It’s a bold rumor prediction, but the latest word on the street is that “everyone will be playing Horus Heresy” within two years! So is HH dying or not?
The Horus Heresy solely focuses in on the time setting of when a few Primarchs joined the forces of Chaos and tried to overthrow the Imperium. With a severe lack of Xenos factions, there are a ton of Space Marine units that just aren’t found in games of 40k. The main turn-offs to new players thinking about jumping into the Horus Heresy is two-fold.
Like we said earlier, there is somewhat of a lack of diversity among factions. (Which isn’t entirely true because of all the different Legion rules), and the current rules-set that the game operates off of. It’s somewhat of a modified 7th Edition rules table and people don’t want to go back to it after they’ve tasted 8th edition.
Despite all this, it looks like the Horus Heresy may be about to take off!
The Future of Horus Heresy Rumors: Bright Future 2020 & Beyond
Warhammer Community gave us a look into the future of Horus Heresy in the coming year. As you know, Book Eight: Malevolence kicked off a ton of Blood Angels support along with new models. In 2020, there looks to be even more for the faction as well as a new book!
2020 is set to be an even better year for The Horus Heresy, and the game’s designers are already working hard to produce a year’s worth of incredible content! In fact, they’re so busy that they won’t be running a Horus Heresy Weekender in 2020 – they’re devoting the time that goes into organising and running such an event into creating more epic books and models instead.
More Blood Angels Units Ahead- Angel’s Tears Previewed
The Angel’s Tears are the Blood Angels’ equivalent of Destroyer squads from other Space Marines Legions. Equipped with jump packs and armed with weapons designed to annihilate their enemies, they are true Angels of Death. Whether they are armed with volkite serpenta or Angel’s Tears grenade launchers, their arrival heralds total destruction.
They previewed models for the new unit coming to the Blood Angels called The Angel’s Tears. If you remember, we’ve actually first seen their rules sheet in the Malevolence book with all the other Blood Angel hotness.
Bold Prediction: Everyone Will Be Playing Horus Heresy In 2 Years!
Following a He said, She said, style rumor, spotted on Bolter & Chainsword shortly after Forge World announced no 2020 weekender, there is renewed hope for the Horus Heresy Game:
TL;DR Rumors:
- Warhammer World is getting massive extensions added on to the offices (which could be a part of why there won’t be a Heresy Weekender in 2020).
- Specifically, more production flooring, as well as design studios, are being added. The end result will be more space for each specific studio (40k, Age of Sigmar, Specialist Games, and Horus Heresy- Age of Darkness).
- Staff will be expanding further in the Age of Darkness studio as well.
- There was an apparent conversation with the Forge World team and they are aware of what those in the community need/want. There will be a focus on a cheap introduction into the Horus Heresy as well as more plastic kits.
Actual Post rumor thread from B&C
Originally posted by Penddraig, then forwarded first by the Age of Darkness Podcast on their Facebook page and then by Berne (?) on B&C.
“I won’t list everything as Warhammer Community have a great write- up about the 40k releases and upcoming products. However, I did have a great chat with the Forge World team about future plans and current developments for Age of Darkness.
As usual I’ll break these down into smaller sections.”
Book 9
This is based around the Thramas Crusade – nothing new there.
Up-to-date news: Book 9 is going to the reprographics department this week and then onto the printers. This means a release is most likely in the second or third quarter after printing, shipping and world wide distribution.
The Sabre Tank Kit
They are both tiny, but mighty! Check out just how big er small the new Space Marine Sabre Tank is, and why it’s adorable just like Baby Yoda. Read More
This was designed by the same guy that designed the plastic titans. It is his first resin kit and was created during his lunchtimes as practice on how to sculpt resin. The FW team have been really pleased to see the community response to the unexpected release of the kit and it’s rules.
Book 10
Book 10 is currently deep into production. Due to size restraints, the Dark Mechanicum army list that was originally planned for Book 9 is now going to be in Book 10. Alongside this will be rules for additional allies for both the loyalists and traitors – this will be along the lines of the Agents of the Emperor / Warmaster concepts from a few years ago. No further details as yet.
Current Developments
The GW offices at Warhammer World are currently having a massive extension added. As well as new production facilities and warehouse space there is also more room for the various design studios. The plan is once this is constructed, each of the design studios (main GW, Specialist Games, Age of Darkness and Old World) will have more space for the various teams.
This also means that each team will be expanding considerably over the next two years. This will include new rules writers (2 more for Age of Darkness for example) and miniature designers. As part of the re-structuring, Andy Hoare (ex-Heresy rules writer and head of Specialist Games) is now manager of the Specialist Games Studio and the Age of Darkness studio. This role is extremely new so Andy has lots of ideas but nothing has been put into action yet. From personal experience, Andy is a great bloke who has a lot of experience within the hobby; a clear vision of where the company and the game systems can go and also communicates clearly about what is happening (within the usual limits of GW policy).
Future hopes and Plans
Tony Cottrell Showing off the Termite June 2018
After a long chat with the Forge World team it’s clear that the new re-structuring is still in early days and we aren’t likely to see much change as customers for the foreseeable future.
However, the team is aware of the main community concerns and hopes. The two key ones they mentioned are:
- A cheap introduction for new players into the 30k games set
- More plastic kits
Neither of these are confirmed as in production or development but the fact that the team are having conversations about these is positive. The team also discussed that by expanding the number of writers, it would be hoped that they could release more than one Heresy-related book a year. Once again, this is future developments so only Book 10 is in current development due to the current size of the team.
Tony Announcing the Revised Age of Darkness Rulebook in NOV 2017
One final point that we discussed in a jokey manner was the ‘Heresy is dead’ mindset. It was mentioned that currently Heresy is still producing very healthy sales figures alongside other Specialist Games and the successes of all the games is allowing the company to invest heavily into new facilities and staff. One member of the team stated that there are so many long-plans for the Heresy that they expect that within two years, “everyone will be playing Heresy”.
Wow, big news if true for Heresy fans the world over!
Looking ahead, there hasn’t been any specific timeline laid out. However, all of this is in the early stages of development and could be a few years until the ball really starts rolling. With all of this to sit on, what are your thoughts on GW expanding their studios? Will that mean good news for all of GW’s games in general? If they dropped a plastic Horus Heresy starter, what units would you like to see inside?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and sign up to get your free hobby updates newsletter (with discount coupon codes) each morning as well!
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.
