Wccftech interviewed the devs of Necromunda: Underhive Wars about the game's development and what to expect.

How close is Necromunda: Underhive Wars to the tabletop game and what did you have to change specifically to make it work as a videogame?

We’ve indeed adapted quite a few things in order to bring a fresh twist to this first digital
version - many of them based on our experience with Mordheim - but without ever losing
track of the original essence of the game. Throughout development, we’ve been blessed by a close and continued working relationship with our partners from Games Workshop, who have been extremely generous with their contributions to the game’s multiple moving parts - both in terms of game design, artistic
direction, lore elements and more. While fans of the iconic tabletop game will find many things similar to what they already know, among which the sprawling vertical environments serving as both narrative, visual and mechanical backdrops to the expected brutal gang warfare, some parts of this adaptation are completely new.

For example, we’ve introduced the notion of fighter careers, which can be compared to character classes in traditional RPGs, each bringing their own set of skills (active, passive and signature), as well as unique perks. We’ve got 5 in total (plus a leader career, which can be added on top of any other), and they’ll ensure that players can recruit and “build” fighters that serve a wide variety of different-yet-complementary battlefield roles. In order to succeed, you’ll have to think not only about each individual fighter, but also about your gang as a whole, and how the units on your roster can synergize with one another. Here also, our partners from Games Workshop have been instrumental in helping us define these careers and bring them to the (digital)tabletop in a meaningful way.

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Thanks Farflame!

Necromunda: Underhive Wars has been released:

Necromunda: Underhive Wars

Dive into the Necromunda World ... like never before
Deep below the nightmarish, polluted hive cities of Necromunda, in the twisted, vertiginous, dark tunnels of the Underhive, rival gangs fight to the bitter end for personal power, wealth, survival and the honour of their Houses. Only the strongest survive.

Lead your own gang in bloody tactical combat
Lead, customize, and grow your gangs of Escher, Goliath, and Orlock. Specialize each member and send them to battle in hazardous dystopian environments. Exploit the terrain in tactical gunfights: climb raised walkways to take advantage, set traps, and ambush foes to force them into bloody melee engagements.

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Play solo or up to 4-players online
Learn new skills, loot equipment and bring your evolved gang to 4-player online gang fights.

• Lead and evolve your gangs in this compelling tactical-RPG
• Follow a rich narrative campaign in the Underhive
• Engage in immersive and persistent game modes
• First video game adaptation from mythical tabletop game Necromunda, the most famous Hive World of Warhammer 40,000
• Play solo or join thrilling 4-way online gang fights

DSOGaming reports that Necromunda: Underhive Wars will release September 8th.

Focus Home Interactive has announced that its upcoming tactical RPG, Necromunda: Underhive Wars, will release on September 8th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher released a new set of screenshots, as well as a new in-engine trailer.

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Thanks Farflame!

Here's the gameplay overview for Necromunda: Underhive Wars:

Necromunda: Underhive Wars - Gameplay Overview Trailer

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Necromunda: Underhive Wars - new Gameplay Overview explains everything you need to know

Necromunda: Underhive Wars, Focus Home Interactive and Rogue Factor’s third-person tactical-RPG game and debut of Games Workshop’s renowned Necromunda IP in a videogame, hits PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 8. Ahead of release, learn everything there is to know about creating a gang and fighting in the Underhive in today’s new Gameplay Overview Trailer.

A million ways to build, lead and customize your gang

Deep below the hive cities of Necromunda, pick, lead, customize and grow your gang in the twisted tunnels of the dystopian Underhive. Each fighter is a unique character, with a combination of traits, perks, one of five Careers, House, injuries, gear, skills, vices, virtues, and talents. Each part of this can make a fighter unique, and your combination will never be the same as another.

Fighting in the Underhive: freedom, verticality and tactical depth.

Combine fighters of different careers in interesting ways to best your enemies - bring your heavies to higher ground with Necromunda’s signature verticality and freedom of movement, then sabotage the ziplines so your enemies can’t follow. Control enemy movement with overlapping overwatch zones, then hit them where it hurts with brawling melee fighters.

Bring it all to bear in three unique game modes - story campaign, Operations, and multi/single-player skirmish.

Necromunda: Underhive Wars releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on September 8. Pre-orders are now open on Steam and Xbox One. Visit the official store for more information.
Review codes will soon be available. 

The tactical RPG Necromunda: Underhive Wars will be released on September 8:

Necromunda: Underhive Wars - Release Date Announcement Trailer

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Deep below the nightmarish, polluted hive cities of Necromunda, in the twisted, vertiginous, dark tunnels of the Underhive, rival gangs fight to the bitter end for personal power, wealth, survival and the honour of their House.

A gameplay overview for Necromunda: Underhive Wars. Pictures at the link.

Welcome to the Underhive!

Greetings, friends and fellow Necromunda fans.

We’re extremely happy to take to the Forums again today, in order to bring you this first iteration of our DevBlog series, aimed at shedding more light on some of the cool elements you can expect to find in Necromunda: Underhive Wars. Today’s entry will not be focusing on a single feature, but will instead provide you with a first overview of the game’s basic gameplay mechanics.

And so, without further ado - get comfortable, grab your favorite beverage, and let’s dive right in!

Answer the Call

Before testing your mettle in Necromunda: Underhive Wars’ multiple Game Modes (which we’ll cover in more details in an upcoming DevBlog), the first thing you’ll need to do is create a Gang - your Gang, which will belong to one of the planet’s infamous Great Houses.

At launch, players will be able to choose from Houses Escher, Goliath and Orlock, each of which will come with their own flavour, special House Perk and Bonus Stats. Many of the skills that your Fighters will use in battle will also have special variants, depending on the House your Gang belongs to.

Assemble your Crew

You’ll then want to assemble and customise an Active Crew of up to 5 Fighters, in order to represent a force capable of facing the multiple dangers of the Underhive. Each Fighter will fill a specific battlefield role, first determined by its chosen Career: Deadeye, Brawler, Heavy, Saboteur or Lay-Mechanic.

Each Gang will be able to recruit a total of up to 15 Fighters at once, with 10 members held in Reserve - in case Active Fighters get injured, or to create different character combinations and synergies depending on the situation. Players will be able to freely rotate Fighters between each mission.

Each of the 5 different Careers will grant Fighters a unique Signature Skill, as well as special Career Perks and bonuses to certain stats. In terms of fighting capabilities, all Fighters will be able to learn and use a great number of general Skills, but many abilities will also be exclusive to certain Career paths.

Your Gang will also always need a Leader - a Fighter of any Career who has reached (or been recruited at) a higher experience level. Leaders will have access to a special selection of “Heroic” and “Order” Skills, extremely powerful (but sometimes limited) abilities meant to inspire their allies and tip the scales of battle in tense combat situations.

Load up!

Before jumping into battle, you’ll also want to make sure all your Fighters have the best possible loadout, which includes Stats, Skills and Equipment.

Stats are used to represent and measure a Fighter’s attributes and proficiency. Stats are separated in two main categories - Primary and Secondary. The 9 Primary Stats are the ones you’ll be able to upgrade whenever a Fighter ranks-up. Each of these will directly affect two of the 18 Secondary Stats, which will be used and modified by Skills, Equipment and other factors (such as Injuries) in combat.

Skills come in two main categories - Passive (which will automatically trigger when certain conditions are met), and Active (which need to be performed manually). Depending on their level, each Fighter will be able to learn, upgrade and use a loadout of up to 5 Active and 5 Passive Skills at once, and successful players will make sure to create synergies across the abilities of multiple Fighters in order to increase the effectiveness of each individual unit, and the Gang as a whole.

Equipment will also play an important role in Necromunda: Underhive Wars, with each Fighter being able to equip various Weapons, Armour and Consumable Items (of both Tactical and Offensive nature), as well as Implants and Bionics. While some equipment pieces will be restricted to certain Careers, a great majority will be available to use by any Fighter. From dual-wielded Laspistols, to devastating Heavy Bolters and iconic close-quarters Chainswords - the choice of how you want to build and specialize each of your Fighters will be entirely yours!

Of course, you’ll also be able to apply extensive cosmetic customization to your Gang and Fighters, but we’ll cover this feature in its own upcoming, and dedicated, Blog Post.

To Battle!

Once your Crew is ready, you’ll be able to select from multiple Online and Offline Game Modes (a topic for a future DevBlog) in order to face off against rival Gangs in the Underhive! Whilst there are many mechanics and tactics that will be important for you to master in order to be successful, let’s review the very basics for today.

Rounds and Turns

Necromunda: Underhive Wars is a turn-based strategy game, but with a twist. Each battle will be split in a number of Rounds, during which each of the participating Fighters will get their own Turn to act. At the beginning of each Round, every Gang will be able to select one Fighter to put into action - the Initiative stat of each of these chosen characters will then be compared to determine the order in which they take their Turn within the Round.

Moving and Performing Actions

Knowing how to maneuver through the battlefield and how to use all the tools at your disposal is half the battle, or so they say. In combat scenarios, performing most Skills will require Action Points (AP), while each meter moved will require a Fighter to spend one Movement Point (MP).

Movement Points will only be spent when either ending a turn, using a Skill or suffering the effects of one (such as triggering a Trap or receiving damage), meaning that you will normally be free to move your Fighters in real time before committing to a move.

Up High & Down Low

The battlefields upon which your forces will wage combat are humongous places, desolate and covered in wreckage from times long forgotten. Although these locations are very different from one another, they all have one thing in common - Verticality. From Makeshift Bridges, ancient Ziplines, winding pipe works and disused cargo Elevators, you will have to make the most out of all three dimensions in order to survive the brutal fights that await your Gang.

On top of letting your Fighters traverse the terrain more efficiently, making use of verticality is also useful for gaining Height Advantage, which will provide your forces with accuracy bonuses when targeting less elevated enemies with ranged weaponry.

Using Verticality, Terrain and Cover to your Advantage

In Necromunda: Underhive Wars, cover is dynamic, and it is based on the percentage (%) of a target’s body that is visible by attackers. Kneeling behind crates, concealing oneself around tall objects, or getting to higher floors will make combatants harder to hit. At the opposite, getting caught off-guard on open ground will most likely be an open invitation for a carefully placed - and most fatal - Heavy Bolter hit to the head.

While most default attacks will always target random body parts, some Offensive Skills (such as the Aimed Shot pictured below) will also allow Fighters to aim at specific body parts (in exchange for a higher AP cost to use the skill) - a prime occasion to focus attacks on unarmoured locations, or body parts clad in armour pieces that are weak to a weapon’s particular damage type.

Tactical Tools at your Fingertips

While it may be easy to become disoriented inside the Underhive, fear not! Necromunda: Underhive Wars will provide you with a host of powerful and user-friendly tools to get your bearings, and to maintain your battlefield awareness at all times.

Special view toggles such as the Tactical Overlay and Strategy View (3D Map pictured below) are extremely useful to plan strategies, allowing players to visualize the location of all Fighters, Objectives, Interactable Objects, Extraction Zones and other objects of interest.

Thank You!

This concludes today’s first entry into our DevBlog Series. Thank you for taking the time to read through this Blog Post, and we sincerely hope you liked it!

Although we’ve only just scratched the surface of all the game has to offer, we sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed this first foray into Necromunda: Underhive Wars’ gameplay coverage - there’s plenty more to come in the near future, starting with a first look at the different Game Modes the title will have to offer at launch, later this Summer!

In the meantime, don’t hesitate to join our official Discord, as well as follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitch to be among the first to know more about Necromunda: Underhive Wars.

Best regards,
The Rogue Factor and Focus Home Interactive teams

Here's the story trailer for the upcoming tactical RPG Necromunda: Underhive Wars:

Necromunda: Underhive Wars - Welcome to the Underhive | Story Trailer

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Necromunda: Underhive Wars will release Summer 2020 according to the Steam page. The game is currently available to preorder for 20% off.

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Deep below the nightmarish, polluted hive cities of Necromunda, in the twisted, vertiginous, dark tunnels of the Underhive, rival gangs fight to the bitter end for personal power, wealth, survival and the honour of their Houses. Only the strongest survive.

Lead, customize, and grow your gangs of Escher, Goliath, and Orlock. Specialize each member and send them to battle in hazardous dystopian environments. Exploit the terrain in tactical gunfights: climb raised walkways to take advantage, set traps, and ambush foes to force them into bloody melee engagements.

Learn new skills, loot equipment and bring your evolved gang to 4-player online gang fights.

• Lead and evolve your gangs in this compelling tactical-RPG
• Follow a rich narrative campaign in the Underhive
• Engage in immersive and persistent game modes
• First video game adaptation from mythical tabletop game Necromunda, the most famous Hive World of Warhammer 40,000
• Play solo or join thrilling 4-way online gang fights

Gamewatcher has some new screenshots for Necromunda: Underhive Wars.

Focus Home Interactive has sent over a few new screenshots for Necromunda: Underhive Wars, which is its fast-paced tactical combat game that features RPG elements and unit customization. Rogue Factor are the developers, who are known for making Mordheim: City of the Damned.

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@Gamewatcher Necromunda: Underhive Wars has received a new teaser trailer.

We're having a coordinated push away from Space Marines lately, as game developers focus on Imperial Knights, Adeptus Mechanicus, and even the Necrons. The latest Warhammer 40K game, Necromunda: Underhive Wars, continues that trend, taking place on the eponymous den of scum and villainy where gangs dwell below Hive City.

Developed by Rogue Factor -- the studio behind Mordheim: City of the Damned -- Necromunda: Underhive Wars will be a blend of "fast-paced" tactical combat and RPG elements, bringing the first video game adaptation of Necromunda to life.

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Farflame spotted this interesting article about the tactical RPG Necromunda: Underhive Wars on PCGamesN:

Making it in Unreal: the view from the 40k factory floor in Necromunda: Underhive Wars

The tabletop Warhammer games that have translated best to our medium are the skirmish spin-offs - the smaller battles played out on the scale of XCOM. Close enough to see every last stud on an Underhive ganger’s leather armour, and count the teeth on their embossed skull shoulderpads.

That’s exactly what Montreal indies Rogue Factor specialise in. They made their name on Steam with skaven showdowns on the streets of Mordheim, and have now been entrusted with the adaptation of the 41st millennium equivalent: the beloved Necromunda.

“Mix Judge Dredd with Mad Max with Sons of Anarchy,” says Rogue Factor general manager Yves Bordeleau, by way of explanation. “Gangs fighting feuds in no man’s land.”

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A new tactical turn-based RPG set in the Warhammer 40.000 universe, named Necromunda: Underhive Wars has been announced.

Focus Home Interactive and Rogue Factor to Adapt Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 Cult Classic into Necromunda: Underhive Wars

After a successful first collaboration on Mordheim^TM: City of the Damned^TM, released on PC and consoles, Focus Home Interactive and Rogue Factor today proudly announce a new partnership with Games Workshop to begin development of Necromunda: Underhive Wars, the adaptation of cult classic tabletop game Necromunda, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Necromunda: Underhive Wars is a turn-based tactical RPG. Rival gangs of ruthless warriors are locked in an endless war for control of the Underhive, a gigantic warren of derelict factories, rusted metal husks, and forgotten technologies. Anarchy, violence, betrayal and death rule this hellish place, long forsaken by any semblance of civilization.

"Rogue Factor's collaboration with Focus and Games Workshop is a story of trust, hard work, and true passion for the Warhammer Universe. Our adventure began by building the foundations of Mordheim: City of the Damned Early Access. Regarded as a highly successful and well-executed endeavour, the Early Access of Mordheim: City of the Damned gathered a vast number of passionate gamers that helped foster an amazing community and improved many aspects of the game. After a strong launch on PC and consoles, and an incredible experience with many lessons learned, the way was paved for our next step in conquering the tactical RPG genre: Necromunda: Underhive Wars."

- Yves Bordeleau, General Manager at Rogue Factor.

"We are delighted to welcome Necromuda: Underhive Wars to the catalogue of great games based on our worlds and settings. Rogue Factor and Focus Home Interactive made a wonderful Mordheim: City of the Damned game and having done such a great job they're clearly the right people to realize the nightmarish world of Necromunda. Now fans of this unique and highly influential IP will at last be able to pick up their stubber and search for cool archaeotech whilst wiping out rival gangs throughout the Underhive."

- Jon Gillard, Head of Licensing at Games Workshop.

More information will be unveiled at Focus' What's Next event in Paris, on February 1st and 2nd.