Should I play Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising or Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) first?

If you want chronology, Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising (2010) came out before Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) (2026). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.

Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising vs Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic)

Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising and Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) both land in Strategy on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Strategy games on Steam. Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising (2010) is 16 years older than Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) (2026). Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) scores higher on Steam reviews (95.3% positive) than Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising (89.4% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.

Which should you pick?

Choose Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising

Choose Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising if you want the Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend. Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising launched in 2010.

Choose Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic)

Choose Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) if you want the LAN PvP and PvP side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2026) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) launched in 2026.

Both Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising and Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) sit in Strategy on Steam and both list Multi-player, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.

Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising vs Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) — Steam metadata comparison
	Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising	Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic)
Released	2010	2026
Genres	Strategy	Strategy
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows
Steam Deck	Unrated	Deck Playable
Price	Price unknown	14.99 USD
Steam reviews	89.4% positive (997 reviews)	95.3% positive (64 reviews)
Multiplayer	Multi-player, Co-op	Multi-player
Developers	Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac/Linux)	Black Hole Entertainment

Side by side

Both are Strategy games on Steam.
Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising (2010) is 16 years older than Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) (2026).
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) scores higher on Steam reviews (95.3% positive) than Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising (89.4% positive).
Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising has co-op; Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) does not.
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Gold Edition (Classic) is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Warhammer® 40,000: Dawn of War® II Chaos Rising has no Deck rating yet.