Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2's recent update introduced new features, balance adjustments, and several quality-of-life improvements to Saber Interactive's grimdark shooter. However, it's a minor alteration to the game's ending that has captured the attention of fans.
Spoilers for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2's ending follow. In the climactic moments of the campaign, Lieutenant Titus and his squad face off against the forces of Chaos in the Immaterium. During the final cutscene, Titus reaches out to destroy a Chaos artifact, nearly overpowered by the Warp's energy. As he struggles, a voice—previously attributed to Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar—urges Titus to "Rise, son of Gulliman." Titus then overcomes the Chaos energy and obliterates the artifact.
With the latest patch, that voice is no longer linked to Calgar. The patch notes simply state that the update "fixed an unidentified voice at the end of the story that was assigned to the wrong character." Without a new attribution, fans are now theorizing that the voice commanding Titus to "rise" might belong to the Emperor of Mankind, using his psychic abilities to communicate directly with Titus across the universe.
This would be a significant revelation, especially since the Emperor, who has been on the brink of death and confined to his Golden Throne for 10,000 years, plays a minimal direct role in the Warhammer 40K universe. Fans now speculate that the Emperor might be responsible for Titus's resistance to the Warp, not just in Space Marine 2, but also in the original Space Marine game.
Games Workshop, the franchise owner, is unlikely to confirm or deny this. Space Marine 2's creative director, Oliver Hollis-Leick, hinted on X that the line "could be from the Emperor, but it's meant to be open to interpretation." He added, "It could be in Titus's mind, could be Calgar, or it could be the Emperor (though GW might disagree on that). I know who I meant it to be when I wrote it, but I'll keep that to myself ;)."
Saber Interactive is currently taking a breather after the successful release of Space Marine 2, which has sold over 2 million copies. However, plans are already in motion for potential story DLC or even a Space Marine 3.
In GameSpot's review of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, Saber's sequel was praised as a "worthy successor to the original" that brings Games Workshop's universe to life "in all its grimdark splendor."
