There have been a lot of Warhammer 40k games over the years. Games Workshop has been very generous with the license, giving many developers the chance to make their own take on the influential tabletop game. The end result has been what feels like a never-ending stream of Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k games pouring onto the market, with wargaming and novel lore fans also getting bombarded with new releases. Warhammer never rests for too long, and it has carved out a large niche in most forms of media because of it.
Even now, there's still Warhammer games close on the horizon. The last few months of 2022 alone will play host to Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef by the Guns, Gore & Cannoli developer Rogueside, and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, a Warhammer 40k take on Warhammer: Vermintide. At some point, a Rogue Trader CRPG is coming from the accomplished Pathfinder game developer Owlcat Games, and Space Marine fans are getting both a sequel to the 2011 action classic Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and an oldschool shooter going by the name Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. The upcoming slate alone shows variety that most game franchises could never dream of. It's stunning that there's still genres that Warhammer 40k hasn't touched, and there's always a chance it could.
Sports Game
Despite the fairly popular Blood Bowl tabletop and video games that sprung from Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40k has no equivalent. Some sort of Blood Bowl 40k is just waiting to be made, with Space Marines donning enormous metal American football uniforms as they charge into battle against a team of orks. This game could take the strategic turn-based approach that past Blood Bowl games have, but there's a lot of room in the sports genre for a new arcade-style title like NFL Blitz. Having Blood Bowl’s signature violent football in a fast-paced setting would emphasize its strong comedic aspects, and could feed into the creation of a corresponding Blood Bowl 40k miniatures game.
Fighting Game
With the roster of named characters growing all the time, it feels like a fighting game set in the Warhammer 40k universe would be a no-brainer. Recognizable figures like Ultramarine Chapter Master Marneus Calgar, Abaddon the Despoiler, Trazyn the Infinite, Saint Celestine, Warboss Ghazghkull, and the Tyranid Old One Eye all lend themselves to a dueling format, and that's just a sample of potential fighters.
There's also a lot of room for what this would entail, as Warhammer 40k would work as both a 2D fighting game or a weapon-based 3D fighter. The only problem with this idea is finding a suitable developer, as the ideal scenario of NetherRealm Studios or Bandai Namco signing on for this project isn’t likely. At any rate, fans would love to see a Warhammer fighting game, so hopefully it happens someday.
Soulslike
Another genre that lends itself well to the Warhammer 40k universe is the Soulslike. A Stormcast Eternal from Warhammer: Age of Sigmar is practically a divinity-endorsed Chosen Undead already, so the equally fantastical 40k universe should be able to muster something similar. There are a number of characters like Living Saints or Chaos Marines blessed by the Ruinous Powers who could justifiably resurrect over and over in hostile settings.
Certain factions could just field near-identical units after the last one dies similar to Rogue Legacy. Not to mention, the science-fantasy world of Warhammer 40k lends itself perfectly to settings that could look ripped straight out of Dark Souls. A developer looking to try something different could make it like Metroid in either first-person or 2D platformer form, as the Soulslike template can be applied to many kinds of games.
Flying Game
A novel place that Warhammer 40k could easily go is the realm of flying games. This could range from dogfighting to a scrolling shoot-‘em-up, but it's ideal for the franchise's spacefaring setting. Because of how the tabletop game works, aerial units don't get as much focus as ground ones, but there's still plenty of starfighters and larger ships to work with. It feels like the best way to go about it is a small arcade-style scrolling shoot-‘em-up in the style of Raiden or Gradius, possibly with a Jump Pack-equipped Space Marine instead of a ship. Although a rail shooter has already been done in the form of Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade, something like Sin and Punishment where a character would be able to fly around the screen while moving forward would also work. There are a lot of ways to incorporate flight into a Warhammer setting, and a lot of room in both the air combat and scrolling shmup spaces for such a project to flourish.
Horror Game
Horror in the Warhammer 40k universe comes naturally. Just living in it is an exercise in existential dread, with death coming in an instant from over a dozen different sources. It's mind-boggling that a proper Warhammer horror game has not been attempted yet. Almost anything could be done in the genre, just as long as the player character isn't too combat capable. From Necron Flayed Ones appearing in a remote location, to an invasion by the Tyranids or Chaos Daemons, or even to surviving a Warp Storm, Warhammer 40k was made for horror. Whether it takes the form of Alien: Isolation or something with a more indie spin, it feels like the franchise's foray into horror is only a matter of time.
City Builder
There has already been a Warhammer 40k 4X game entitled Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War, but more could be done with Warhammer’s civilizations. A less combat-focused city builder could involve players settling down on a newly discovered planet and crafting the civilization there. The scale here would be massive, with all forms of military, industry, religion, and government potentially spanning the whole planet, and the game taking place across thousands of years. Survival elements akin to Frostpunk could gradually be rolled in as the player's civilization comes into contact with one of the many hostile Xenos races or suffer from random events. The genre holds a lot of potential for licensed games, so hopefully another Warhammer 40k title will take a crack at it someday.