Warhammer Black Friday may be getting a big teaser soon, as GW told retailers to expect exciting news Monday.
GW sent stores an email Friday with a big exclamation point but not a single product name. So yeah, you can bet retailers are spending the weekend guessing. The October 30 email promised “Exciting News Coming Monday!” and moved the usual Sunday trade newsletter to November 2. Why the change? GW didn’t say.
Sadly, if you’re running a game store, that kind of mystery isn’t always exciting. Especially when you’ve already been dealing with GW slashing order numbers to stores. At that point, you’re probably wondering less about the big announcement and more about how many boxes you’ll actually be allowed to order, or what new product GW will like Warhammer Tone Pro they may try to force on you next.
With the 40k Christmas Battleforces already revealed, there’s one pretty obvious place everyone’s mind is going, though, for sure.
- What’s happening: GW told retailers to expect exciting news on Monday, November 2, and moved its Sunday trade newsletter to the same day.
- What we have seen so far: The store owners we’ve talked to expect Christmas Battleforce prices, order limits, and release timing, though the email itself doesn’t confirm any of it.
- What’s next: If those guesses hold, pre-orders could open Saturday, November 14, with boxes on shelves for Black Friday on November 27, but that’s still a prediction.
Stores Are Betting Monday Means Battleforce Prices and Order Limits
That’s what we’re hearing from retailers, anyway, and it makes sense. A bunch of store owners we’ve talked with think Monday’s announcement will cover Christmas box set prices, how many boxes stores can order, and when everything ships.
Now, that’s their best guess. GW’s email didn’t actually confirm any of it.
Here is what it did say, though:
Exciting News Coming Monday!
Please note: the usual Sunday Newsletter won’t arrive this Sunday at 2:00pm. Please keep an eye out for it on Monday, November 2nd. Please contact your account manager with any questions.
But think about where we’re at. GW already showed off all seven 40k Christmas Battleforces back on October 19. We know what’s inside, and we’ve already gone through boxes like the Space Marines Indomitus Task Force and Chaos Knights Hellhunt Lance. The big missing piece is still when pre-orders actually start.
So if Monday really is about Battleforces, nobody’s waiting to find out what’s in them. Stores want to know what they’ll cost and whether they can get enough to actually sell.
The Calendar Lines Up Right on Black Friday
Here’s another reason the Battleforce guess makes sense. Black Friday is November 27 this year. If pre-orders open Saturday, November 14, that’s almost two weeks before the boxes would hit shelves. That’s pretty much the schedule retailers seem to expect.
Just remember, those are our predicted dates. GW hasn’t confirmed any of them.
And we’ve seen this kind of timing before. The 2025 Christmas boxes arrived over Black Friday weekend. Last year’s pre-orders also started Saturday, November 15, almost two weeks earlier.
Sound familiar? A November 14 pre-order date this year would be almost the same setup. So while the dates line up nicely, that doesn’t mean GW is trying something new. It looks a whole lot like last year’s schedule, just with a one-week pre-order new release break next week that skips November 7th Pre-Orders entirely.
Familiar Bundles Make a Thin Holiday Headliner
Now, here’s where we’re a little less excited about the whole thing. Don’t get us wrong, Battleforces make great holiday boxes. They’re big, they’re easy gifts, and everybody knows that one hobbyist who’s been talking about starting another army for months.
But are they really enough to headline Black Friday, especially with how Games Workshop FOMO tactics really don’t seem to be working very well in this economy?
We’re still talking about bundles of kits you can already buy. That’s not quite the same as getting a brand-new standalone game. And let’s be real, how many people are getting up at 6 a.m. to line up for a box they’ve known about since October 19?
If Battleforces are GW’s big holiday attraction, you’ve got to wonder whether they’re taking it easy on the release schedule and letting those bundles carry the season.
The bigger question isn’t really when the boxes arrive. It’s whether GW has anything substantial coming alongside them, or if the Christmas Battleforces are supposed to be the whole show.
The Necromunda RPG Leaves a Hole Nobody Has Explained
And then there’s the Necromunda situation, which makes the whole holiday schedule a little more interesting.
On October 23, GW confirmed that the Necromunda Roleplay expansion is dead. The miniatures they’d already announced are still supposed to come out for the core game, but the RPG itself? Canceled.
That’s a pretty big project to pull right before the holidays. Naturally, we’re wondering where it was originally supposed to fit into the release schedule. Especially when you look at how much work the RPG looked like it had in it.
Alright, tinfoil hat time.
What if Necromunda Roleplay was originally supposed to be the big holiday release, and now Battleforces are filling that spot?
It’s not a crazy thought, but that’s all it is right now: a thought. We haven’t seen anything showing the RPG was planned for Black Friday, and there’s nothing connecting its cancellation to Monday’s retailer email.
So don’t take that as proof GW is scrambling around Nottingham trying to fill a hole in the schedule. We’re just looking at the timing and wondering what might have been planned.
The last 11 Black Friday Releases Point to a Big Box Trend
- 2015: The Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth released November 14, ahead of Black Friday. With GW reporting declining sales that year, perhaps getting this major boxed game into stores earlier helped bring forward holiday spending, although there’s no confirmed financial explanation for its release date, but many have said GW was close to bankruptcy around this time.
- 2016: Blood Bowl released November 25, Black Friday. The fantasy football game made its big tabletop comeback, accompanied by a rules expansion and the new Skaven team.
- 2017: Necromunda: Underhive released November 24, Black Friday. GW brought back its underhive gang warfare game with new Escher and Goliath miniatures, a starter box, and campaign support.
- 2018: Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress released November 23, Black Friday. This was a new standalone boxed game with an ongoing expansion line, and GW leaned into the occasion by calling it “Blackstone Friday.”
- 2019: Sisters of Battle Army Set released November 29, Black Friday. The long-awaited plastic Adepta Sororitas launch delivered a substantial army refresh and early access to its new codex.
- 2020: Blood Bowl: Second Season Edition released November 27, Black Friday. Another full game launch brought revised rules and new Imperial Nobility and Black Orc starter teams.
- 2021: Black Templars full range release arrived November 26, Black Friday. The wave included new characters, Sword Brethren, standalone squad kits, and the codex supplement. The initial Army Set had already launched earlier.
- 2022: Cadia Stands: Astra Militarum Army Set released November 25, Black Friday. The box introduced the refreshed Cadian range and gave buyers early access to the new Astra Militarum codex.
- 2023: Christmas Battleforces arrived November 24, Black Friday. The nearby major game launch was Legions Imperialis, which opened pre-orders November 18 and released December 2.
- 2024: Christmas Battleforces and Provisionally Prepared filled Black Friday weekend, with Spikey Bits’ release coverage listing November 30. The main offering was the seasonal 40k and Age of Sigmar army bundles, accompanied by the commemorative Ratling sniper team.
- 2025: Christmas Battleforces released November 28, Black Friday. The holiday army bundles again carried the main Black Friday release slot.
Final Thoughts on Warhammer Black Friday
Come Monday, GW’s “exciting news” needs to give stores something they can actually work with. Good pricing, enough boxes to keep shelves stocked, and a delivery date retailers can give customers without having to cross their fingers.
Because if the big announcement is just Battleforces we’ve already seen, with tight order limits thrown in, that’s not much of a holiday win for stores.
At that point, Warhammer Black Friday isn’t really about the announcement. It’s about whether local game stores actually get enough stock to make something of it.
Either way, we should have a much better idea by Monday afternoon.
🔗 Related Reads:
- Warhammer 40k Battleforces Boxes Guides, News, & Updates
- 40k Christmas Box: Space Marines Indomitus Task Force Review Breakdown
- 40k Christmas Box: Chaos Knights Hellhunt Lance Review Breakdown
- Warhammer 40k Christmas Boxes 2026 Pricing, Release Date, Points Breakdown
- GW Officially Axes The Necromunda RPG
- Games Workshop’s Biggest Customers Are Being Treated the Worst
- Looks Like GW Finally Got One Right For Customers and Retailers
What do you think GW’s exciting news for stores will be on Monday, and can Battleforces carry Warhammer Black Friday on their own?
