Orks

Where this topic stands

The Orks are one of four playable factions confirmed for launch, announced by Games Workshop on 12 December 2025. The publisher describes them as hordes of destruction and brutality, relentless and innumerable, wielding unpredictable weapons and clattering war machines, all obeying the primal power of the WAAAGH!. A Stompa appears in the announcement trailer, which Warhammer Community pointed out itself. Press coverage of the 7 June 2026 presentation reports Ork Boyz, Gretchin, Stormboyz, Deff Dreads and Stompas seen in the gameplay section. No statistic has been published for any of them. Games Workshop confirmed on 20 July 2026 that Nazdreg can be commanded or fought at launch, with an early narrative role linked to Armageddon.

What the tabletop establishes

The Orks are a fungal species built for war, and Games Workshop describes them growing larger and stronger through fighting. Their armies can gather into vast warbands, with ordinary Boyz alongside vehicles and specialist troops. That physical growth is an interesting background for a strategy game: a developer could represent it through progression, temporary effects or simply the appearance of veteran fighters. The published faction description does not establish which, if any, of those approaches Total War uses.

A fungal warrior species that exists to fight, growing stronger and larger the more war it wages. On the tabletop the Orks are a horde army: cheap, numerous, unreliable at range, devastating on the charge, and led by the biggest Ork in the vicinity.

Tabletop identity, as established by Games Workshop. It says nothing about the video game.

What has actually been shown

The publisher has confirmed the faction and shown it in motion. It has not published a single number. What press accounts of 7 June 2026 describe is a green tide: vast infantry hordes, Stormboyz with rocket packs, Deff Dreads charging Imperial lines, and Stompas moving in the distance. Warhammer Community’s announcement mentions that the game will include units ranging from battleline infantry and tanks to walkers and colossal war engines, and singles out the trailer’s Stompa. The reviewed video-game sources do not give unit sizes, costs or a detailed role for Gretchin. The named character confirmation above adds to this picture, but the tabletop profiles in that article are not Total War statistics.

What to watch next

The open question is what the WAAAGH! does in Total War. The publisher names it as part of the faction’s identity but the sources reviewed do not provide its battle or campaign rules. If it gives an army more strength as a fight goes well, the trigger, duration and limits would determine the effect on that battle. It could also be represented in other ways. A temporary surge and lasting progression would create different decisions, so a name alone cannot support a strategy for using or countering it. Information correct as of 5 September 2026.