Games Workshop may be rethinking Warhammer’s paywalls, and the timing is no coincidence. See what changed and why GW could be making this change now.
GW has loved a good “pay first, get rules and minis later” setup for years. Want the newest rules? Cool, grab the big army launch box. Want that shiny new unit? Cool, wait weeks or sometimes months unless you paid the early access tax.
Then this recent run of products happened, and it felt… different.
So here’s what changed, what it means, and how to play this to your advantage.
The “Army Box Paywall” GW Quietly Sidestepped Recently
A standard modern launch pattern looks like this:
- Big army set drops first (around that $250-ish mark)
- Rules are inside (battletome, codex, cards, special extras)
- Individual kits show up 2ish months later
- The one kit you actually want arrives after the hype wave, or in limited numbers, pushing people toward the big box
That model works for GW. It works less for anyone who wants rules without buying a pile of plastic they never planned to build.
The good news is that this recent stretch broke that rhythm in a few key spots.
Maggotkin: a Release Wave That Did Not Force an Army Box Buy-in
The Maggotkin release wave, landing as separate releases, is the headline here. No, “you need the army set to get early rules access” setup. No forced bundle just to read the new hotness.
That changes two big pain points that hobbyists hate about Games Workshop’s paywalls:
You can grab these rules without buying minis you do not want
If your Maggotkin of Nurgle collection is already built, you do not need to buy a giant army set just to get the battletome content early. That is the part that usually stings. A lot of players are here for rules updates, points shifts, new warscroll tech, and list tweaks, not another stack of bodies.
You can buy one or two new kits without a long delay
In a typical Warhammer release, single kits often arrive later. That delay nudges people toward the big box, since the big box is “the only way” to get the new unit right now. In this Maggotkin wave, the friction dropped. If you only wanted one new unit, you could just buy the unit.
That is a big deal for Age of Sigmar players who prefer smart purchases over panic buys.
Necrons: the New Character Release Dodged the Battleforce Trap
Then you’ve got the recent Necron release. A new character could have been locked behind a big “battleforce” style box like Crux Terminatus, the Space Marine White Scars Combat Patrol box, and so many more.
Easy win for GW, right? Instead, the new Necrons character was released separately from the battalion. That gives buyers two clean paths:
Path One: Buy the Battalion For Value
If you want the units inside, the battalion option lets you save money compared to piecing everything together. It goes for $170 (the same price as Combat Patrols), which is the kind of bundle price that can make sense when the contents match your list plan.
Path Two: Buy the Single Character and Move On
If the new guy is all you need, you can grab him. No forced bundle. No, wait three months for the solo kit nonsense. For Warhammer 40k Necrons players, this is the difference between a new release day that feels like a trap and a new release day that feels like a choice.
500 Worlds: Free Warhammer Rules Downloads, Right Now, Not Later
This one is the real eyebrow-raiser. The rules from 500 Worlds showed up as free downloads, no waiting period. Not “free after the book has sold through.” Free up front.
That is a clean break from the idea that rules access must be tied to a premium product. This is the kind of move that makes players actually trust the release pipeline.
Does This Mean More Than a Single Good Week For GW
One generous release does not rewrite years of habits. Still, these choices hit three pressure points that usually annoy the community:
- Rules access without a paywall (or at least without a bundle gate)
- No artificial kit delays to push big box sales
- Better buying options for collectors who only need a specific kit
If GW keeps doing this, it changes how people plan armies. It changes how people budget. It changes how “must buy now” launches feel. And yeah, it puts pressure on third-party model makers and rumor culture, since the official rules and minis are right there.
But it’s not all milk and hobby honey, quite yet though…
The New Custodes Battle Group Box Proves GW’s Paywall is Still Around, Somewhat
It looks like Games Workshop is not done with Warhammer paywalls in the long term. The new Adeptus Custodes Battle Group box is basically GW waving a big flag that says, “not so fast.”
This Custodes refresh has real hype because, while it is aimed at Horus Heresy, the minis are also usable in Warhammer 40k, and GW has been pretty open about that. That crossover appeal is the whole point.
It’s possible we see a perfect storm of two-player bases, one pile of new plastic, and almost all the new minis tucked into a single big box first with this release.
So yeah, this is the classic major product refresh move: lock the headline kits behind a premium launch box, then let the standalone releases trickle out later.
Bottom line: GW’s Changing Paywalls?
Right now, it looks like GW is letting players choose more of what to buy, when to buy it, and how to get the rules, without being shaken down by a paywall. Which is great for cash-strapped hobbyists in very challenging economic times.
Maggotkin dodged the army set box trap. Necrons dodged the battleforce trap, and 500 Worlds rules hit free download status immediately.
GW may still be loosening the paywalls for smaller, lower-frenzy releases (like everything above), but when something has enough buzz to sell itself, like the new Custodes, we still fully expect the “big box gate” to keep showing up.
So yes, while the Maggotkin and Necon 500 Worlds release wave was a good move from GW, the jury is still out on whether it’s a new norm for big releases. If it keeps up, though, the stars really might be aligning for our wallets.
See The Latest 500 Worlds Pre-Orders
