Sega produces some beautiful Dawn of War 3 cinematic stills taken from the mind-blowing trailer that released a few weeks ago, showing off some breath-taking visuals.

Relic Entertainment's extended absence from the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series has seen the gaming industry debut a brand new generation of consoles, the gradual decline of the once-impervious to failure World of Warcraft, and the advent of VR video game technology right on the horizon. It's safe to say, then, that what worked for Relic in 2009 might not be what's required to ensure the recently announced Dawn of War 3 sees the same level of success that its predecessors did so many years ago.

Luckily for fans of the Warhammer franchise, the release of the Dawn of War 3 cinematic trailer has help assuage any fears regarding the series' potential struggles to re-enter modern gaming. The already gorgeous trailer, however, becomes even more fascinating once it gets broken down into a series of screenshots, which Sega graciously provided today to emphasize just how much work has gone into making Dawn of War 3 a seriously gorgeous game.

The screenshots, which can be seen below, reveal a world that is ripe with breath-taking character designs and expansive environments. There's something about seeing classic fantasy creatures like orcs and goblins running headlong into battle with Space Marines that make the Warhammer universe wholly unique, and Dawn of War 3's cinematics are a clear example that Relic Entertainment hasn't lost its touch after five years of Company of Heroes 2 development.

That ability to capture the attention of gaming fans everywhere will be sorely needed for Dawn of War 3, which finds itself the latest instalment in a Warhammer franchise that hasn't been the same major player in the gaming industry that it used to be. In fact, casual fans of the series would be forgiven for believing that the last major Warhammer release was the ill-fated Warhammer Online MMORPG that shut down its servers in 2013. It's been a long time since Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, and there's a lot more competition waiting to challenge Dawn of War 3's release.

With that being said, however, it appears that Sega and Relic are paying attention to what made the series popular in the first place. Aside from the gorgeous cinematics, the publisher and developer have both stated that Dawn of War 3 will be a combination of the epic scale of the original game and the customization and elite heroes that characterized Dawn of War 2. Only time will tell if that combination will result in a game that's worthy as a successor to a much-loved franchise, but if nothing else, fans can be confident of one thing - success or failure, Dawn of War 3 will at least look like a winner.

What do you think of the Dawn of War 3 screenshots and trailer? Do they make the wait until 2017 harder, or is it not your particular cup of tea? Let us know in the comments below.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 will release in 2017 for the PC.

Source: VG 24/7