These are the questions we think Games Workshop shareholders and investors should be asking for the coming year after a strange year in the books…
With a year where profits actually dipped (compared to the previous) and the majority of the profit/ revenue coming from licensing, there are some serious questions to be looked at for the next year. While the community has been saying a lot of these things, we think it’s time for shareholders to also inquire.
Obviously, these are our opinions on the matter, but we feel they also line up pretty well with the community. With the model sales down from the previous year, GW seems to really be looking at licensing their IP more, and we’re all for that. However, if shipping issues, Brexit, and COVID-related issues keep happening (we understand they are out of their control) it will be interesting to see if GW continues to pivot further or if they will just keep on with their incessant paywall offerings and FOMO releases that are not being well received anymore.
Also, something worth mentioning about any particular pivot by Games Workshop is that even if they WANT to change and offer more value in their releases, it won’t happen overnight. Their product path to market supposedly takes like 18-24 months so there are many things “in the pipeline” that would have to be significantly altered to meet any new business initiative by GW.
- Why no digital sales in 2021? Seems contradictory to basically every other retailers/ game company. Especially considering the community wants digital codex releases outside the app.
- Numbers of Warhammer + subs so far. How many signed up and dropped? How much is it costing them? Then, does this revenue make up for the loss in sales from digital codex and battletome sales? Does it make up for the community outrage?
Straight up the metric of 2 million views as told to shareholders is lip service. Here at Spikey Bits, we had 540,000 views during the same period alone, and we’re small potatoes compared to a company like GW. Furthermore, they mention that Warahmmer+ Plus is a club. Why? Why not put this content on Hulu, Netflix, etc to get more exposure for the hobby? Why create a club for what is obviously a very low number of brand zealots while irritating the rest of your customers and fanbase on YouTube. It just doesn’t make sense…
- Why were automated fulfillment robots rolled out (in the US) at peak volume holiday time instead of January for instance? This created big slowdowns and issues at one of the biggest shipping times for the entire year. Seems a strange time and bad project management to do it right in the middle of the holiday season.
- How much money was lost from these robots being implemented at peak volume time? Splitting orders into multiple shipments when they were all in stock, as well as shipping multiple orders to retailers and hobbyists. Not to mention the ensuing customer service costs from dealing with all of that.
From all the stores (and customers) we polled in North America, not one has gotten a correct order in a very long time, and orders, since the robots began fulfillment, have been even more incorrect. That’s not to say going forward that will not subside, but for now, everyone from retailers to end-users are not happy with the results.
- Why was sales growth so low? Sure there were extra costs associated with the supply chain and paying folks more, but the overall sales growth was negative if not for an increase in licensing revenue.
- Why has the app continued to still be plagued with issues? What percentage of players actually pay for the app? A great working app would actually be super helpful and bring more people to the game and to subscribe.
- Will GW be shifting towards more licensing since it was so profitable? Roundtree mentioned licensing is “unpredictable” which we get for sure, but considering that is where the growth was so far in their 2021, it would make sense to put some focus here. From a layperson’s perspective, I noticed that they recognize guaranteed royalty incoming “in full on signing the contract”. That is very curious because at least in theory you could just ink a big licensing deal before your finances are reported that period. I would like to know more about these big licensing deals and when they actually occurred.
- Why are there so many rules supplements on deck for their core game system? Pretty much universally from everyone we polled industry-wide, there is a concern. We asked tons of content creators, store owners, big names in the tabletop wargaming space, and even some Games Workshop Employees and shareholders themselves what they thought of the new changes. The more insightful responses are here in our editorial post, and almost all wanted to be kept anonymous because their opinion does not reflect the views of their employers and/or their brands.
As we said before, the idea of keeping the game balanced is good. However, it seems like we all just wish they went about it a different way than directly into our pocketbooks during this difficult time.
While Games Workshop is still doing well, it is interesting to look at the last two years back to back. That being said after polling stores worldwide, we expect a general decline in revenue for Games Workshop overall starting with these numbers.
Once again it is our opinion that Games Workshop was great once, and has the potential to be great again. However, it may only happen when they actually start providing real value and stop relying on incessant FOMO and Paywalls to milk hobbyists for every last dollar.
Here are more articles on the issues that Games Workshop is facing now as their stock has dipped and investors have taken notice:
- What the Community Thinks About the New 40k Rules Updates
- Is Warhammer+ Plus Worth It: Everything You Need To Know
- Games Workshop NDA Leak More Damaging Than Their IP Policy
- YouTubers Have Started Attacking Warhammer TV
- Boycotts Don’t Work, Do This Instead to Games Workshop
- Lookout YouTube, GW Just Updated Their IP Guidelines
- Where GW Fan Creativity Ends & IP Infringement Starts
What other questions would you have for Games Workshop at this point even if you are not a shareholder or investor?
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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.
