Start With a Champion and a Goal
Warhammer Survivors is a single-player bullet-heaven roguelite featuring champions from Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar, with a free October PC demo on Steam and the full game scheduled for November 10, 2026. Start with Malum Caedo for a straightforward melee opening or Neave Blacktalon for extra movement speed, then work toward a weapon evolution or character rescue.
Choose Your Starting Champion
| Champion | Starting Weapon | Reason to Try | First Evolution Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malum Caedo | Chainsword | A melee opening with a Strength bonus for equipped weapons and passives. | Chainsword + Tape Measure → Eviscerator Chainsword |
| Neave Blacktalon | Tempest Axes | Extra movement speed for players who prefer a mobile opening. | Tempest Axes + Sabaton → Whirlwind Axes |
Both champions start unlocked in the demo, so you can choose by weapon and movement preference. Malum's universe includes Imperial Bastion against Tyranids, while Neave's includes The Great Parch against Skaven. Try the other universe when you want a different starting weapon and enemy faction rather than forcing yourself to stay with an opening you dislike.
Give Your First Run a Clear Objective
- Collect experience from defeated enemies to gain levels and choose new weapons or passive upgrades. Your weapons attack automatically, leaving you free to concentrate on movement and a safe route to the experience.
- Take the passive that matches your starting weapon: Tape Measure for Chainsword or Sabaton for Tempest Axes. These pairings give your upgrade choices a clear destination in Eviscerator Chainsword or Whirlwind Axes.
- Find the Armoury relic for your universe: the Munitorum Dataslate or the Warscroll. Each opens its universe's Armoury, giving you an in-game record of evolution recipes to consult between attempts.
- Complete Kozlowski's rescue on Imperial Bastion if you want to move into a Lasgun run. Rescuing him unlocks a playable champion, and choosing Lasgun as Malum Caedo can subsequently bring him along as a follower.
- Upgrade a focused selection of weapons instead of continually adding unrelated choices. Building toward an evolution gives you a practical reason to keep investing in the weapons already supporting your run.
- Spend collected gold between runs to strengthen future attempts. Even a run that ends before your intended rescue or evolution can contribute toward permanent upgrades while you learn the stage.
Choose Your First Rescue
Imperial Bastion contains Trooper Bartosz Kozlowski and The Legend of Catachan as rescue targets. Kozlowski starts with Lasgun, while The Legend of Catachan starts with Frag Grenade. The Great Parch contains Ulgromthier with Brazier Staff and Lyssa Revenya with Rope & Grapnel, giving you different weapons to explore after your starting champion.
If you want a more forgiving health pool, consider Ulgromthier after his rescue; his Brazier Staff fires arcing magma. Lyssa offers a faster style built around hooks that restrain enemies and can instantly kill weaker foes. Choose a rescue because you want to try its starting weapon or movement style, then return to your evolution goal.
Read Your Upgrades Before Choosing
Strength affects damage, while Reload affects weapon cooldowns: a lower Reload value means more frequent attacks. Range changes attack size, and Sustain changes how long attacks last. Use those meanings when comparing upgrades so that a familiar-looking item name does not distract you from the effect your current weapons need.
Weapon selection can also change your squad because champions and weapons use Keywords. When your champion cannot wield an acquired weapon, a compatible follower can use it on your behalf. Followers cannot take damage or collect items, so their extra attacks still leave movement and collection in your hands.
Carry Lessons Into the Full Game
The October demo is a curated experience released on October 6, 2026, with new content and changes from the earlier demo. Progress from the earlier demo does not transfer into this version, and demo progress does not transfer into the full release. Use your demo time to learn weapons, movement and rescue encounters rather than treating its unlocks as a launch-day head start.
The full game has an announced roster of over 40 champions and more than 75 weapons, beyond the demo's starting choices. Gold supports stronger future runs, while battlefield paint pots unlock character forms and secrets. The October demo also introduces enhanced meta-progression in which maximising upgrades in a universe has a slight effect on the other universe.
Choose Where to Get the Full Game
The full release is scheduled for November 10, 2026, on Steam, GOG, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android and iOS. Steam supports Windows, and the free demo is separate from the paid full game. Choose your preferred platform before comparing offers, since the announced price can vary by platform and region.
Open the Warhammer Survivors full-game listing on GOG.