Backlash hits Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 over voice pack DLC’s missing (and changing) lines

Well into WH40K: Space Marine 2‘s second year of post-launch content (both free and paid), publisher Focus Entertainment and developer Saber Interactive might’ve run into the game’s first major hurdle: its voice pack DLC isn’t going down well with veteran players.

The surprise paid DLC (which is selling for $5) was announced a while back following the game’s enduring success as a way to add even more customisation options to a shooter that’s already well-equipped with all sorts of cosmetics for both the Space Marine classes and their weaponry. “Receive 450 re-recorded voicelines and a unique Space Marine Head cosmetic for each of the following Space Marine Chapters: Blood Angels, Space Wolves and Black Templars,” the Chapter Voice Pack 1’s description reads, potentially teasing the arrival of another pack at a later date.

It all seemed innocuous; a little extra for the Emperor’s most faithful servants. However, via IGN, we’ve learned the DLC is a bit of a mess, at least right now. Looking at the pack’s Steam page ourselves, we find the reviews sitting at Very Negative, which is a rare sight when it comes to one of the most glowing triple-A hits in recent memory.

“These paid voices don’t have as much voiced lines as the original classes, they lack banters and interact lines. Equipping these voices basically locks you into an inferior experience compared to original voices,” one review explains before listing issues like missing helmet filters and the new heads lacking animations to boot. “Nothing more than a cash grab,” another user added. Other egregious problems include missing banter during missions that were chattier before, and level interactions that don’t trigger any voice lines.

The hits keep coming if you scroll down the list of angry reviews: “Underbaked and frankly a scam,” a player said while also suggesting it should’ve been part of the second Year Pass to offset part of the disappointment. Following all the backlash, chances are Saber will upgrade the DLC sooner rather than later, but if most of these issues aren’t bugs and the DLC is just missing a ton of what was promised, a fixed-up version might take a while to arrive.

At the time of writing, Focus and Saber haven’t officially commented on the game’s first major misstep with its loyal community. Meanwhile, work on WH40K: Space Marine 3 is quietly advancing in the shadows.