As we’re a little over halfway into 2020, Steamforged Games announced that Guild Ball is coming to an end. Check out all of the highlights.
Unfortunately, Guild Ball won’t be surviving beyond 2020. While its popularity has grown for almost a decade, it looks like Steamforged Games is calling it quits. Here are the details on the game and where you can still grab minis if you’re a fan of the sculpts.
The End of Guild Ball in 2020: Details & Final Sales Announced
On March 22, 2014, Guild Ball was successfully funded on Kickstarter. 890 backers pledged £93,691 to bring this game to life. We pioneered. When others locked their rules behind a paywall, we made the Guild Ball rules, and even paper dolls, available to download for free. And we did the same with rules for every following release…
Over the following six years, Guild Ball continued to captivate players with its playbook system and resource management. It’s a game where skill truly outshines luck. But as much as we’ve loved developing, living, and breathing Guild Ball across four seasons, 17 Guilds, and 250+ miniatures, the time has come to announce the end.
Guild Ball had a good run. It’s clear that the makers wanted this to be a game that was easy to play and balanced for all players. While the game lasted for almost a decade, it seems that 2020 has claimed another victim.
Why Is Guild Ball Ending?
You might be wondering why Guild Ball would be ending so suddenly. Well, while Season five of the game was supposed to be the final release, the global pandemic ended up cutting things short…
Season Five was always intended to be the end of the current story arc. With a polished set of rules and well-balanced minis, it was the perfect moment for Guild Ball to come to an end. We just needed to finish and release the last few Minor Guild teams. But then COVID-19 happened.
While the game is being discontinued, it seems like Steamforged Games hasn’t completely shut it out from making a splash back into the tabletop scene in the future. Plus, they’re finishing up the storyline to keep things open-ended and the community going.
We’ll be finishing the Season Five storylines but we won’t be releasing the remaining Minor Guilds. The story leaves enough of an opening for us to look ahead for Guild Ball, and the Minor Guilds give us a great opportunity to revisit this wonderful game at some point in the future.
It has been an honour and a privilege to be the creators and custodians of this game and its world. Sadly, Guild Ball needs to retire from the spotlight…for now.
You Can Still Get Minis But Supplies are Limited
Starting from September 1st, Steamforged Games will no longer sell any Guild Ball products. What’s available now is end-of-line stock. Once it sells out, it won’t be resupplied.
If you head over to Steamforged Games’ store, you can browse all the models from the different guilds. However, they also announced an “amazing sale” that’s upcoming. We don’t know any details beyond that at the time of writing this.
There will be an amazing sale on all remaining stock, perfect for rounding out your collection. Sign up to find out when the sale goes live.
It’s a somber time to be a Guild Ball player. But as we’ve seen many times in the past, like with Warhammer Fantasy Battles, the community may pick up the game and keep a strong cult following going!
Whether you’re a fan of the game or are just now hearing about Guild Ball, be sure to take a look at everything Steamforged Games has to offer. They’ve got some awesome minis and other games to explore.
Are you surprised to see game developers beginning to be affected by the pandemic? What’s your favorite guild to play in Guild Ball?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today! You can also support us on Patreon and get ad-free access to the site, plus a ton of minis that helps support some of the best creators out there!
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
