The annual Warhammer Skulls event has a habit of burying its best deals under a pile of announcements, and this year is no exception. Buried beneath reveals for a Chaos Gate sequel, a new Darktide class, and a Boltgun 2 demo is something far more immediately useful: Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War is currently free to keep forever on Steam.
For fans keeping an eye on what comes next for the series, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV recently received a release date and DLC roadmap, making this a particularly busy week for the 40K gaming universe.
The only 4X game in the entire Warhammer catalog
Here's the thing about Gladius: it occupies a completely unique slot in a franchise that has spawned well over 80 licensed games. Every other Warhammer 40K title goes for real-time strategy, turn-based tactics, action, or shooters. Gladius, developed by Proxy Studios and published by Slitherine, is the sole 4X entry in the whole lineup. Explore, expand, exploit, exterminate, all dressed up in Space Marines and Necron pyramids.
Released in 2018, the game launched to mixed reactions. PC Gamer's original review called it "a plodding and predictable 4X strategy game that's relaxing in its own way, but rarely challenging." IGN was warmer, finding "a lot of action-saturated, tactically-driven fun" despite some reservations. The key here is that post-launch patches and DLC meaningfully improved the experience, and the version you'd be claiming today is substantially different from what critics played at launch.
For anyone who enjoys strategy games and has even a passing interest in the 40K setting, the price of zero dollars makes the question of "is it good enough" largely irrelevant.
The free claim is tied to the Warhammer Skulls promotional event on Steam. The offer is time-limited, so you'll want to grab it before the event window closes rather than adding it to a wishlist for later.
What Warhammer Skulls brought alongside the giveaway
The giveaway is just one piece of a very full event. Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster was announced as a 2D brawler starring a Skaven assassin. Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters is getting a sequel, promising seven distinct enemy factions to purge. Darktide is finally adding a Mechanicus-flavored Ogryn class on June 23. A playable demo for Boltgun 2 also went live, and early impressions from those who tried it are genuinely positive.
Warhammer Skulls has become the franchise's de facto annual showcase, and Games Workshop and its publishing partners clearly treat it as a moment to flood the zone. The sheer volume of news means something always gets lost in the shuffle. This year, that something happened to be a free game.
Why Gladius is worth your Steam library slot
Even if 4X games aren't your usual territory, Gladius has a few things going for it beyond the price. The faction asymmetry is genuinely well executed: Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks, Necrons, and several DLC factions all play in meaningfully different ways rather than reskinning the same economic loops. Combat leans more aggressive than genre staples like Civilization, which suits the 40K setting better than a slow-burn builder would.
What most players miss is that Gladius strips out diplomacy almost entirely, keeping every match pointed toward conflict. That's a deliberate design choice that some players find refreshing and others find limiting. At free, you can find out which camp you fall into without any risk.
For deeper dives into the Dawn of War side of the franchise, the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV guides collection is a solid resource as that game approaches its release window. The Skulls event has made this a genuinely good week to be a 40K fan on PC.
