A leak of the Games Workshop’s influencer NDA ended up causing more headaches for them than their updated intellectual property policy ever did.
Don’t get me wrong, the fallout from the updating of their IP policy in an effort to help protect (or build a moat around, as they like to call it) the rollout of the Warhammer Plus TV video platform felt a little overcooked.
GW did not actually nuke any channels. Sodaz stepped away after a mess of miscommunication and fan drama, and Bruva Alfabusa shut down Emperor’s TTS because he was worried GW might swing the legal hammer, even though nothing official ever happened.
Here is the refresher on the great YouTube migration after GW tightened its guidelines ahead of the Warhammer TV launch in 2021.
Games Workshop NDA Leak More Damaging Than Their IP Policy
Originally published in the summer of 2021, updated on November 26th, 2025, by Rob Baer with the latest from Goobertown Hobbies, Discourse Miniatures, and other hobby creators.
After the sundering of YouTube creators in the summer of 2021, in preparation for the launch of their own Warhammer TV channel.
GW caught a massive amount of flak for it, seemingly from YouTube viewer community who enjoyed the offerings of animators who have since been hired by Games Workshop to produce content for Warhammer Plus.
To be fair, that really didn’t age well as the content promised has only scant materialized since 2021.
Then the rumored NDA was posted on Reddit, labeled as the Games Workshop content creator NDA, or Non-Disclosure Agreement. It’s basically the thing you sign as a content creator in hopes that GW will give you something… anything really… for free, for you to use in your videos or site, etc.
In the past, plenty of creators, like Midwinter Minis, have mentioned that the stuff they get from GW can be hit or miss. Sometimes it is useful, sometimes it shows up late, and sometimes it is so poorly timed that it is impossible to build content around at all.
We have also heard from creators who signed the agreements and then received absolutely nothing from GW in return. A few even walked away from the NDA program entirely because the deal was not worth the hassle.
Since this post was first published, two creators have been very publicly booted from the GW’s influencer program, too, which did not help the overall vibe.
Back then, we managed to get a draft of this new NDA, and several other creators later confirmed to Spikey Bits that it was indeed legitimate. We shared a screenshot instead of the PDF because the original file apparently included identifiers that could expose the recipients.
Games Workshop’s NDA for Influencers
UPDATE: Many content creators like Goobertown Hobbies and Miniac commented on the original Reddit thread with their thoughts on the matter.
You can check out the full breakdown on Reddit or read the entire NDA document yourself if you want the unfiltered version.
Goobertown Hobbies had this to say about the NDA:
No. This is NOT common for independent reviewers. The whole point of independent reviewers is that they are trusted by their audience and are not under legal threat from the manufacturer of the products they are reviewing.
Discourse Miniatures also chimed in with:
This is a super predatory NDA as far as I can tell. I don’t think I’ve missed anything in relation to 4.1.7, it just seems to be particularly aggressive.
Before we get too far here, keep in mind, we are not legal wizards and this is not legal advice. This is just my gluten-free gut check after years of staring at paperwork like this and wondering who thought it was a good idea.
So let’s run through a few key identifiers:
- Restricted Customer: To us, this basically reads as anyone who buys anything from GW, so literally any hobbyist on the planet. When you stop and think about how wide that net really is, it gets ridiculous fast.
- Restricted Person: This seems to include anyone who works for GW, but it could also cover other creators, contractors, suppliers, store owners, or even your local tournament organizer. It is a very broad category for something this important.
- Term: This one is simple, three years. The fun part is that confidential information could include something as basic as receiving a box of minis a week early. The document never bothers to spell that out clearly, which is not great.
So what does all of this actually pertain to:
Section 4.1.2 spells out that during the entire three-year term, you can not have any business dealings with a “Restricted Customer.” The way that reads, you can not sell anything to anyone who bought Games Workshop products in the last 12 months.
That includes merch, Patreon rewards, commission work, and pretty much anything else that keeps a creator afloat. In short, it looks like creators are expected to work for free outside of whatever plastic goodies GW tosses their way.
Then there is 4.1.4, which comes off like a hard block on collaborations. No teaming up with other creators, no hiring former GW staff, maybe not even hiring fellow creators for paid work. If the goal is to keep creators from building their own independent networks or revenue, this section nails it.
Tinfoil hats would say this whole thing looks like a reaction to how Duncan and Roger walked out, set up shop on their own platform, and started making real money without GW having any leverage to shut it down. Since their new home cannot be yanked offline without GW swinging a very public hammer, the theory gets even juicier.
That said, the last bit was pure speculation.
What is not speculation is the threat baked into the NDA. Fail to follow it, and you can expect legal action that favors GW, handled in England.
Keep in mind, their biggest legal dust-ups, like the Chapterhouse case and nearly losing a multi-million dollar suit in Florida (the first time), so shifting everything back home gives them a much friendlier battlefield against creators.
Any creator in the States signing something like this would have had the Founding Fathers rolling in their graves two and a half centuries ago, and honestly, it still feels like a questionable move today.
If this really is the new content creator NDA from Games Workshop, it could end up causing more trouble for them than the whole Warhammer Plus animator fiasco from that summer meltdown. A lot depends on which creators speak up, and whether viewers notice their favorite content getting clipped again.
Last time something like this blew up, people called for a boycott of GW. That fizzled out, sure, but the wider community is getting wise to the sales tactics and the corporate policies, and folks seem more willing to vote with their hobby dollars now.
Years later, with AI shaking up the creative world, public sentiment is leaning hard toward creators and artists actually getting paid for their work, not being tossed a few free sprues and a pile of paperwork they cannot monetize.
We think game stores deserve the same treatment as GW’s own shops, with a fair shot at supporting their communities with adequate stock levels, and paying their staff a wage that makes sense.
News of ‘Fan Revolt’ Over GW NDA Hits Wall Street
The investing world was abuzz with news about why their stock price took a dip at the time of the Games Workshop NDA leak back in 2021, as it had been one of the best performers on the market.
As you can see above, in a small sampling of financial news sites at the time of the leak and hobbyists’ pushback, investors were getting jittery about Games Workshop’s performance.
The UK Times had this to say in their article, which summarizes the majority of the issue, but falls a little short without a deeper look at GW’s product mix.
Britain’s largest manufacturer of miniature wargames and fantasy figurines has become embroiled in a running battle with some of its fans that has sent its share price tumbling.
Games Workshop has angered a section of its customers after clamping down on unauthorised websites dedicated to its Warhammer franchise, according to analysts at Jefferies, the US bank.
From this chart on Yahoo Finance, you can see a dip in their stock price at the time of the NDA leak. It’s also worth pointing out the backend, as you can see the tremendous growth since 2019 alone.
This Is Money UK, dug a bit deeper in their reporting, saying the following:
This change has led to popular fan content creators ceasing their involvement (under pressure from Games Workshop), a lot of negative community feedback, a raft of downvotes to Warhammer video content, and, with other factors also rolled in (price increases, employee pay), calls to boycott the business.’
The impetus for the crackdown appeared to be Warhammer+, Games Workshop’s subscription service that provides access to exclusive Warhammer TV shows as well as figurines and apps unavailable elsewhere.
…while the current noise seemed to be from a ‘vocal minority’, they trimmed their target price for the group to 12,250p from 13,200p, saying they would be ‘keeping a close eye’ on the situation.
None of the coverage around that NDA leak really tackled the bigger headaches hobbyists are feeling at the checkout line.
The FOMO pushes, the creeping paywalls, and the general nickel and diming all pile up, and that absolutely plays into how confident folks feel about Games Workshop right now.
Final Thoughts From Us on the Leaked Games Workshop NDA
Fast forward to today, and, honestly, nothing feels all that different. Content creation is packed to the brim, and GW is still hand-picking what influencers they want to work with, like it is a VIP club.
Now, the veterans are drifting away from the GW paid placement grind and focusing on their own projects, but there is always a fresh wave of creators lining up for those sweet free product drops from Games Workshop.
The big question is: which Games Workshop NDA are creators being asked to sign now?
🔗 Related Reads:
- It’s Not Worth it to Work With Games Workshop
- Everything You Need To Know About Warhammer Plus
- 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
