Auroch Digital and poncle have announced Warhammer Survivors, a bullet heaven roguelite scheduled for Steam in 2026. The game pulls characters from both Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar, dropping them into pixelated arenas where they face down endless waves of xenos, heretics, and worse. Poncle, the studio behind Vampire Survivors, is collaborating with Auroch Digital, who developed Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun and is currently working on its sequel.
The setup follows the established roguelite structure: pick a champion, survive escalating enemy hordes, collect weapons and power-ups that combine into devastating forms, then use meta-progression to unlock more tools between runs. You’ll fight across environments ranging from the ash plains of Aqshy to the claustrophobic corridors of abandoned Space Hulks. Each arena brings its own enemy faction and hidden secrets, though the announcement leaves the specifics of stage variation unclear.
The confirmed roster includes Malum Caedo from Boltgun, who tears through Tyranid swarms with the kind of righteous fury that leaves nothing but pulped chitin and spent shell casings. Neave Blacktalon, a lightning-forged Stormcast Eternal, cleaves through Skaven hordes. The lineup also features Cadian Shock Trooper Kozlowski, Space Marine Intercessor Brother Luca, the legendary slayer Gotrek Gurnisson, and Stormcast Vanquisher Sharynn Azurwrath. Each character brings unique weapons and abilities that change how runs play out.
The arsenal draws from both universes. Chainswords for close-quarters butchery, Bolters for reducing enemies to red mist, and apparently Nuln Oil as a weaponized joke. Whether that last one lands as clever fan service or falls flat depends entirely on execution. Weapons evolve and combine into more destructive versions, creating the screen-filling projectile storms and blade cyclones that define the bullet heaven genre.
What’s missing from the announcement is clarity on poncle’s role. Vampire Survivors succeeded because it nailed the feedback loop that makes the genre compulsive: every decision feels meaningful, progression systems reward without stalling into grind, and visual chaos never obscures what’s happening. Dozens of games have copied the formula since 2022, but few have matched that execution. The specifics of what poncle is contributing here (game feel consultation, progression design, licensing presence) remain unstated, and that matters when evaluating whether Warhammer Survivors will capture the same compulsive quality or just wear the aesthetic.
The dual-universe approach presents a potential identity problem. Vampire Survivors worked partly because its gothic horror aesthetic held everything together despite the absurdity. Jumping between grimdark sci-fi and high fantasy could dilute cohesion unless stage design and enemy factions feel distinct enough to justify the split. If Aqshy’s ashen plains and a Space Hulk’s blood-stained corridors just become visual reskins with tweaked spawn rates, the setting variety won’t add much beyond surface appeal.
Warhammer Survivors launches into a saturated field. Halls of Torment, Brotato, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, and others have already iterated on the bullet heaven template with their own mechanical twists. The license provides built-in audience appeal, but it won’t compensate for weak fundamentals. The game needs tight feedback loops where every upgrade choice matters, clear visual communication despite the chaos, and progression that makes each run feel like progress without demanding excessive grind. If Auroch Digital and poncle deliver on those fundamentals, the license becomes a bonus. If they don’t, this becomes another derivative entry in an overcrowded genre.
Auroch Digital plans to reveal more characters and details later. Console ports seem probable given the trajectory of both Vampire Survivors and Boltgun, but the initial 2026 release targets Steam exclusively. The game will succeed or fail based on whether it understands what makes the genre function beyond surface mechanics. The Emperor’s mercy is not guaranteed.
