Imperium Sanctus and Imperium Nihilus

Where this topic stands

Imperium Sanctus and Imperium Nihilus are the two halves the Imperium was cut into by the Great Rift. The publisher has not mentioned either name in any material we were able to open, so nothing on this page describes the video game. What follows is the setting’s own background, from Games Workshop, and the question it raises for a campaign that claims a galactic scale.

What the tabletop establishes

Imperium Sanctus is the side of the divide still guided by the Astronomican, while Imperium Nihilus has lost that beacon’s light. In the fiction, this makes travel, communications and reinforcement more dangerous and uncertain in Nihilus. Worlds face different local conditions rather than a single uniform isolation. A Games Workshop story published in July 2024, for example, describes commanders weighing hazardous journeys and competing demands for troops.

The two halves the Imperium was cut into by the Great Rift: Sanctus, which still sees the Astronomican and can therefore be navigated, and Nihilus, which cannot. It is the reason the setting now has regions that are effectively unreachable.

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

What has actually been shown

Whether the game represents this division is not established in the sources reviewed. The publisher describes a galaxy at war and a fleet to upgrade, and named the Armageddon sector on 21 May 2026. Press coverage also describes a campaign map. None of those details establishes whether Imperium Sanctus and Imperium Nihilus appear or how travel between them would work. This page records a division in the setting; it does not report a confirmed game feature.

What to watch next

The open question is whether the campaign distinguishes the two regions through travel and reinforcement rules. In the setting, loss of the Astronomican makes journeys in Nihilus more dangerous and less reliable, with conditions varying by location. If the game represents that difficulty, routes, delays and supply could give the regions different strategic rhythms. The sources reviewed do not explain such a system or establish whether the division appears on the map. Information correct as of 5 September 2026.