Warhammer Heads Deeper Into the Hive With New Necromunda RPG

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The scum-filled hive cities of the Warhammer 40K universe are about to get a whole lot more brutal, with publisher Games Workshop recently announcing that a new Necromunda tabletop RPG is officially in the works.

The news was unveiled at this year’s Big Autumn Preview and comes on hot on the heels of a new edition of the popular miniatures game, which has recently been rebranded as Necromunda Skirmish. The upcoming Necromunda Roleplay, however, will put players in control of one of the countless ruthless gang members struggling for survival and domination in the seedy underbelly of one of the Imperium’s sprawling hive worlds. Notably, it will first be released as a Core Set that’s being produced by Games Workshop and not Cubicle 7 (who normally produces the Warhammer 40K and Warhammer Fantasy tabletop RPGs).

Below, we strap on our respirator masks and dive into everything we know so far.

What is Warhammer Necromunda?

Necromunda is a popular miniatures skirmish game published by Games Workshop and set within the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Instead of hulking Space Marines or blood thirsty aliens, however, players take control of gang members fighting for criminal supremacy inside the toxic depths of colossal, mile-high industrial super structures known as hive cities.

Mechanically, the Necromunda miniatures game is a tactical tabletop skirmish game rather than a mass-battle wargame like Warhammer 40K. Players typically control small, customized gangs of 6 to 10 miniatures engaged in brutal turf wars, campaign progression and narrative-driven mission where individual fighters gain experience, suffer permanent injuries and acquire specialized gear between battles.

Notably, the franchise dates back to 1995, when Games Workshop’s Specialist Games division released the original classic edition designed by Rick Priestley and Tuomas Pirinen. A second edition was launched in 1998, after which time the game was complete out of print until 2017 when a third edition was released that introduced a large line of miniatures and modular terrain kits. More recently, in August 2026, a new fourth edition of the wargame was released entitled Necromunda Skirmish.

What is Warhammer Necromunda Roleplay?

Necromunda Roleplay is a completely standalone tabletop roleplaying game in which players will be able to choose from six Clan Houses, building out their Underhiver’s background and affiliations, along with characteristics and specialized skills like Acrobatics, Stealth and Intimidation.

The game utilizes a new percentile roll-under system. Whenever your character attempts an action – such as firing a laspistol or intimidating a hive informant – you must roll equal to or below your target score determined by your skill value and a difficulty modifier. That being said, the RPG also integrates mechanics from the Necromunda Skirmish miniatures game, including the use of Firepower and Injury dice, as well as rolling d6s in certain situations. In this sense, the game seeks to bridge the gap between wargaming and tabletop RPGs, as miniatures are definitely a big part of the expereience.

Notably, the game is being developed entirely in-house by Games Workshop and is not being produced by Cubicle 7, who currently has the RPG license for Warhammer 40K and Warhammer Fantasy, producing games that include: Wrath & Glory, Imperium Maledictum, Warhammer The Old World Roleplaying and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying (the latter of which just released a brand new fifth edition in September 2026).

What’s included in the Necromunda RPG Core Set?

In the initial Core Set, players will take on the role of one of four pre-made characters of the Venator Gang, fighting for turf and taking on dangerous contracts across crime-ridden underhive slums. The set includes:

• 224-page Core Rulebook: Packed with extensive lore, core rules for running the game, character creation guidelines, advancement systems and two complete pre-written adventures (‘An Abominable Intelligence’ and ‘The Pilgrimage of Bones’).
• 18 Brand-New Plastic Miniatures: This includes four character models (Escher Assassin, Orlock Gunslinger, Squat Fixer and Goliath Champion), five adversaries and eight hive scum gang members.
• Double-Sided Card Playmats: Two playmats depicting various gritty industrial regions of the underhive and ash wastes for tactical encounters.
• Player Handouts & References: Eleven specialized player handouts providing quick rules reference for the miniatures included in the box.
• Arbitrator’s Screen: A custom screen packed with essential reference tables for the GM (known as Arbitrator).
• Custom Dice & Sheets: Features a mix of standard d10 and d100 dice alongside d6, Firepower, and Injury dice, accompanied by 50 blank character sheets.

How much is the Necromunda RPG Core Set?

Pricing details have not yet been announced by Games Workshop. We’ll update this page with an MSRP once it’s been confirmed.

When is the Necromunda RPG Core Set coming out?

An exact release date has not yet been confirmed, although Games Workshop has said that both the Necromunda Roleplay Core Set and a follow-up Journal Apocrypha: Denizens of the Hive supplement will be “arriving soon.” We’ll keep our ears to the hab-block comms and update this space as soon as pre-orders go live.

Final thoughts

While Warhammer has definitely become a massive brand as a miniatures game, its tabletop RPG variants haven’t had quite the same level of market penetration as bigger titles like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. With Necromunda Roleplay, however, it’s possible that we may see a whole new group of players gear up and head into the depths of the Underhive.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on the new Necromunda RPG in the days ahead and will update this page with new information as it’s made available. In the meantime, you can learn more on the official Games Workshop website.