Necromunda: Underhive Wars

Necromunda: Underhive Wars is a tactical role-playing game that came out in 2020. It was made by Rogue Factor and published by Focus Home Interactive.

The game is based on the 1995 tabletop game Necromunda from Games Workshop, which is part of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The action takes place on the mechanized planet of Necromunda, where players lead a gang of up to five fighters who battle other gangs for resources. It launched on September 7, 2020, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.

Development began in 2018 when Games Workshop announced a partnership with Rogue Factor Entertainment, with Focus Home Interactive publishing. A trailer showed a House Escher leader facing off against House Goliath gangers, and a 2019 release was planned. Rogue Factor missed that deadline, and with no further news, many thought the project was canceled. In June 2020, the studio confirmed development was still active, targeting a summer release.

They explained the long silence was due to a major overhaul of the game's direction, as early speculation had led many to believe it would just be a reskin of their earlier game, Mordheim: City of the Damned. Rogue Factor also said players could build a gang of up to five gangers (compared to the tabletop's 1–15, depending on the gang), and the game featured a new campaign written by former Games Workshop writer Andy Chambers. Steam started taking preorders in mid-June, setting a release date of September 8, 2020. The game launched on that date.

Gameplay

At release, three gangs were available: Goliath, Escher, and Orlock, each with unique traits. Players hire gang members, but only five can be in a mission at once.

Each ganger is customizable and fits into one of five classes: Deadeye, Brawler, Heavy, Saboteur, and Lay-Mechanic. The game has a progression system and permanent injuries, meaning a ganger hurt in battle might not fully recover. In combat, each ganger takes a turn to move and act, controlled from a third-person perspective.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews upon release. Critics pointed out problems with AI behavior, bugs, and save file corruption.