Total War: Warhammer 2 Lizardmen screenshot of a dinosaur riding lizard

The upcoming Total War: Warhammer 2 is the second game in a trilogy that is supposed to span the entire Warhammer Fantasy world. From what we know so far the action will take place in the "New World" and will involve the High Elves, Dark Elves, Lizardmen, and Skaven (though they haven't been announced just yet) all fighting over the Great Vortex.

Given that the Lizardmen faction consists of a bunch of dinosaurs riding other, bigger dinosaurs it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that Creative Assembly has decided to showcase them first. So if you're interested in seeing what the Lizardmen (and some High Elf) units will look like in-engine, here's the recently posted trailer:

If you're like me and you're currently wondering what Creative Assembly even means with "in-engine", wonder no more as there is a refreshingly thorough answer! You can find a detailed description over at the official wiki, but here's the short version:

"When we render the final video out, we add some post-processing cinematic effects such as enhanced depth of field and motion blur. Not features you’ll see in the game, but in these cinematic trailers we’re trying to create atmosphere and tell a story. These techniques help us do that.

So in a nutshell, that’s what an in-engine trailer is for us. We use the game engine itself as the set, along with all the props and actors it provides. We add some custom animations and some cinematic effects to make it a better watch."

In other words, the Lizardmen are not going to be as well animated in-game given how much performance would suffer, but they will look pretty damn close to what you're seeing here if you set everything to ultra. And finally, here's a few Lizardmen images released alongside the video:

Total War: Warhammer Terra Fallen Gate screenshot

Total War: Warhammer 2 Lizardmen screenshot of a waterfall and flying units

Total War: Warhammer 2 Mazda leader screenshot