Boltgun 2 Is 10 Days Away, and Mick Gordon Wrote Its Final Boss Theme

Featured image: Official screenshot via Steam / Auroch Digital and Big Fan Games

The Emperor’s loudest shooter is almost back. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 launches on October 14, which is just ten days from now, and the sequel arrives with a bigger arsenal, a second playable hero and a boss theme written by the man who gave DOOM its sound. If you liked the first game’s chunky, retro-flavored mayhem, this is the release to circle on the calendar.

Here is everything confirmed so far: the date, the platforms, the story, the two heroes, the new enemies, the PC specs and the one big thing nobody has told us yet.

A sequel that picks up right where the first game stopped

The first Boltgun arrived in 2023 and quietly became one of the better examples of the boomer shooter revival. TheSixthAxis described it in its review as “a brisk, brutal boomer shooter” and a great reason to visit Games Workshop’s grimdark universe. Boltgun 2 follows directly on from the end of that story, so nobody is starting from scratch.

The set-up is simple and very Warhammer. Malum Caedo and Nyra Veyrath travel to an isolated star system to check on reports of rising Chaos activity. According to GamesHedge, the investigation turns into a fight for survival when the demigod Vashtorr the Arkifane awakens a massive daemonic machine at the heart of a planet. The blast destroys much of the Imperial fleet, which leaves our two heroes stranded and forced to move from world to world, cleansing the corruption that powers Vashtorr’s machines. The final goal is to banish him back into the Warp.

Two heroes, two very different ways to purge heretics

The biggest structural change is that you now choose who to play. Per the Steam page, each character has their own abilities, weapons and playstyle, which should give the campaign real replay value.

Caedo is the returning face, a hulking Space Marine who would rather walk through a wall than around it. Nyra is the new addition, and her fire-focused approach points to a faster, more mobile way of clearing a room. Both can be tried in the free demo, which brings us to the next section.

Bigger arsenal, nastier enemies

Auroch Digital is promising “MORE enemies, MORE weapons, and NEW ways to purge,” and the trailers back that up. The Steam description confirms a lethal chainsword and a shotgun that blasts foes into “an explosion of pixels and blood,” plus a fresh set of enemy types from different factions. Returning favorites such as Chaos Cultists and plague-spreading Nurglings are back, but the latest trailer put Bloodletters and their Juggernauts front and center. These are daemonic charging brutes that the developers describe as a near unstoppable force, so expect to be punished for standing still.

There is also a dedicated Slaanesh reveal trailer on the store page, which hints that the Chaos roster goes well beyond the usual suspects. We will have to wait for launch to see exactly how far that goes.

Mick Gordon is writing the final boss music

This is the headline detail for a lot of fans. The release date trailer, shown at Gamescom 2026, debuted a track called “Ascent of the Arkifane,” composed by Mick Gordon. His credits include DOOM (2016), DOOM Eternal and Wolfenstein: The New Order, and per TheSixthAxis he is on board for the final boss battle music. Pairing the guy who made chainsaw-guitar riffs into a genre of their own with a setting built around chainswords and bolters feels almost too obvious, in the best way.

It is worth keeping expectations calibrated. Gordon is a guest composer rather than the author of the whole soundtrack, so do not expect his sound across every level. But a boss theme is exactly where a track like this earns its keep.

New worlds and a branching campaign

The levels take you across several biomes, from the colossal heights of a hive city to the mangrove swamps of a jungle world. Each biome brings its own challenges, which is a welcome step up from a single environment style. The campaign is also branching, so your route through the star system changes which levels you play. A navigation guide has been added as well, meant to keep you pointed in the right direction without slowing the pace. In a genre where getting lost in a maze can wreck momentum, that is a thoughtful quality-of-life addition.

PC requirements: this one is very forgiving

Here is the good news for anyone with an older machine. The Steam page lists modest specs, with the minimum targeting 1080p at 60 fps on low settings and the recommended targeting 1080p at 60 fps on high.

It is a refreshing contrast to the current wave of heavyweight releases. For comparison, our breakdown of the Gears of War: E-Day reviews and PC requirements shows how demanding some of this month’s shooters have become, while the Ace Combat 8 requirements go as far as demanding hardware ray tracing and a 150 GB SSD. Boltgun 2 asks for a GTX 980 and 13 GB, and that is going to suit a lot of players just fine.

Try the demo first

If you want to see how it feels before spending anything, Auroch Digital released a free Steam demo earlier this year. It includes two complete levels, each playable as either Caedo or Veyrath, so you can compare the two heroes directly. The team has also been collecting feedback on it and acting on reported issues, according to TheSixthAxis, which is a good sign for launch polish.

What we still do not know

• Price: no price has been announced yet, so expect it to show up on Steam and the console stores close to launch.
• Physical editions: none have been announced.
• Switch 2 date: only “shortly after” launch, and still within 2026.
• Review scores: there are no critic verdicts yet, so launch week will be the real test.

The game also carries a violence, blood and gore content notice on Steam, which will surprise nobody who has seen a Warhammer 40,000 trailer. It supports full controller play and offers adjustable difficulty, so it should be approachable whether you are a boomer shooter veteran or a curious newcomer.

Should you be excited?

Yes, with sensible caution. Everything we have seen points to a confident sequel: two characters, a branching campaign, a bigger weapon list, tougher enemies and a famous composer on the final fight. The low hardware bar and the free demo also make it an easy risk to take. What we lack is hard proof that it plays as well as it looks, and that will only arrive with reviews.

It also lands in a very crowded month. If you are deciding how to spend your gaming budget, our Silent Hill: Townfall review roundup is a useful companion read for the more horror-minded. For everyone else, the Emperor is waiting on October 14.

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