As with all new releases, especially something as special as a new edition of Warhammer 40,000, there are loads of people involved and the Studio becomes a frantic hive of activity the closer we get to release. Out of this maelstrom of productivity we've picked two of this edition's most prominent writers. One is veteran Games Developer Alessio Cavatore, who is largely responsible for the new rules, and the other is Mat Ward, who oversaw the new background section.

"Quite simply, we were trying to create the best background section ever," begins Mat. "We have gone for a slightly different take this time over. Before we've tended to concentrate on events that have happened in the past to the exclusion of what is actually happening in the current 40K timeline. The Horus Heresy is the obvious example; we could have written pages and pages on it – and it is still mentioned – but we now have a whole range of novels that cover that ground. Instead, we've used the space to really get into the detail of the galaxy in its current state."

Mat has looked at our own history for comparative purposes. "With history the further you go back the less you know," says Mat. "When we're talking spans of ten thousand years then you really are dealing with legends, rather than historical data. If you look at our own time, legend and fact start to juxtapose as little as 800 years ago. Combine that with the Imperium, which deliberately limits what its citizen's know and you have a real knowledge vacuum. Of course, the reader is looking in from an omnipresent perspective, so it's a little different, but the point still remains. So we've focussed the new background section firmly in the current era, the time that you'll be playing your games in." There are events that have occurred in the last 250 years or are happening still that are just as important as things that happened ten thousand years ago – the arrival of the Tyranids and the awakening of the Necrons are just two such examples. This means that we can give new players a comprehensive grounding in the history of the Imperium and the galaxy, as well as providing loads of fresh material for existing and veteran gamers who love reading new stuff."

These recent events have been focused on more and more, to the extent that it became clear that humanity was entering a new age. The Age of Imperium was never a nice place, but there was still a collective belief by the Emperor's subjects that humanity would always endure. However, the galaxy is becoming an increasingly hostile place, a bleak fastness that (no doubt, heretical) historians are calling the Time of Ending, an age that began with the invasion of Tyran – the Imperium's first fateful encounter with the Tyranids.

"Because we've added so much to the 'current era'," continues Mat, "it has allowed us to do something that hasn't been possible in the past and that's actually develop timelines of the history of the 40K setting. So we've done three, each dealing with a different period of time: one dealing with the different Ages of Humanity, one further defining the Age of the Imperium, and an even more detailed section describing events from the past 250 years, a period we're calling the Time of Ending, as the galaxy stands on the cusp of oblivion. A lot of the events we describe here cross-reference with things mentioned in the Codexes, and that's something you'll see more and more, giving you an interweaving series of storylines that you can dip in and out of."

A great example of this can be seen in the Damnos Incident, mentioned in the Necron pages of the Background section. It details how the Necrons wake from their ancient slumber to harvest the local populace and repel any forces sent against them. "In Codex: Space Marines we'll look at the fall out of the Damnos Incident and how it involves the Ultramarines. And when we get back to Codex: Necrons the tale will continue in there as well, revealing the consequences of the previous chapters and the Necropn's grander schemes and plans for the sector."

As already mentioned in the previous paragraph, it's not just servants of the Imperium that dominate the background section; all of the other races get their time in the spotlight as well. "Whilst I planned the background section, all of the Games Development team contributed to it so you get a good spread of styles and material. We also took a cue from Apocalypse and so the way we present the information varies greatly from race to race," says Mat. When you open up the background section it's easy to see what Mat means. Each race has its own section, not only describing the history and background to the race, but also featuring double page spreads packed with intricate details and large diagrammatic pictures that you could easily spend an age poring over, such as a star chart depicting the progress of a Waaagh! across a system.

"We've tried to fill in the dots a bit," adds Mat, while thumbing through the races part of the background section in front of us. "We're aiming to give a fully formed impression of the Warhammer 40,000 galaxy as possible. So, we always mention the fact that Ahriman steals from the great libraries," says Mat as he turn to the Chaos background, "Well we have him doing just that in this great piece of fiction. Another example," continues Mat, this time turning to the Space Marine pages, "is something we've never done before and that's show the locations of the Space Marine home worlds and Chapter Fortresses on the map. This helps give you an idea of the geography of the galaxy. So, if you collect a certain Chapter you'll be able to tell if they clash with the Tau Empire regularly or are within fighting distance of the Grand Arsonist of Charadon."

The whole background section is in sumptuous colour as well. "It's not just the words that make this the best background section we've ever done. It's in full colour and the artists have surpassed themselves with some great pieces. My personal favourite has to be Paul Dainton's painting of the Port of Lost Souls , the gateway to Commorragh," concludes Mat.

Next: A New Way to Play