Category: game-related media
It might just be a fanboy in me, but there is something astonishing about watching an animation of superhuman soldiers fighting in space and for that reason the Project Astartes really caught my attention even on its infant stages back in 2018. What started off as short animation clips released onto YouTube now and then by Syaman Pedersen slowly grew to point where it felt like a real part of the Warhammer 40k canon only to eventually be officially part of it by the Games Workshop in 2021. But now I am getting a little ahead of myself so first a little history lesson. 
Dating its origins back to 1975, the Games Workshop (GW) started off as a small English boardgame manufacturer, the company has grown into a creator and supplier of various miniature wargames, boardgames and other related merchandize. One of GW’s greatest hits would be a miniature wargame Warhammer 40,000, also referred as a Warhammer 40k. Warhammer 40k is a miniature wargame taking place in a fictional version of our galaxy, where humanity fights for survival against internal turmoil, religious fanatics, demons and aliens. The setting is grim dark and over the top, making it excellent breeding ground for plastic soldiers but also various other merchandise ranging from video- and board games to books, roleplaying games and multimedia.
Like with most of the successful brands, Warhammer 40k has drafted a large fan base among hobbyists and this has naturally led to the creation of various fan-made material, art, short stories and visual media. Astartes project is one of these fan-creations and maybe one of the most famous. Starting of as a fan-made animation nearly seven years ago, Astartes project follows a critical mission of five unnamed space marines, in other words, astartes, on a crucial mission. What started off as a clip of a bulky superhumans walking into a dropship, turned into an action-packed boarding action, showcasing battle between super soldiers and mortals but also the dark and otherwordly forces of the 40k universe. Syaman Pedersen delivered a masterful piece of work that still has energy and tension to keep the viewer holding their breath. More admirably, his animation work has even put GW and their own releases to shame with its quality and Pedersen’ grasp of the fiction still allows seasoned fans to catch up on little details and easter eggs even to this day. Therefore, it is not surprising, that in 2021, Games Workshop bought the Astartes project from Syaman Pedersen and later released with the title “Astartes” on their own Warhammer+ subscription service. With this move, a fan-made animation and the Retributor space marine chapter had become part of the official canon in the Warhammer 40k universe.
And then, it was gone.
Version of this wonderful piece of media went through some light editing, likely due to copyright reasons and the creator of the Astartes project seemed to vanish from the face of the earth. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Games Workshop launched their subscription-based service, Warhammer+, during the 2021 with the obvious intent of creating a paid service from which the fans of their creations could enjoy more content related to their products. Roughly at same times GW also issued an unformal war against the fan-created content to protect their intellectual property. This declaration of war was followed by a storm as fan content was removed or banned from the internet and the fanbase reacted with angry forum posts and boycotts. From the viewpoint of the average consumer, it seemed as if the Astartes project was another victim of this corporate takeover and Syana Pedersen went down with the ship. What was likely every fan’s dream, had been taken away by the greedy corporation and the mutilated version of Astartes was left to linger behind paywall and atrocious web design.
This would be a sad note, for an artist has lost the battle against the tide and a work of passion has been cast aside. But there is still a glimmer of hope, even in the darkness of the grim corporate world of 2025. December 10, 2024, The Prime video, another streaming service owned by Amazon, released a new animated miniseries, the Secret level. It is described as an anthology of original stories that celebrate games and gamers. Turns out that one of the episodes “Warhammer 40,000, And They Shall Know No Fear” has a familiar set of hands working on its production, someone who now has shown that with passion one can reach great heights even in a world of corporate ownership and neglect towards fanbase.
Basic information
Title: Astartes
The Director: Syaman Pedersen
Available at: Warhammer TV
Link: https://warhammertv.com/details/25033?playlist_id=5
Photos: Promotional pictures of the Astartes (Syama Pedersen, Games Workshop), https://syaped.artstation.com/projects
I am a Media Research Bachelor student working my way into the academic world and the gaming journalism. While I've dabbled with various forms of gaming, the tabletop roleplaying games are my life and forte.
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