One of the best gifts from Warhammer Skulls 2026 is Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War, which PC players can currently add to their Steam libraries for free. Proxy Studios’ turn-based 4X strategy game is free to keep only until May 28 at 9:00am, after which it returns to being a paid title.
Warhammer Skulls 2026 has once again put the spotlight on Games Workshop’s video game universe, and alongside announcements, demos, DLC, discounts, and updates, PC players have received a very direct gift. Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War is currently free to claim on Steam, meaning this is not just a temporary weekend trial: anyone who adds it to their library before May 28 at 9:00am can keep it.
Many Warhammer fans may already have the game in their libraries, since Games Workshop and its publishing partners have given away the title before during major Warhammer-related events. This new offer is still useful for anyone who missed it, or for players looking for an entry point into the digital wars of Warhammer 40,000. On Steam, the game’s price has currently dropped from €40.86 to €0.00, so this is a full giveaway rather than a symbolic discount.
Gladius Prime Is No Place for Tourists
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War is the first turn-based 4X strategy game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The setting is Gladius Prime, a bleak and violent planet where colonization uncovered ancient relics. Those artifacts soon proved to be far more than harmless remains of a dead civilization: digging into the past unleashed something terrible onto the planet’s inhabitants. The game builds full-scale war out of that situation, where survival depends on expansion, resource management, technological development, and ruthless combat.
Players can control one of four iconic factions: Astra Militarum, Space Marines, Orks, or Necrons. Each faction has its own technology tree, units, playstyle, and rhythm, so Gladius is not simply selling the same campaign under four different coats of paint. Building fortifications, searching for relics, destroying enemies, and securing the planet’s resources create constant pressure, because only one faction can remain standing when the war is over.
What makes Gladius distinct is that it essentially removes traditional diplomacy from the 4X formula. In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, that makes perfect sense: the fate of a planet is not decided through peace talks, but through tracks, bolters, green-skinned hordes, and ancient Necron machinery. The focus is on exploration, city and outpost development, research, army building, and permanent war. Players looking for a more conventional diplomacy-driven strategy game may find it harsher, but anyone wanting Warhammer 40,000’s brutality in strategy form will understand exactly what it is trying to do.
The current free offer is part of Warhammer Skulls 2026, which runs from May 21 to May 28. The event has also brought other announcements: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV now has a September 17 release date, demos are coming for Warhammer Survivors and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2, and several Warhammer games are receiving updates, discounts, and new content. The Gladius giveaway is therefore not an isolated promotion, but part of the wider Warhammer video game festival.
Anyone who wants a grim, combat-focused Warhammer 40,000 strategy game on PC should act quickly. Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War can be added to a Steam account for free until May 28 at 9:00am, after which the offer expires. The game is not new, but it remains a strong option within the genre, especially for anyone looking for a Warhammer strategy title where the 41st millennium’s basic rule stays intact from beginning to end: there is no peace, only war.
Source: 3DJuegos, Steam, Warhammer Community
