Space Marine 2 release time for early unlock – the new Warhammer 40,000 game is nearly here

Two space marines from Space Marine 2 salute.

The Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 release time is under 24 hours away if you've ordered the Gold and Ultra editions of the game, though the countdown is a couple of days longer if you've got one of the more standard editions. Here, we'll run you through the unlock times on both dates.

The new Warhammer third-person shooter is all about embodying the superhuman Space Marines as you squash Tyranids to defend the Imperium solo or with a crew – just don't expect to amass a group bigger than three, as Space Marines are too OP for that. It only took 10 minutes of one preview for the game to become our most-anticipated shooter of 2024.

"When we're talking about battles involving trillions of soldiers and planet-sized cities, it's hard for anything tangible to live up to our imagination," we say. "But in Space Marine 2, it feels like I've fallen right into one of Games Workshop's old 40K novels – which is great news for me, but not so much for anyone without the luxury of power armor to hide behind."

The good news for you – and us! – is that there isn't long to wait. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is out September 5 for those who bought the Gold and Ultra editions and September 9 if you got the more standard editions. Read on to discover when Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 releases in your time zone.

(Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

Space Marine 2 release time for early unlock

• 9am PT for PC (6am PT for consoles) 
• 12pm ET for PC (9am for consoles) 
• 5pm BST for PC (2pm BST for consoles)
• 6pm CEST for PC (3pm CEST for consoles)

While Space Marines 2 unlocks at different times across PC and console for those who have early unlock, you'll at least won't be waiting to play with friends on the same platform if they live in a different country. You might, however, have to wait for them to wake up.

As for preloads, Xbox fans can do so upon pre-ordering any game version, though PS5 owners have had to wait until 11am UTC on September 3.

(Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

Space Marine 2 release time for everyone else

• 9am PT for both PC and consoles
• 12pm ET for both PC and consoles
• 5pm BST for PC and consoles 
• 6pm CEST for PC and consoles

Unlike the early unlock times, the release time across PC and consoles is simultaneous globally. Hopefully, by that time, the servers will be ready for the march of many new recruits. Preloads, meanwhile, kick off at 5pm ETC on September 7.

Space Marine 2 lead says Doom 2016 was a big inspiration, just as the original Doom inspired Space Marine 1 which in turn inspired Doom 2016: "It's a grand circle of coolness."