Psychic Awakening Could Be Warhammer 40,000’s End Times

Let’s talk about what Psychic Awakening could mean for the future of 40K, and beyond.

GW has been teasing up with an upcoming “Psychic Awakening” event for a little while now. At this week’s NOVA Open seminar we got a bit more info. The upcoming event, a series of new campaign books, promises major changes for 40K, but in rules and lore. While this could be a good thing, it’s important to recall that major changes like this in recent years have not come without a price. Often they herald the end of an Edition or even a world.

Big Promises

Games Workshop is promising a lot with Psychic Awakening. They are promising new models and new rules for every faction in the game. In several books they plan to advance the rules and story of 40K. Story-wise they seem to really be pushing it here. Promising answers to age-old questions, the tying up of loose ends, the rise and fall of heroes, and major revelations. This edition has seen 40K really trying to tell a story at last, and it seems like Psychic Awakening is the major story advancement we’ve been waiting for all of 8th. All of this does, however, feel a little familiar…

Not Again!

Back a few years ago, another GW game got a large series of campaign books. These books had high stakes for every faction, as well as new models and rules. These books advanced the storyline in major ways, tying up old plot points, covering the rise and fall of heroes and delivering on major revelations. I’m talking, of course, about the End Times for Warhammer Fantasy. The series brought a close to the Old World and led us to Age of Sigmar. Looking at the things we are being promised for Psychic Awakening  – it sounds a WHOLE lot like what the End Times pledged to and delivered.

End of An Era…

A while back, I wrote about how 8th could be the last edition of normal Warhammer 40,000. In particular, I noted that the rapid progression of the plot and a move towards resolving plot points could lead to a 40K version of the ends times where the overarching story told between the Horus Heresy and the modern game comes to an end. This would lead to a new version of the game with a new story focus. Well, a lot of the stuff being promised with Psychic Awakening seems to jive with what I was talking about in that old article – a real radical shift in the game. Of course, I was wrong about something; we are getting new plastic Aspect Warriors after all. Even if this isn’t leading to the end of 40K, I think it’s likely going to be the end of something.

…Or A New Edition

The stakes promised in the Psychic Awakening teaser are huge. It’s supposed to make “the 13th Black Crusade look like a border scuffle” and be more important than the opening of the Great Rift, or even the Horus Heresy. Those are big claims to make. The Horus Heresy is the seminal event in the 40K story, and the opening of the great rift was the most significant plot development in 20 or more years.

If GW delivers on their promise, it will mean a seismic shift for 40K –  balance, game, and lore-wise. These kinds of major shifts are almost inevitably followed by a new edition.  The Opening of the Great Rift lead to 8th, with the End Times in WFB lead to AoS. If nothing else, such a large shift in lore requires a new rule-book with updated fluff, even if the rules change little. The core rule book is often a selling point of 40K and GW won’t want to let the massive lore sections the rule book is always known for to be out of date.

All that said Psychic Awakening will either be a big nothing burger and fail to deliver on the promises it’s making (unlikely) – or it will lead to a new edition or version of the game. I don’t even think this would be a bad thing. 8th could use a refresh and tweaks. All the major FAQs could be collated into a new rulebook. It doesn’t have to be a huge change, but a new edition would be welcomed by many. This is, of course, all speculation, and we likely won’t know until Psychic Awakening wraps up, but for now, what they are promising really does sound like the same things they’ve said before the end of other editions.

Let us know what you think Psychic Awakening will lead too, down in the comments!

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.