WH 40K Dawn of War rises again

was probably the most successful transfer from tabletop to desktop since Wes Cherry thought about making a Windows version of Solitaire for PC, although it was probably about .

After numerous clumsy conversions of Games Workshop's world of Warhammer, Relic's realtime strategy game converted more gamers to the delights of Space Marines than a holy water cannon.

So the announcement of an expansion pack, called Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War - Winter Assault, is as inevitable as the backfiring of an Ork Squig catapult.

At the moment, the details on Winter Assault are as sketchy as an Eldar after a hallucinogen grenade attack. But publishers THQ have confirmed that the Imperial Guard will be turning up, this time, for the fight against the forces of Chaos.

The only other hint about the pack's content came from Ron Moravek, the general manager of Relic Entertainment, who said, "We look forward to building on the Dawn of War franchise with even more visceral combat action throughout both the single and multiplayer experiences."

Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War - Winter Assault will be released for PC in autumn