Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 Release Time: When It Unlocks in Your Time Zone

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 unlocks worldwide on October 14, 2026 at 9:00 AM PDT / 12:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM BST (6:00 PM CEST, 1:00 AM JST on October 15). The Steam store page lists the unlock for 16:00 UTC, so PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC all flip the switch at the same moment. No rolling midnight across regions.

Pre-orders are live on all three platforms. Steam lists the game at $24.99 USD with a 10% launch discount for pre-orders ($22.49), and Xbox and PlayStation pre-orders are open through the Devolver store links. The Steam page confirms a 13 GB download. Preload isn’t listed in the official system requirements; check your client before launch if you want to be ready to play at the unlock moment. The game is Steam Deck Verified and also runs on Steam Machine.

Boltgun 2 is a single-player campaign, so crossplay and cross-progression don’t apply. What you buy is what you play. The only platform missing on day one is Nintendo Switch 2, which the Release Calendar notes will follow later. Auroch Digital is the Bristol, UK studio that developed the game; Big Fan Games is the publisher label run by Devolver Digital for mid-tier releases. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is the 2023 retro FPS that started the series and earned a cult following for its uncompromising boomer-shooter pacing.

The sequel picks up where 2023’s Boltgun left off. You choose between Ultramarine Sternguard Veteran Malum Caedo and Sister of Battle Nyra Veyrath, then carve through more than 30 levels across a branching campaign that visits hive cities, frozen wastelands, jungles, and mangrove swamps. All four Chaos gods show up: Khorne’s World Eaters, Tzeentch’s Thousand Sons, Nurgle’s Plague Marines, and Slaanesh’s Emperor’s Children, plus the new big bad Vashtorr the Arkifane with a boss theme from Mick Gordon (Doom 2016, Doom Eternal). Auroch Digital ran a Steam Next Fest demo in June that’s still up if you want a feel for the pace before Tuesday.

Our take: the original Boltgun was a cult hit because it nailed the Boomer-shooter feel without leaning on retro artifice. Boltgun 2 looks like more of the same, on purpose, with a second playable character that opens up faster, more aggressive runs. If the Mick Gordon track lands, this is a strong launch-day pickup for anyone who loved the first one.

By the numbers: Big Fan Games said on October 12 that pre-launch wishlists crossed 300,000 on Steam, and the game hit Steam’s front-page personal calendar for launch week. Auroch Digital confirmed Steam Deck Verified on October 7, ahead of the October 14 unlock.

Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report