There may be a new 800 lb gorilla in this tabletop gaming market space soon. Will GW give up the crown?
When Asmodee announced their acquisition of Fantasy Flight Games, a lot of heads spun. I for one think once FFG’s manufacturing is ramped up with help form Asmodee we’ll see some very interesting things (not to mention Asmodee getting their distribution channels consolidated to North America as well).
Let’s take a look at some recent documents.
Asmodee Financial Overview 2014
(PDF, Asmodee section starts on p.25)
and
Games Workshop Financial Report
(pdf, annual report 2014)
Here are some graphics to give you a taste of what’s in there.
From Asmodee’s Financials:
Look at that growth and revenue curve….
Now compare with GW’s financials…
What’s interesting is to see the diametrically opposed strategies both companies are pursuing. GW is all about 100% owned IP. They are reticent to stake out new IPs and instead continue to mine ever deeper into their Warhammer Fantasy and 40K universes. They have licensing deals for IP-based videogames, and non-miniatures games with FFG. They continue to focus on the tabletop minaitures niche with the even-more niche Forgeworld, and publishing arm Black Library.
Asmodee on the other hand is all about acquisitions of entire companies of games designed to hit all segments of the market from casual, to card games, to hardcore and “deep” games, and have a blend of both self-owned IP, and heavily licensed IP games (STAR WARS, Game of Thrones etc…). In the last year alone, Asmogee has acquired multiple companies including big outfits like FFG and it shows. This year’s sales are now listed at:
Latest Annual Sales:
Asmodee: 200 Million Euros (149.5 Millions Pounds Sterling) Up from 140 Million Euros the previous year
Games Workshop 165.1 Million Euros (123.5 Millions Pounds Sterling) Down from 134.6 million Pound Sterling the previous year
Next consider what Asmodee considers it’s competitors: Hasbro, Mattel, LEGO, Playmobil and you can see the picture starting to form. Those companies are not realistically GW competitors.
The future may be here now, it’s going to be a VERY interesting couple of years for the industry I feel like.
So who do you think will be on top in a a few years guys?
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 has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including the Adepticon Team Tournament and American Team Tournaments, and is on a first-name basis with almost every major company in the space.
He’s all gaming all the time. With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. 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 1908s, 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.
