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Tick green This page is an official policy on the 40k Wiki. It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that all users should follow. When editing this page, please ensure that your revision reflects consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.

Canon is a term used to describe information that is considered official in a fictional universe.

In the case of Warhammer 40,000 the term canon is used very loosely due to the various interpretations by authors and artists.

Fans and creators are generally agreed that there is no single agreed canon. The vision of the universe is seen differently by different people.

“With Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, the notion of canon is a fallacy. [...] Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 exist as tens of thousands of overlapping realities in the imaginations of games developers, writers, readers and gamers. None of those interpretations is wrong.”
Gav Thorpe
“It all stems from the assumption that there's a binding contract between author and reader to adhere to some nonexistent subjective construct or 'true' representation of the setting. There is no such contract, and no such objective truth.”
Andy Hoare
“There is no canon. There's a variety of sources, many of which conflict, but every single one is a lens through which we can see the 40K setting.”
Aaron Dembski-Bowden

As a Wiki it is our responsibiliity to record all information on the subject allowing readers to come to their own conclusions. This list shows which sources are generally considered official.

  • Rulebooks
    • Codices
  • White Dwarf Magazines
  • Games Workshop website
    • Games Workshop PDFs
  • Black Library novels
  • Background/source books
  • Games Workshop licenced work
    • Comics and Graphic Novels
    • Collectable Card games
    • Black Industries rulebooks
    • Fantasy Flight Games rulebooks
    • Video games
  • Forge World Rulebooks
  • Forge World website
    • Forge World PDFs

Contradictions

Due to the vastness of this fantasy setting contradictions are bound to appear. You should record all information inclusing contradictions. Highlight the differences and let readers interpret it how they like

If needed, create a dedicated "Canon conflicts" section in which you outline how different material portrayed the information differently. The 40k universe is open to

Fan-fiction and speculation

This wiki is not the place to post fan fiction, speculation, rumors or interpretations.

Writing fan ficiton is great fun and we encourage you to do it on the Warhammer 40k fanon Wiki.

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