Warhammer+ plus potentially has a ton of value, but there have been more than a few issues, as the launch is already off to a rocky start.
Games Workshop has given us the details on content on day one, a short plan for the first set of additions. However just a few short weeks after launch GW is walking back the Warhammer+ content release schedule, and it’s all very confusing still.
Let’s go over the service again, what seems to be the issues, and the plan for the launch via Warhammer Community.
Warhammer+ Launch on August 25th
Right from the off, you’ll have access to brand new Warhammer animations and a stash of ancient lore in the form of out-of-print books and White Dwarf issues in the Warhammer Vault. There are also plenty of exclusive hobby shows on the way, including Citadel Colour Masterclass, Loremasters, Battle Report, and more.
The official platform for Warhammer Entertainment is launching with its own suite of benefits. If you are all about Warhammer, this new service seems like an incredible value.
Additionally, if you remain subscribed for a full month they will give you a gift voucher in October, but as you can see new animation releases didn’t even last a month before they had to go a week without a new release (more on that later)
At launch, these were the initial offerings:
Warhammer+ goes live on Wednesday the 25th of August, so save the date. The service launches with the following content:
- Episodes 1-3 of the Warhammer animated anthology, Hammer and Bolter
- Episode 1 of the Warhammer animation Angels of Death
- Access to the Warhammer Vault
- Premium access to the Warhammer 40,000: The App
- Two episodes of Battle Report
- Two episodes of Citadel Masterclass
All-in-all this is a total of 8 episodes of content, plus the vault and Warhammer 40k app. Which is fantastic value for the price of a McDonald’s Happy Meal, but…
Every Wednesday will see new content added. The Loremaster series will also be joining the service from Wednesday the 1st of September, followed by Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App later that month.
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Now they do their best to spin this in a positive light, however, the AoS App that was already supposed to be out, and one of their flagship segments will be nowhere to be found.
How the App is Actually Working
Unfortunately, on launch day the site (not the app) was not working well and you pretty much have to do everything through the app, which is a little buggy. 
So let’s start with what worked, picking your mini. When you log in you can pick which one you want, but then the issues already start.
When we tried to use the website, not much went our way. There seem to be many Nurglings in the system mucking things up.
Then even though we were signed in, there were some videos denied by GW from the site as well. So looks like the app is the only place to use anything as of right now. So again, a few bugs are still to be found as we had hoped the 40k app taught them a lesson to not release these apps until they are actually ready.
The Warhammer app however works great so far to access the content.
Bugs Worked Out
Aside from some hiccups, and janky UI issues on launch day, the Warhammer TV site works relatively well. As of day two, the login issues seem to be taken care of (mileage may vary).
The one glaring issue still on the site is the video player itself. This overlay UI is for toggling to the next episode, but it sometimes fades out as intended, and sometimes stays there no matter what. This UI also doesn’t have a fullscreen button.
To even access the video player controls, you have to right-click to open the windows dropdown and select <show controls>. Even after that, the controls are under the overlay UI!
So the only way to get fullscreen and get rid of the overlay is to use a windows dropdown menu, then do a process of clicking off of it, then double-clicking the video player to shorthand open full screen.
Out With the Old App:
As of the 18th of August, the old AoS Army Build Azyr App was officially discontinued, and now the replacement isn’t even ready. GW does have a good list builder online, but there is currently no official way to build a list AND have the rules together like with the Azyr.
The online list-builder is just to help get you the raw points total (which is very helpful). Everyone seemed to like Azyr, so hopefully, the AoS app is more or less a copy/paste with a new UI and Warhammer+ integration.
We’re Not Mad, Just Disappointed…
This isn’t about bashing GW, in fact, they are doing great with the offerings and the value. This is about keeping them accountable, the app was clearly assumed to be bundled at launch (along with the lore series), and the new AoS app was also already supposed to be out by now. But it isn’t…
Furthermore, while GW did good by hobbyists and added a voucher to make up for these shortcomings there still seems to be a string attached:
** Some terms and conditions apply. Vouchers will be issued at the start of October if you remain subscribed for a full month.
Does this mean you can’t cancel your rebill? What if you sub on August 25th, do you have to have a sub last through September and functionally sub for two months? Just a few questions that seem relevant now in light of this generous offer.
Show Me The Carfax
Every Wednesday will see new content added. The Loremaster series will also be joining the service from Wednesday the 1st of September, followed by Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App later that month.
Anyways, after a big promise out of the gate for a continued content every week, lore, and the AoS app, now they seem to be slowly toning down that promise.
It’s not anything crazy but after not having all the features ready on day one, more small changes and broken promises may make a big difference to subscribers already on the fence.
Is it Time to Cancel Warhammer Plus?
Let’s start with something that really, really put a bad taste in our mouths. This is the picture of their Sunday teaser release. It shows nothing about any animation, doesn’t talk about a mid-season break, or has any content included about any animation.
A mere 16 hours after our most recent editorial about the lack of animations, GW has changed the lineup (see new image below) and now have informed readers about a “mid-season break”.
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So, from the exact same post we grabbed this picture from Sunday, they actually went back and changed the content and original post without notifying readers that an edit was made- a big no-no in the publishing world.
Why? Because it’s basically lying to your audience.
As you can see they went backed and changed the picture in the original post with this, the Deep Strike podcast about Angels of Death- which is a podcast about the show.
They didn’t even change the text to address the addition of the show in the graphic or even the post. Then, they finally mentioned Angels of Death will not be returning until November, so after four episodes, it’s taking an entire month’s break.
Which is fine, if you know, they had told us at the launch how this was going to work, and not shoehorn it in when they ran out of content, and then edit their posts to match…
Next, breaking down the other content a little. First, there is value in all three of the above shows for sure. The main issue though, is there is so much amazing content already out there for the exact same stuff.
It’s not only that the content is out there, it’s also that a lot of us have spent years supporting and watching the same type of content. So it’s just really hard to say paying for an app is worthwhile when there is so much already out there that is so established, and more importantly, they don’t over-promise and underdeliver as GW tends to do with all of its platform offerings as of late…
The Silent FAQ Change
This is the big change right here from the Warhammer+ FAQ that we noticed just before they throttled back on their animation offerings. They originally said content would be added every week, now it says it will be most Wednesdays.
We might be looking into this too much. But it gives them some leeway when it actually comes to adding content, and maybe their writers we a little confused about if the animation or the rest of the offerings were the actual content as well?
Yes, they did offer content for sure every week so far, but no it’s not the animations that they have been so hot and heavy on from day one that we showed you already.
So is Warhammer Plus Worth it?
A perfect, or even just solid release of Warhammer+ could have been a home run and re-balanced the scales. It just, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to be working out that way. It is still however a great deal and undoubtedly a fantastic value, provided it will be updated and maintained accordingly with no more disappointing rollouts and veiled bonuses.
So at the end of the day, it’s once again up to you to vote with your hobby dollars when it comes to the new Warhammer+ offering.
Are you excited about Warhammer plus? Is there anything, in particular, you’re looking forward to?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
