Darktide’s free Depths of the Damned update lands Sept. 29

Tertium is about to get even nastier. Fatshark has announced Warhammer 40,000: Darktide’s free Depths of the Damned update, arriving Sept. 29 with a new mission, six weapons and a boss that sounds like the sort of thing sensible people would avoid by moving to another hive.

What's actually going on

According to Fatshark’s announcement, Depths of the Damned adds a mini story campaign that sends strike teams into Spillway, a new level buried in the Water Cartel’s maze of tunnels, waterways and forgotten passages. Squads will choose between paths, with some routes carrying greater danger before the campaign reaches the Prophet of Decay.

The Prophet is described as a powerful Psyker that has made the depths its domain. Fatshark is keeping the details deliberately murky for now, which is probably wise; a surprise boss is considerably less surprising once the marketing department has handed over its entire biography.

The update expands the arsenal with six weapons. New families include the Ogryn Cruncher, Huntsman’s Shotgun and Ogryn Thugshot, while new weapon marks include the Crusher Krourk MK VII, Double-Barrelled Shotgun Krouk Mk IV, Gromm Mk I Battle Maul and Mk V Slab Shield. More detailed weapon information will arrive in a future feature highlight.

Alongside the mission and weapons, the announcement promises a new live event, a store rotation and quality-of-life improvements. The free update is scheduled for Steam, PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on Sept. 29, according to the Fatshark’s official announcement.

Why you should care

Live-service co-op games can turn into a conveyor belt of forgettable errands, so a new mission with branching routes is exactly the kind of injection Darktide needs. The strongest part of the pitch is not the weapon list, chunky though it is; it is the promise that Spillway will make teams discuss risk before charging into the dark. That is where co-op games earn their keep: in the panicked arguments over who picked the obviously cursed corridor.

Our opinion

This sounds like a worthwhile return to Tertium rather than another token content drop. A fresh campaign, a proper boss mystery and six new ways to make a heretic regret their career should give Darktide’s warbands something meaningful to chew on. The only question is whether the branching mission paths genuinely change the run or merely rearrange the scenery. We will find out on Sept. 29.

Sources: Fatshark; Steam.