Games Workshop seems to have taken a very passive-aggressive stance with their overall business strategy and the Warhammer hobby in general.
Bored with the Warhammer hobby? Well, it seems like you may not be alone.
When 9th first came out (and at the end of 8th), GW was going crazy with releases, all kinds of new rules, and obviously a new edition. However, for most of 2022, it seems like GW has been a little bit more passive with thier releases and more aggressive against specific IP violators (mostly on the 3d modeling and printing side). However, they also took down a major recaster in China as well.
It feels like they don’t mind how things are going and either doesn’t want to push out a ton of mainline releases (like Warhammer 40k), or they don’t have the capacity currently to do so, perhaps…
Obviously, they have been hitting the cease and desist letters pretty hard lately, but that’s been happening for a long time now…
Games Workshop Playing a Very Passive-Aggressive Strategy
If you look back at the end of Warhammer 40k 8th into 9th, they were releasing new Space Marine codexes almost every month, pumping out the factions without new books, and just coming out with all kinds of stuff. We saw insane growth for GW during this time as, obviously, people were more at home during the height of COVID, so the customer base was growing fast.
Still, they were pumping out new releases left and right, and then the supply issues started happening, and it made sense that Games Workshop had to slow down.
However, since then, they have basically stayed on this slow ride through the armies in the major product lines of both Warhammer 40k and Age of Sigmar.
Just look at Warhammer 40k, where instead of the promised two codex books a month, we were really seeing two new codexes every other month or so. Most times, there was also just one new mini or “other” new release for the faction along with the book.
Now, with the release of Leagues of Votann, they seem to be using the new factions’ releases (perhaps along with the Horus Heresy reboot) to hold over the entire Warhammer 40k fanbase until winter.
Let’s face it, while the Votann are entirely new, they aren’t going to hype everyone up.
We did have the release of Warhammer+ in 2021 and the new 40k app in 2020, so maybe that’s where they really put their efforts into generating revenue, but we all know how that has turned out…
Anyway, if any of the rumors about 10th edition 40k are true, GW may have to really start ramping up the releases, or maybe everything is just getting saved up for a crazy blitz when the new edition invariably hits.
Either way, you look at it, GW has been just cruising along lately, and maybe this is the new norm of what to expect for releases, or perhaps they are just really ramping up for something big.
But when with then be now?
Check out our full series on the Games Workshop Product Strategy and how they may be changing right now.
- Games Workshop Is Changing, Here’s Why
- The New Games Workshop Sales Strategy
- How Games Workshop Could Change
GW’s Current Woes With Pricing and Rules Development:
- GW is Not in Charge of Warhammer Anymore
- $200 Kits From Games Workshop Canceled the Last CEO
- Games Workshop Takes a Very Passive-Aggressive Stance
- Proof Playtesting Warhammer is a Myth
What do you think about the current release cycle, and this new “passive-aggressive posturing by Games Workshop?
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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 also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), 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 1980s, 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.
