With the Warhammer 40k app struggling, trouble is brewing again for Battlescribe as it may be abandoned.
Sorry hobbyists, Battlescribe has been removed from the iOS app store and has officially been abandoned.
We talked about how the Battlescribe developers had basically abandoned the project, but now it’s been so long since the last update Apple has deemed it abandonware, which means it is being removed.
If you already have the app, do not delete it! As the repositories are still there and updated, but if you delete the app, you won’t be able to get it again!
This is sad news, as it’s basically used by all Warhammer 40k players. Let’s take a look at the new announcement, as well as how Battlescribe was abandoned by its developer.
Battlescribe Abandoned & Removed From the iOS App Store
This statement comes from Reddit by way of the Battlescribe Discord:
The time has come, if you have an iOS/iPadOS device, whatever you do DO NOT delete the BS app from your device; it has officially been removed from the App Store.
If you have the app all will work as normal, the backend data repositories are still there and updated.
However, the App itself has gone too long without an update from its creator to be included in the Apple store.
As we said, this is pretty sad news, but if you have the app, please do not delete it! Let’s just hope a new update to your phone doesn’t somehow make it incompatible…
Let’s see what brought it to this point.
BattleScribe Abandoned by its Developer
Before you get too worried (well other than the fact you can’t download it anymore which is obviously big), the community of people doing the data for games like Warhammer 40k, etc are still around. But… the developer who is actually working on the app seems to have been AFK for a long time, more than a year at this point.
So What Does That Distinction Mean?
Well, the app isn’t and hasn’t been updated in quite some time, but the data has been. This means as phones continue to update, there’s a chance that the Battlescribe app just stops working altogether on your platform (or gets taken off altogether).
According to the mods of r/battlescribe, no one has even heard from the developer in over a year.
There has already been a Reddit thread where they say the app is not working on Mac OS already (this was before it was even taken down, so let’s hope it will work at least for a little while longer). While the data is still being updated, the app itself is falling off.
This really sucks because so many things use BattleScribe, such as Best Coast for tournaments, etc. Currently, the only other real option is using the GW app. While we’ve talked about that app for some time, if BS goes down, it’s basically pen and paper other than the 40k app.
The good news? Not all hope is lost, as hobbyists and coders alike are banding together to make something new…
A New Hope For Army Building
A group of developers is banding together to make a new app that can read BS data. If a whole group of people develops the app, we can hopefully avoid something like this in the future.
If you are a developer and want in on the project, you can check out Discord here. We’re not sure they need new people, but maybe it can’t hurt. Let’s just hope they have the app working before too long. Because, at this point, no one even knows how long the current BattleScribe app will last.
So, as we always say, always vote with your hobby dollars. If you’re paying for the app, be careful, as it may no longer be updated, and you could be paying for vaporware…
Battlescribe, Copyrights & Abandonment (Updated)
Here’s the latest on the copyright incident from the fall of 2020:
Editors Note: It looks like Battlescribe Data updated their files (poorly) with a fake DMCA takedown title, which at face-value, as posted to their socials, looked legitimate. To be fair their updates seem to be automated via DLVR so they may have not meant for it to go out to their socials or appear as Warhammer 40,000: DMCA Letter Received in the title.
At the time, as indicated in this article, the 9th Edition files were also missing from their database which led to this report.
9th Edition 40k data files are back for download here. The original article is below.
Battlescribe made an announcement on their Facebook that GW has officially gone after them for their 9th Edition 40k rules. After years of providing a fast, up-to-date army builder for just about anything 40k, GW has put it to an end.
Battlescribe was literally the glue holding Warhammer 9th Edition together (and here’s why).
GW Smacks Battlescribe With Copyright Notice
Here’s a pic of the official word as posted on the Battlescribe Data Facebook and Twitter account that announced that GW has gone after them, forcing them to take down their 40k 9th Edition content.
The general census of the comments is “Thanks Battlescribe; you were great”.
If you go to Manage Data in your app and look through the data files, you’ll see that there are still some Warhammer 40k stuff there. However, 9th Edition (which is the big one) is gone. It seems like GW didn’t mind Battlescribe keeping rules for older Editions or even AoS. But they didn’t want any competition for their 40k app, which in our opinion is dead on arrival- here’s why.
So Where Do We Go From Here?
From a business standpoint, we see how GW has the full right to do this, but that doesn’t mean that it’ll blow over well with the community. For many hobbyists, Battlescribe has been deeply entwined with their hobby for years and this latest move from GW could leave a bad taste in their mouth.
Worst still is that the 40k App which was supposed to have all the same functionality is D.O.A. still and hobbyists confidence in the companies ability to even maintain said app IF they even get it actually up to spec, seem to be very low.
Sure, there are some features that work right now, like searching for datasheets and rules, but there is still no army builder right? At the end of the day, the hobby just became even more expensive with players having to pay about $5 a month just to access the army builder (whenever that part actually is released).
Just to show how much more expensive it’s about to get, $5/month for a whole year is $60, which is equivalent to just about any mainline Troop kit for any faction.
As we stay in limbo, any future games until the 40k app gets updated are going to have to be math’d out by hand it seems. Unless you may know of another source that has all of the updated 9th Edition points… But as we’ve seen GW attack Battlescribe, other 9th Edition sources are surely going to keep their heads down.
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What do you think about all of this? Did GW just put a bad taste in everyone’s mouth by pulling this move? Does this prove that GW cares more about profit than hobby community health?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures. Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including the Adepticon Team Tournament and American Team Tournaments, and is on a first-name basis with almost every major company in the space.
He’s all gaming all the time. With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. He advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1908s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
