While it’s not super obvious at first, Games Workshop looks to have a very noticeable three-year sales plan, and it’s wild!
For going on a decade now, Games Workshop has kept a very regular 3-year sales plan, or cycle, with rotating releases for three of their biggest lines. Think of a summer movie-style blockbuster release each and every year, right when times are slowest for retail sales in general.
We’ll take a look at each of these cycles and use this to see what’s most likely up next in 2023 and beyond…
We Hacked the Games Workshop Three-Year Sales Plan
So, what is three-year sales plan or cycle from Games Workshop? Well, every year in the cycle will have a big new release for either Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40k, or Citadel hobby supplies (like paint).
This year, we had the new Shades and Contrast release, last year, we had Dominion, and the year before that, 9th edition Warhammer 40k.
Are you starting to see the pattern?
Let’s look at the past cycles for each, then check out what this means for the future.
Citadel Hobby:
- 2016 Paint line expanded (free guide pdf published)
- 2019 Contrast and 360 paint rack rolled out to stores
- 2022 Paint line expanded again: contrast and shades
Warhammer 40k:
- 7th edition 2014
- 8th edition 2017
- 9th edition 2020
Age of Sigmar:
- 1st edition 2015
- 2nd edition 2018
- 3rd edition 2021 (Dominion)
What’s Next?
If Games Workshop continues to follow this very clean three-year sales cycle (and they seem to be on track), it means the 10th edition 40k is hitting shelves next year in 2023.
In fact, the next three years of big releases from Games Workshop may mirror the last three based on this pattern:
- 2023: Warhammer 40k 10th
- 2024: Age of Sigmar 4th Edition
- 2025: Citadel Hobby
Hopefully, this brings out a big starter set as we saw with 9th edition 40k as it was actually some of the best value we’ve ever seen. Then, if you play AoS, it looks like 2024 will bring about another edition. This is more of a heads-up about what you can expect with the big games. While some people seem to think it won’t be that soon for the 10th, we don’t expect GW to stop on this schedule as they have been on it since 2014.
We didn’t cover it, but GW also seems to roll out specialist games paired with either AoS or Citadel Hobby releases some years in the summers, as they did with Titanicus in 2018 (AoS 2.0) and this year with Horus Heresy (new paints).
Furthermore, GW also likes to drop new specialist expansions on Black Friday weekend like they have done with Necromunda and Blood Bowl as well.
However, they always seem to keep the summer hot with one of their big three money makers, 40k, AoS, or Citadel Hobby.
While this release keeps the hobby moving, especially during the slow sales times, it would be nice to have more value for retailers and consumers alike. Especially when you consider the paint side of things.
Look at this year’s release of new Shades and Contrasts; they forced stores to buy a new racks worth of paints when things are the slowest for retailers. Most of the new colors don’t really seem to have a use overall, and while the new Shades formulas are cool, reducing the pot size and keeping the same prices just didn’t seem to go over well with anyone…
So there you have it, what looks to be the Games Workshop Three-Year Sales Plan dating back to 2014.
What do you think of the latest summer blockbuster releases from Games Workshop’s Three-Year Sales Plan?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
Bio: Virginia restless, miniature painter & cat dad. He blames LEGOs for all this, as there was something about those little-colored blocks that started it all. Spikey Bits sprung from Rob staying motivated to hobby on his backlog of projects, while sharing his knowledge with others during the early blogging era.
LEGO maniac and scale model hobbyist in the 80s turned miniature wargamer and trading card player ever since. He’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition), but 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 minatures made of pewter and resin.
