New gameplay footage from Total War: Warhammer 40,000 and Dawn of War 4 has revived a longstanding dispute among Warhammer 40,000 fans over the colour of Imperial Guard lasgun fire. Some players want the familiar red beams used in older games, while others argue that the newer yellow or white-yellow bolts better match official lore; the debate matters because it highlights tensions between established game imagery and Games Workshop’s current canon.

Games Workshop stated in a December blog post that lasguns traditionally fire pale white-yellow bolts, with colour varying according to conditions and weapon patterns. A Battlesector developer said the company is now enforcing this depiction across licensed media following the 10th Edition Codex, meaning the video-game convention of red “lasers” is being phased out and developers cannot offer alternative colours.