Games Workshop plans out its major Warhammer new edition releases (like 11th Edition 40k) in three-year cycles; here’s what’s next for 2025!
How Games Workshop Plans Their Major New Warhammer Editions 3 Years In Advance
2024’s Skaventide 4th Edition AoS Launch Box follows Dominion from 2021.
So, what is Games Workshop’s three-year sales plan or cycle? Well, for the last decade or so, every year in the cycle, they seem to have a big new release for either Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40k, or Citadel hobby supplies (like paint).
Think of a summer movie-style blockbuster release every year, right when retail sales are the slowest.
For example, 2023 saw the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k! In 2022, we had the new Citadel Hobby Shades and Contrast release. In 2021, we had Dominion, and the year before that, we cycled back to the 9th Edition of Warhammer 40k.
Are you starting to see the pattern? Now, let’s look at the past cycles for each product line to see what’s likely next in 2025 and beyond…
Citadel Hobby: 3 Year New Release Cycle
- 2016 Paint line expanded (free guide pdf published)
- 2019 Contrast and ‘360’ paint rack rolled out to stores
- 2022 Paint line expanded again: Contrast and Shades
- 2025 Rumor is a new Citadel “Pro” Paints in dropper bottles.
Warhammer 40k: New Editions like Clockwork
- 7th edition 2014
- 8th edition 2017
- 9th edition 2020
- 10th edition 2023
- 11th edition 2026
Age of Sigmar:
- 1st edition 2015
- 2nd edition 2018
- 3rd edition 2021 (Dominion)
- 4th edition 2024 (Skaventide)
What’s Next From Games Workshop?
If Games Workshop continues to follow this three-year sales plan (and they seem to be on track, with 10th Edition last year), it means 11th Edition 40k will hit shelves in 2026!
In fact, the next three years of big releases from Games Workshop may mirror the last three based on this pattern:
- 2024: Age of Sigmar 4th Edition
- 2025: More Citadel Hobby & Horus Heresy
- 2026: Warhammer 40k 11th Edition
Hopefully, this will bring out a big starter set with good value, as we saw with Leviathan for the 10th edition of the 40k launch. While some people seem to think it won’t be that soon for the 11th Edition 40k, we don’t expect GW to delay the schedule, as they have been on it since 2014.
Will The New Edition of Warhammer Horus Heresy Be Released in 2025?
We didn’t cover it above, but GW also seems to roll out Specialist Games lines paired with either AoS or Citadel Hobby releases in some years, too. They dropped Adeptus Titanicus in 2018 (the same year as AoS 2.0) and Horus Heresy 2.0 the same summer as the new Citadel Hobby washes and Contrast paints in 2022.
Games Workshop also likes to release new Specialist Games expansions on Black Friday weekend, as they have done with Necromunda and Blood Bowl in past years! However, with the recent slowdown in new releases, it remains to be seen what Black Friday sales will bring for Warhammer in the future.
Regardless, Games Workshop always seems to keep the summer hot with one of their big three moneymakers: Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar, or Citadel Hobby. While this release keeps the hobby moving, especially during slow sales times, it would be nice to have more value for retailers and consumers alike, especially when you consider the paint side of things.
Look at the last release of new Shades and Contrasts; they forced stores to buy a new rack’s worth of paints when retailers were at their slowest. Most of the new colors don’t really seem to have a general use, and while the new Shades formulas are cool, reducing the pot size and keeping the same prices didn’t seem to go over well with anyone.
The internet also had much to say about Games Workshop’s high-pressure sales tactics with the Skaventide box, as retailers finally started resisting GW’s demands.
So there you have it, what looks to be how Games Workshop plans its major new releases three years in advance, dating back to 2014. Plus, we give you a little insight into what new Warhammer releases may be coming next and when.
All the Latest Warhammer Rules & Model Rumors
What do you think of the latest summer Warhammer blockbuster releases for each new edition that Games Workshop has been planning for the last three years or so…
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.
