The universal hot topic for GW is back- today we’re going over how to keep the problems that plagued the 40k APP from happening again.
There is no way to say this nicely, but I think by now most people know the 40k App has been a dumpster fire of disappointment from day one. Recently with the price DECREASE on it– something we have never seen from Games Workshop (think about it), it’s clear it has underperformed on their end as well.
That’s not to say that if it’s useful to YOU, to not get it. By all means, always vote with your hobby dollars when something has value to you.
Fast-foward to now- we wanted to take a look at how GW could keep things like this from happening again and provide more value for the end-user, instead of their seemingly incessant focus on current quarter profits above all else.
How To Keep GW App Problems From Happening Again…
This, to us at least, seems very simple. GW has an army of people who would love to test their products in Beta and get rid of so many issues that have been plaguing them. They already do it with rules, why not just take the next obvious step and let people test all of their digital products?
There’s a reason things go into testing with a smaller audience and not to the general public. It seems like (whether consciously or just arrogantly) they just kinda skipped that part and just let it run wild and relied on us to find the issues.
The problem then becomes they can’t deliver on what they promise and even though the issues are slowly being worked out, they’ve lost trust with their customers.
Why Can’t GW get Beta-Testers for Their Digital Products?
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The most obvious candidate for this would have been the 40k app. Just think of all the issues upon release, and still happening… Most would have been eliminated with more testing. People would have been so much more willing to get it and keep it. Whereas now, most of the trust is just gone. It’s so much harder to pull people back in after you’ve had issues. The beta-testers could have just used it on their break at work or sitting at home and found pretty much all the issues the community has found.
Finding Testers Would be Easy!
There are scores of people who volunteer to test the rules. Why would it be any different with their digital products? This is almost the most confusing part of the whole thing. It’s not like they would have to beg people to test their stuff right?
Also, almost every app, even small ones, put their products through serious beta-testing to ensure a clean release. If they want people to pay for something in the future, we feel like they really need to put their apps through much more rigorous testing.
Do you think a testing program would actually help? Why do you think they haven’t done this yet?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
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.
