Dawn of 40k
Before the creation of Warhammer 40,000 and its predecessor, Warhammer, Games Workshop was originally the European Distributor for the Tabletop Role Playing Game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) in the 1970s. This all changed beginning in the 1980s when its time as the exclusive European distributor of Dungeons and Dragons ended. Following a change in leadership, Games Workshop would go on to publish its tabletop battle games Warhammer in 1983 and Warhammer 40,000 in 1987, becoming some of the biggest and most lucrative properties in the gaming industry. While several artists, authors, and designers have contributed over the years, for most of its life, the development of both Warhammer games has been led by one man, Rick Priestley.
Image from miniaturewargamingthemovie.com
Growing up in the '60s and '70s, the cultural influences of his childhood left an impression on him. “Space was big in the '60s,” he said. People had a much simpler faith in the idea of spacecraft and hard science in those days, and we also all read lots of science fiction. Even if I look at my bookshelf today, it’s all Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke. All of these things really sunk in."
Warhammer 40,000 began as a motley of science fiction and fantasy tropes referencing other series. For instance, looking back at Warhammer 40,000's start in the late ’80s, one can find elements from Frank Herbert’s Dune, with a God-Emperor, a hatred of AI, and the spacefaring Navigators. In addition, you’ll see more callbacks from other media sources.
Its earliest official work, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, begins with a preamble, a kind of Star Wars-style opening crawl that lays out the most basic facts that the reader needs to know.