Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Boom is out now on iOS and Android. Nitro Games' mobile take on Auroch Digital's boomer shooter went live on the App Store and Google Play on September 23 in all major markets. It arrived almost four weeks after the August 26 date its App Store listing showed over the summer, and it is not sold the way that listing suggested either. Instead of an upfront price, it is a free download with a paid unlock.
Three levels free, then you pay once
The store page leads with the new model: try before you buy. The first three levels are free, and the rest of the campaign unlocks with a one-time in-app purchase. According to the US App Store listing, the Full Game unlock costs $9.99.
Two other purchases sit next to it. Chapter 4 - Forges of Corruption costs $4.99, and a Crusade Edition costs $12.99. The listing does not spell out what the Crusade Edition contains. Its price does sit just under the $14.98 that the full game and Chapter 4 would cost bought separately, so it is presumably the everything bundle, but check the in-game store before you buy.
Structurally, this is still a premium game. The listing keeps its promise of no ads and no energy mechanics, so nothing gates how long or how often you can play once the campaign is unlocked. What changed is the storefront. Rather than asking for money sight unseen, which is a hard sell on mobile, Nitro Games lets the opening stretch act as a demo. For a shooter whose appeal depends on how well fast strafing survives the move to a touchscreen, letting people check the controls before they pay is a sensible call.
What is in the campaign
Boltgun Boom adapts the Boltgun series, which Auroch Digital built for PC and consoles. Games Workshop licenses it, and it runs on Unreal Engine. Nitro Games describes the release as a new adaptation that pulls different chapters from the series together, not a straight port of one campaign. The separately sold Chapter 4 carries the name of Forges of Corruption, the Boltgun expansion that added a fourth chapter to the original game, which suggests how the content is split.
The official feature list promises a large single-player campaign across multiple worlds, iconic Warhammer 40,000 weapons and enemies, hidden paths, fast movement and mobile-optimised controls. Enemies range from cultists and traitor Space Marines to daemons and what the listing calls towering war machines. The screenshots confirm the look carried over: chunky pixel-art sprites over detailed 3D architecture, and a Space Marine helmet portrait sitting above a health and armour bar at the bottom of the screen.
The specs
On iOS, Boltgun Boom needs iOS 16.0 or later and weighs about 2.6GB. It carries a 17+ age rating, which the gore in every official screenshot more than explains. It is also listed on Google Play under Nitro Games' own developer account.
This is a first for Nitro Games, a Finnish studio known mostly for free-to-play mobile shooters. In the launch announcement, CEO and co-founder Jussi Tähtinen said the studio had been encouraged by the response during pre-registration and was looking forward to getting the game into players' hands.
Why it matters
Licensed Warhammer games on phones have mostly been gacha, squad builders and energy timers. Boltgun Boom is the rare exception: a single-player campaign with nothing between you and the next level except, eventually, one $9.99 purchase. The free opening levels take away most of the risk. If the touch controls feel wrong, you have lost nothing. If they work, the full campaign costs about what a paperback does.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Boom is available now on the App Store and Google Play. The first three levels are free, and the full game costs $9.99.
