When and where is Warhammer Darktide set? Setting and lore explained
Warhammer Darktide is set in the 8th and 9th editions of the Warhammer 40K timeline of Warhammer 40k, in a hive city named Tertium. However, beyond this, much about the game's story, setting, and timeline remains shrouded in mystery. While the story sheds some light on where the events are taking place in the universe, the finer details are intentionally vague, leaving plenty of room for speculation.
Being a veteran Warhammer fan, I know that when it comes to deciphering the grim dark future of mankind, speculations and educated guesses are some of the best tools we have. In this article, we have shared where and when the Warhammer Darktide takes place based on popular speculations and theories.
Note: Some aspects of this article are based on speculations and readers are advised to take it with a grain of salt.
Where and when is Warhammer Darktide possibly taking place?
Darktide is set in the industrial world of Atoma Prime, specifically within its largest hive city, Tertium. Atoma Prime is a grim and oppressive planet dominated by sprawling, vertical megacities that house billions of citizens living in poverty and misery. These cities are hubs of manufacturing and industry, with the elite living in the upper echelons and the masses trapped in squalor below.
According to speculations, the game takes place within the 8th and 9th editions of the Warhammer 40K timeline, which places the story roughly 25 years after the Fall of Cadia. The Fall of Cadia is one of the most important moments in the Imperium’s history, as it is when the forces of Chaos broke through the galaxy’s defenses.
This is also the period following the Indomitus Crusade, led by Primarch Roboute Guilliman, to reclaim the Imperium from the forces of Chaos. While the Imperium is in the midst of rebuilding, the forces of Chaos continue to threaten humanity's survival, and Tertium is one of the latest battlegrounds in this ongoing struggle.
Read more: Warhammer Darktide Havoc game mode: Everything we know so far
What is the plot of Warhammer Darktide?
Warhammer Darktide's story revolves around a group of Inquisitorial agents tasked with investigating and containing a Chaos uprising in the hive city of Tertium. The player character, known as Rejected, begins the story aboard the prison transport ship Tancred Bastion. They are, in fact, being transported after being sentenced to death for a crime.
Also read: Will Warhammer 40,000: Darktide support crossplay?
However, the ship is attacked by followers of Nurgle, the Plague God of Chaos. As this happens, the player rescues an Inquisitorial agent named Explicator Zola. In gratitude for the Operative’s help, Zola spares them from execution and conscripts them into the Inquisition.
Aboard the Mourningstar — the Inquisitorial flagship — the Operative joins a squad tasked with suppressing the Nurgle infection spreading across Tertium. Throughout the game, the player engages in various missions such as reclaiming key locations, investigating the plague’s origins, assassinating heretical leaders, and fighting corrupted Imperial forces.
As the story unfolds, it is revealed that the Inquisition’s ship has been infiltrated by a mole working for the Chaos cult, leading to internal investigations and further complications for the player. Ultimately, the player gains full trust within the Inquisition and continues their mission to combat Nurgle’s forces in Tertium.