In Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, you explore the Koronus Expanse from your Voidship, one star system at a time. It's a role-playing game from Owlcat Games, set in the grim far future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. You play a Rogue Trader, a member of an old family of explorers who has inherited a starship and the freedom to travel past the edge of the Imperium. Your Voidship is your home base, and the Koronus Expanse around it is a dangerous, poorly mapped region where you can find both profit and discovery.
A typical session has two sides. On the star map, you pick the next system to visit and scan it for resources, events and routes, so you know what you are flying into. When trouble finds you, the game shifts to turn-based battles on the ground or in space, and since each character acts in turn, you have time to plan each move around cover, terrain and your companions' abilities. Between fights, you talk with people, recruit companions who fight beside you, and make choices that shape the world and the people in it.
Your larger purpose comes from the Warrant of Trade, the document that gives you authority and charges you with extending the borders of the Imperium. Along the way, you keep an eye on Profit Factor, a measure of your wealth and influence. Story events move it up or down, and a higher number opens better purchases, vendors and dialogue options. Loot and resources feed into upgrades for your Voidship and your characters.
- Developer
- Owlcat Games
- Publisher
- Owlcat Games
- Release
- macOS: 2023-12-07 · Windows: 2023-12-07 · PlayStation 5: 2023-12-07 · Xbox Series X|S: 2023-12-07 · Nintendo Switch 2 (Europe): 2025-12-11 · Nintendo Switch 2 (Australia): 2025-12-12
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2
Game data
Companions
Companions are the crew members who travel with your Rogue Trader, fight beside you, and carry their own storylines. Most come from the base game, including a few secret companions who join late, and each released expansion adds one more. Six characters fight at once, so you decide who joins each battle.
Archetypes
Archetypes are the core combat role each character follows in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, and they shape how a character fights and grows. They come in three tiers: starting options, advanced ones that open at level 16, and the Exemplar at level 36. Your starting pick is permanent and decides which advanced archetypes you can reach, so it's worth choosing with care.
Origins
Origins are your character's backgrounds in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, the life they led before taking command of a starship. Each one brings combat features, stat and skill bonuses and its own talents, and you choose it when you create a custom character. Origins come from the base game and the Lex Imperialis expansion, and an origin stays the same for the rest of the game, even if you respec.
Rogue Trader gameplay tips
- Start on Normal difficulty. It gives you room to learn turn order, cover and companion abilities before the enemies get harsh.
- Fight from cover and keep your ranged characters behind it. Cover makes incoming hits less likely to land, so a shooter tucked behind solid cover stays in the fight longer.
- Put a tough companion between enemies and your shooters. Abelard is built as a melee tank, while Argenta specializes in ranged weapons. Keeping him in front and her behind lets her deal damage without being the first target.
- Check your Profit Factor before you visit a vendor. Some vendors only sell to you once your Profit Factor reaches a set level. The Thunderfang pirates, for example, need at least six. Checking first saves you a trip that ends with nothing to buy.
- Explore each system beyond the main path. Some systems hide secret quests and locations, and containers and corpses can hold useful loot. Taking a few extra minutes in each place is how you find gear and story you would otherwise miss.