# Total War 40K wants you to paint your own army

> Creative Assembly built Total War: Warhammer 40,000 around the part of the hobby fans actually spend their weekends on.
- Title: Total War 40K wants you to paint your own army · TechRadar
- Summary: Creative Assembly built Total War: Warhammer 40,000 around the part of the hobby fans actually spend their weekends on. Customization isn't a bonus feature…
- Keywords: warhammer 40000, total war, creative assembly, games workshop, customization, technology, Total, War, 40K, wants, paint, own
- Source: TechRadar — https://techradar.com/gaming/creative-assembly-says-it-was-a-big-deal-to-have-player-customization-be-a-must-have-part-of-total-war-warhammer-40-000-for-fans-of-the-tabletop-game-and-hobby
- Published: 2026-09-13T02:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: warhammer 40000, total war, creative assembly, games workshop, customization, technology
## Customization came first
Creative Assembly says deep player customization was locked in as a must-have for Total War: Warhammer 40,000 from the very start of the project.
## Tell your own story
Battle product owner Dave Petry says the team knew immediately that players needed to bring their own identity into the 40K universe.

> The second we picked this up, we knew we had to make a big deal of being able to tell your own story within this universe
## Built with Games Workshop
The studio worked directly with Games Workshop to keep the feel authentic, right down to simulating tabletop combat the way players already know it.

> We're trying to create an authentic sense of the lore and the kind of combat that's there, but the love for the tabletop absolutely is present
## The real paint pots
The game uses the actual Games Workshop paint colors, so you can recreate the army sitting on your shelf instead of approximating it.
## Specialize across a campaign
Intercessors can be pushed toward bolt rifles, auto bolt rifles or stalkers, leveled up and kitted out until they become something like sternguard.

> All of that sort of stuff is absolutely part of that core hobby that you experience this way.
## Hobby habits as mechanics
Petry frames aesthetic tweaks, loadout choices and late-game progression as the same rituals hobbyists already perform at the table.
## A long wait ahead
Total War: Warhammer 40,000 lands in 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC.
## Key takeaway

Customization isn't a bonus feature here, it's the design brief: your colors, your loadouts, your army, carried across a whole campaign.