Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Players Discover Unannounced Research Centre, Which Houses All Sorts of Unreleased Secrets

As Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 players dig into the recently released game-changing Patch 5 update, they’ve uncovered something developer Saber Interactive appears to have accidentally added early.

Redditor MrBossman4411 noticed a Thousand Sons icon in the Heraldry Editor, which points to a so far unannounced Research Centre. The Thousand Sons are one of the enemy factions in Space Marine 2, a Space Marine Traitor Legion so far unplayable in the game itself.

This was further explored in a video by Warhammer 40,000 YouTuber Chapter Master Valrak, and is verified as being live in-game at the time of this article’s publication by IGN.

The Research Centre appears to be a Battle Barge expansion in which you unlock and potentially display various trophies via the completion of certain challenges. There’s a new, so far unnamed currency to spend on these unlocks, which are sorted into four categories: Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Tyranids, and the Thousand Sons Chaos Marines.

Unlocks include Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar, the Imperial Guard carrier-gunship the Valkyrie, and even a Tyranid Hive Ship. It's not clear how this new currency will be obtained, or exactly what form this 'research data' will take.

Perhaps within this new area of the Battle Barge, players will be able to inspect models of each unlock in greater detail, perhaps even with some lore attached.

The UI for the Research Centre unlocks is in the game now, but that's all. Image credit: IGN.

Space Marine 2 publisher Focus Entertainment has promised a Battle Barge expansion of some kind for Season 3, which kicks off in 2025.

The Battle Barge is the player hub and contains space for customization, a sparring arena, and player gathering for co-op PvE missions. IGN has asked Focus for comment on this latest development.

In September, Saber Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits told IGN how the breakout success of Space Marine 2 had “changed everything” for the company. Eagle-eyed fans have spotted the Space Marine chapter now all-but confirmed to get a cosmetic pack after the Dark Angels, too.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].