Space Marine 2 sold million of copies, and now Saber Interactive has to turn down projects

[Alfonso Maruccia]

For the Emperor: After a few turbulent years and multiple ownership changes, Saber Interactive is now in great shape. The Florida-based studio owes its resurgence to one particular Warhammer title, which, according to Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits, made the company almost too successful for its own good.

Since Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 sold millions of copies, Saber Interactive has become one of the most in-demand studios for building new games around established IPs – so in demand, according to Willits, that the company has had to turn down several high-profile productions. It's a good problem to have, as Willits himself acknowledged.

Space Marine 2 is the well-received sequel to 2011's Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, a hack-and-slash shooter developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. The game once again follows the Adeptus Astartes, a brotherhood of superhuman warriors tasked with enforcing the Emperor of Mankind's rule over a chaos-ridden galaxy full of hostile races. Released in 2024 for PC and current-gen consoles, Space Marine 2 has gone on to become one of the franchise's biggest hits, reaching more than 12 million players as of early 2026. Saber has continued supporting the game with regular content drops, including the recently released Purgation Update.

The Warhammer 40,000 universe is enjoying a resurgence of sorts, particularly in video games, and Willits said Space Marine 2 changed everything for Saber, forcing the studio to rethink how it makes games. The title also changed how the industry views the company, which now has a reputation for delivering strong results with licensed IPs.

"And because we have a reputation of really doing well with licensed IPs, every major license holder wants to make a video game. It's just the way it is. Everybody," Willits said in a recent interview.

Saber's CCO said the studio had to pass on a particularly enticing business proposal, though he declined to name the franchise involved. Thanks to Space Marine 2 and other successful releases, Saber is now apparently able to deliver AAA-caliber games without needing a "true" triple-A budget. That's a massive win and advantage at a time when the industry at large is cutting thousands of jobs while trying to improve profitability.

Saber currently manages several studios and employs around 3,500 people, and the company says it's still looking for growth opportunities. It's working on numerous IP-based projects, including Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival, a remastered Hitman Classic Trilogy, and Turok: Origins, among others. Space Marine 3 has also been confirmed and is now in development, following the sequel's outsized success.

Willits thinks the industry will weather today's chaos, and that creative people will continue finding ways to make great entertainment despite everything.

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Space Marine 2 sold million of copies, and now Saber Interactive has to turn down projects

 

[yRaz]

SM2 was so much better than SM1. I've always been into 40k, but SM2 was a master piece for fans of the series. Most of the criticisms that I heard of it were reasons that I love Warhammer. That it's over the top and corny. Well, I love Star Trek and Doctor Who, too for the same reasons.

The gameplay was polished and the story would satisfy any 40k fan.

I played the ever living crap out of Rogue Trader. I started playing Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 when I got board of it, but I feel another playthrough once I beat Bladurs Gate again

 

[toooooot]

I heard nothing but praises for the game. Good to see people not being fired and creating things that make millions of people happy

 

[yRaz]

I heard nothing but praises for the game. Good to see people not being fired and creating things that make millions of people happy

Oh, there some very interesting reviews of this game when it first came out, but they quickly faded Into obscurity. Things about toxic masculinity and, well, you know the type.

 

[m4a4]

I mean, that's what usually happens when you make a game for gamers, by gamers.

A lot of recent flops felt like they were made by HR departments...

 

[NumberNine]

I had to refund because 70% of the screen space is occupied by the back of the space marine and I also need to see where the space marine is going. If they eventually add camera distance controls like a big boy PC video game, I might go again. Good for them though. Thrive.

 

[yRaz]

I had to refund because 70% of the screen space is occupied by the back of the space marine and I also need to see where the space marine is going. If they eventually add camera distance controls like a big boy PC video game, I might go again. Good for them though. Thrive.

I wanted to think this was a joke, but I did have to use a console command to change the POV. Took a Google search and 5 minutes.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Proofread your title…. “Million of copies”?

 

[SirDigby]

As a longtime W40K fan, and a big player of SM1, SM2 just completely surpassed expectations, the core gameplay loop and mechanics was just super fun. The PvP still isn't great but when it launched there were only 6 endgame missions to repeat (on various difficulties), and they've continuously been adding more missions for free, I think they're up to 12 now? It's so good, and loads of things to keep the challenges fresh.
Siege mode revamp has been welcome too, it was fun but there just wasn't a good incentive to play it at the beginning.
This has been my main game played since it came out.

 

[NumberNine]

I wanted to think this was a joke, but I did have to use a console command to change the POV. Took a Google search and 5 minutes.

It's so much easier just to play a different game and give my money to someone else. With the way consumers are treated now, I'll wipe myself with it before I fix it for them.

 

[poohbear]

Hardcore SM2 fan here, and this is by far the best representation of the 40k universe and the Space Marine faction in particular.

And the graphics are gorgeous! It's a great workout for modern PCs as it flexes ALL the components with its swarm engine: high res textures, and state of the art graphics.

 

[yRaz]

It's so much easier just to play a different game and give my money to someone else. With the way consumers are treated now, I'll wipe myself with it before I fix it for them.

So I just looked it up, they added and FOV slider shortly after launch on PC. I don't know when you bought the game, but if you can't be bothered to adjust your FOV then that sounds like the problem isn't with the game. The refund process sounds like it was more work than adjusting the FOV