The Dark Heresy release date is official: Owlcat Games will launch Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy on January 28, 2027 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The studio announced the date with a new trailer, ending a year and a half of waiting since the game's reveal.

Dark Heresy is Owlcat's second Warhammer 40,000 cRPG after Rogue Trader, and this time you work for the Inquisition, hunting heretics in the shadows of the Calixis Sector.

Official Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy screenshot
Dark Heresy casts you as an acolyte of the Inquisition in the Calixis Sector. Image: Owlcat Games

Dark Heresy release date and platforms

All launch versions arrive on the same day. The official Steam page already lists January 28, 2027, and Owlcat confirmed these platforms:

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  • PC: Steam, GOG and Epic Games Store
  • Consoles: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
  • Nintendo Switch 2: in the works, with release details to be shared at a later date

Owlcat has not announced a standard edition price in the release-date news. Founder's Packs can still be bought on the official website until the beginning of January.

Closed beta ends January 7

Owlcat ran an open alpha in December 2025, then moved to a closed beta on PC in May 2026 for Founder's Pack owners. That beta goes offline on January 7, 2027, three weeks before launch, while the team prepares the final release.

Collector's Edition buyers also have a task: Owlcat asks them to log in to their account on the website and check their shipping address, because physical orders will ship shortly after release.

Official Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy gameplay screenshot
Combat keeps Rogue Trader's turn-based foundations with a darker tone. Image: Owlcat Games

What Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy is about

Dark Heresy is a party-based, story-driven cRPG. You lead investigations, uncover conspiracies and fight a secret war against heresy, and your methods matter: each decision has consequences that shape the journey. The release trailer also teases a clash with the Night Lords.

Your retinue mixes the Imperium's outcasts with outright heresy. Owlcat has shown Cogg the abhuman, Saro the psyker and Discordance the Pariah, along with xenos recruits such as the Aeldari Corsair Laarthyr and the flesh-eating Kroot Ra'akhti.

How it connects to Rogue Trader

Owlcat revealed Dark Heresy during the Warhammer Skulls showcase on May 22, 2025. It keeps Rogue Trader's tactical foundations, including the morale system, but goes for a grimmer, more investigative tone. If you want to try Owlcat's previous game first, read our guide on whether Rogue Trader is worth playing in 2026.

Owlcat's track record

Owlcat built its name on large, reactive cRPGs: Pathfinder: Kingmaker in 2018, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous in 2021 and Rogue Trader in 2023. All three are known for deep character building, branching stories and long campaigns, and all kept receiving expansions and patches well after launch. Rogue Trader alone has added three story DLCs since 2023, the latest being The Infinite Museion in June 2026.

That history matters for Dark Heresy. Owlcat's games have tended to launch big and improve over the following months, and the studio has again used a public alpha and a long beta to gather feedback before release.

Official Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy screenshot from Owlcat Games
The Calixis Sector setting comes from the Dark Heresy tabletop RPG. Image: Owlcat Games

What this means for players and what comes next

January is shaping up as a busy month for RPG fans, and Owlcat has a second big release planned for the first half of 2027 with The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. For now, the next steps are clear: beta players have until January 7, Founder's Packs stay on sale until early January, and the full game unlocks on January 28.

Still unconfirmed: the Switch 2 date, final pricing for the standard edition and PC system requirements. We will update our coverage as Owlcat shares them.