There’s new rumors out there foreshadowing the death of Codex books for 40k. But these rumors are a lot older than you think, check it out!
BoLS is reporting that a source told them that there are only 3 codex books remaining:
- There are only THREE “codexes” remaining.
- Codexes will leave the stockist list for retailers in Q1 2017
Now if you back up that rumor with a previous one by Hastings (whom could be the source BoLS is referring too) in a semi-rant after Age of Sigmar first dropped you can see that the death of 40k Codex books may have been in motion for several years already.
This scenario IF TRUE is eerily familiar to the fate that Fantasy’s army books suffered when Age of Sigmar replaced that core line, as many sources confirmed post AoS that they had been told as early as 2012 that the rules were going to get a reboot.
Here’s what Hastings had to say back in 2015 just as the initial rejection of Age of Sigmar was starting to develop:
Regarding Horus Heresy Plastic Boxed Set:
It’s not REALLY a starter set, it’s a standalone game, from which the models will be available from at a later date. The execution force assassin models weren’t snap fit either.Regarding Horus Heresy & 40K rules in the future:
…I’ll share what I have heard, but this dates back a while as I pay very little interest to GW now.
I heard that 30k HH would be a boxed standalone game (like execution force was) and that the plastics contained within it would go on to form part of a larger 30k range and would be released some time later as individual box sets/clampacks, I was told that rules would be in those boxes, but that some boxes would contain rules for 30k AND 40k (and these boxes have BOTH logos on – yes there is a new 30k logo) so I assume it will be using a different ruleset to 40k (as there would be no point having rules for both systems in boxes if they were both the same). I was also told the plastic assassins would get clampack releases later and be released as part of the main 40k range….. as the box set is pretty much still quite widely available I don’t expect this to be soon, although I never had a timeframe in the first case.
As for your AoS style rule reboot question – I remember being told to expect 40k codexes (codices?) to be a thing of the past within 2 years, and that the rules would be in the box for each model/unit, but there would still be a core ruleset which the in box rules would obviously add to. I’ve not bought any AoS releases (nor do I intend to) so I don’t know if they have rules in the boxes (seems daft as when rules got FAQ’d (lol) or changed they’d need to repack ALL the boxes – seems even dafter that anything would actually bother with rules for AoS!!) or just online? I am going to leap to the conclusion that 40k probably WILL become more simplified like AoS, mainly because GW no longer see themselves as rules/games writers but just model sellers. How much more simplified I wouldn’t hazard a guess at. Whatever they decide to do you can bet it’s in the pipeline already, because myself and Harry were privately discussing the changes to WFB almost 3 years ago – I was told it was being canned and whilst we thought that was not the case and that AoS would be a continuation or refresh of it WFB HAS actually been canned and REPLACED by AoS, so these things are planned well ahead.
FW make huge sales from HH, there was no way that GW weren’t going to want in on the action! I expect FW to still produce the big kits/characters/customising kits but GW will provide the bulk of the models needed to play 30k. We can only hope that GW let FW handle the 30k rules/books and they just make the models for it. But keep in mind I was told that when the 30k RANGE hits the stores (not the standalone box game but the actual range) it will take over the store space that used to be taken up by LotR/Hobbit, so GW may want to keep tight hold of the reigns even though they are no longer committed to producing games?
…Having thought about this I think the unit/model rules for 30k & 40k will be online/WD rather than actually inside the box kits (I may have misinterpreted what my source said).
Also I should point out that as I understand it 40k and 30k will be very different games/rulesets, so it may be that 40k becomes like AoS and 30k is handled by FW (although this is just wishful thinking on the behalf of hobbyists the world over!).
Of course I may be completely wrong…… because that happens a lot
So what we have here is a quote from 2015 that has proven, sans the 40k codex part, to have become 100% true in the year and a half that has elapsed.
Which begs the question, is there really only 3 codex books left for Warhammer 40k? We know from the past it’s doubtful Games Workshop would tell us that they would be discontinuing a staple product, but we do know that generally they have some sort of plan in motion to replace and or enhance the game system.
What reasoning could they have to do away with codex books? Well if all the rules we indeed printed on the manual that came with a model kit, and you put out a 40k version of the Age of Sigmar APP that may just be a good business move on their part.
An app could handle all purchases of the rules, requiring less work and overhead on GW’s end, plus they would be instantaneously update-able should changes need to be made.
Question is, will fans accept this change? Judging by the reaction to the roll out of Age of Sigmar, Games Workshop would be wise to have a ironclad promotional blitz lined up for this one aimed at the hearts and minds of 40k hobbyists worldwide.
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About the Author: Rob Baer
