hyped! And they should be—this announcement is a huge win for fans of the series.
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The creator of the original Astartes fan animation, Syama Pedersen (now known on YouTube as Digital Bones) has been working with GW’s animation team to create Astartes II. The series will air on Warhammer+, the official Warhammer streaming site, in 2026.
“We know, it’s still a little way off,” GW said in its website announcement, “but it’ll be worth it.”
Tyrith Shiva Kyrus in The Tithes Episode 2 (2024), Games Workshop
To be honest, though, many fans weren’t sure it would happen at all. Games Workshop has repeatedly made bad decisions regarding their IPs, the most recent and notable being the lore-breaking female Adeptus Custodes. Their poor choices can also be found in tabletop codices as well as their own animations.
Games Workshop Cracks Down on Fan Animations
In the past, Games Workshop has notoriously taken down fan-made animations from YouTube, supposedly for copyright and trademark restrictions. Warhammer fans, however, have speculated that GW was actually trying to eliminate competition and round up fan animators beneath its banner.
The fan animations were usually much better than what GW produced, and it’s more than likely they were aware of this fact.
A screenshot of the Dark Angels Bulwark cosmetic for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (2024), Saber Interactive
The best example would be the hilarious fan series “If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device” by Bruva Alfabusa.
The silly antics of the characters and easy-to-understand lore explanations made the series a go-to for many 40k fans. The animations received millions of views and is still rewatched to this day. However, Alfabusa must have seen the writing on the wall, because his series’ popularity put him on GW’s radar.
A screenshot of a Hierophant Bio-Titan Tyranid in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (2024), Saber Interactive
In the end, he was forced to quit the series before the story officially ended, for fear of GW’s legal wrath.
Many Astartes fans believed the same had happened to Syama, though in truth he appears to have made a deal with the Warhammer team.
The Warhammer Website’s Statement Tries Appealing to the Fans
GW’s official statement on the Warhammer Community website gives fans a quick rundown of what to look forward to:
“The Warhammer Studio and the creator of the original Astartes animation, Syama, have been working closely together, blending his incredible flair for action and storytelling with decades of Warhammer 40,000 lore to unleash a compellingly grimdark story.”
As for the trailer itself, they had this to say:
“This teaser trailer is not actually clips from the new animation, instead showing a compilation of shots that represent the former lives of the characters that will appear in the show. There’s a pretty unsubtle hint at the end as to the nature of the final story… We’ll leave you to speculate and start putting the pieces together yourselves.”
From this, it would seem that Games Workshop and the Warhammer Team are trying to win back the consumers’ favor. Including the fact that they’ve been working with Syama and haven’t just outright stolen his work is a good sign. However, there’s no telling how much of the story will still be his by the time it releases.
Key art for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (2024), Saber Interactive
As usual, the fans should hope for the best and expect the worst.
But, at least for now, the Emperor still protects.
Are you hyped for Astartes II? Sound off in the comments!
