Games Workshop can’t meet demand; here’s why 40k hobbyists can’t catch a break as creators get priority stock, and stores are left empty-handed.
Updated September 17th, 2025, by Rob Baer with the latest on the Warhammer 40k demand shortage
Let’s be honest: buying Warhammer 40k lately feels like fighting over scraps in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. You set an alarm, refresh the store page, pray to the Omnissiah, and still end up with an empty cart and a broken spirit.
It’s not your fault. The system is probably broken; there is a Warhammer 40k demand shortage.
Here’s what may actually be happening behind the scenes at Games Workshop now…
FOMO Is So Last Year: This Is Straight-Up Supply Breakdown
This isn’t just hype marketing gone wild. At this point, it looks like Games Workshop genuinely can not meet demand. Worse, there are whispers from inside the factories and warehouses that Games Workshop literally does not even have the infrastructure in place to support the amount of product that is in demand!
Look at this new map of Games Workshop accounts worldwide. In 2023, GW Ceo Kevin Roundtree said they had about 7000 accounts worldwide. He broke it down as 526 GW “Warhammer” Stores and 6,500 “Trade Partners” (think local game stores, chains, or other retailers).
In 2025, this map appears to suggest that the number of stores has remained unchanged, possibly due to the challenging economy. However, demand for Warhammer has increased exponentially with the latest news featuring Henry Cavill and the success of the Space Marine 2 video game.
From the looks of it, GW’s production forecasting has not been able to keep pace with the surge in demand from roughly the same number of retail outlets worldwide.
Simply put, Fear of Missing Out or FOMO aside, there may not be enough boxes to go around at all. So, GW may be trying to do the best they can and spread them out as evenly as possible so that some hobbyists can get something at least…
Yet the hype machine marches on with weekly previews, influencer showcases, and pre-order countdowns that feel more like taunts than teases.
Content Creator Overkill
Everyone sees content creators showing off the latest releases for weeks. But what you don’t see is how little of that product is actually hitting local game stores. In some cases, influencers are getting two copies of a set, while in 2025, stores seem to be only getting about five of anything (although the Space Wolves army box was better with around 30 per store).
That’s almost half the supply going to people who aren’t even selling the product, to promote a product that there isn’t enough of in the first place.
Allocations Are a Joke, and Retailers Are the Punchline
If you’re a game store right now, you’re probably laughing to keep from crying. Let’s say your store tries to order 20 boxes. You get allocated five. Two go to creators, and then you have to explain to customers why they can’t order from you…
But they’ve seen their favorite personalities opening the boxes and painting the minis up. Good luck satisfying your community with that.
This isn’t just frustrating, it’s dangerous. Stores rely on a reliable product flow. If customers keep showing up to empty shelves, eventually they stop showing up. Period.
The Cathay Bundle Fiasco: Dead Stock in Disguise?
Then there’s the curious case of the “Cathay bundles.” The army box looked promising at first (and honestly, its a great Old World starter) until folks realized GW shackled stores with older kits like Chaos Warriors, awkwardly stapled onto new releases.
Basically, GW said to stores, if you’re willing to buy more Chaos Warriors that aren’t selling, we’ll give you more Cathay boxes. The more “bundles” stores offered to buy, the more individual Cathay kits they could get.
Smart money says this was a move to push dead stock out the door under the banner of something new. A warehouse cleanout wearing Cathay cosplay.
It also hints at a much bigger issue: forecasting. Either GW thought they had enough of the new stuff and padded it with older kits, or they genuinely have no idea what the demand is and are just plugging holes with anything they can find.
Neither option is great.
The Factory Bottleneck Isn’t Going Anywhere
New factories and updated logistics are supposedly in the works. But let’s not kid ourselves, this isn’t a fix measured in weeks. It’s months. Maybe years.
Until then, expect more of the same: FOMO marketing without enough follow-through, allocations that hurt retailers, and product drops that feel more like raffles.
Too Many New Players, Not Enough Product
Here’s the weird part: GW can afford to lose customers right now. For every frustrated veteran who gives up, there’s a new hobbyist stepping in. But this game of musical chairs doesn’t last forever.
The economy’s tightening, and there’s no Amazon show out for at least a couple of years, most likely, or Space Marine 3 around the corner to pump in a fresh wave of buyers.
Eventually, the pool of replacements shrinks, and when it does, the damage from these shortages will really show.
Final Thoughts From Us: Warhammer 40k Demand Shortage
So here’s the short version: GW’s supply chain is a mess, allocations are squeezing out stores, and the hype train’s running on fumes. If you’re tired of scrambling for boxes every Saturday, you’re not imagining things; it’s actually broken.
Support your local store, keep your wallet in check, and look at third-party options when the shelves are bare. And hey, let GW know this isn’t working. The more noise we make, the harder it is for them to ignore it.
GW CEO Confirms More Product Sell-Outs
“Basically, GW said to stores, if you’re willing to buy more Chaos Warriors that aren’t selling, we’ll give you more Cathay boxes. The more “bundles” stores offered to buy, the more individual Cathay kits they could get.”
If this is true, isn’t it tied selling? Which is illegal in the US and the UK? Maybe you want to look into that.
Frustrating is an euphemism, let’s talk for example about tomb world, the new kill team release, sold out even before hitting the shelf, that’s ridiculous, I simply give up chasing the new releases, period.
cant get from hobby or gaming store?…. Heck ya cant even get what you want from gamesworkshop official site at least I cant. Le Sighhhhhh