Games Workshop raked in record profits, but can’t keep up with paint, plastic, or demand; here’s what the numbers say and why it matters to your backlog.
Games Workshop just dropped its annual financial report, and surprise, it’s raining cash again.
Warhammer’s printing money, video games are crushing it, and they’re opening stores like it’s a fast food chain. But beneath the gold-plated numbers and the new logo, there’s some real hobby grease in the gears.
Let’s break it all down without the corporate fluff.
Warhammer Is Printing Money Again
Let’s not pretend we didn’t see this coming. Games Workshop just wrapped its biggest year ever, stacking up over £617 million in total revenue. That includes £565 million from the core miniatures-and-books side and another £52.5 million from licensing, which mostly means video games.
Turns out, when you slap Space Marines on a screen, people open their wallets.
Their profit before tax hit £262.8 million, and their operating margin held strong at 37.5%, which is wild for a company that still sells pewter dragons in some places.
From a business angle? That’s clean, efficient, and wildly profitable.
Space Marine 2 Carried the Banner, and the Cash
GW’s licensing cash jumped 69% thanks to Space Marine 2, which blew expectations off the battlefield. Most of the licensing money came from PC and console games, no surprise there, but they’re lining up more: Boltgun 2, Dark Heresy, Supremacy: 40k on mobile, and even an upgraded Dawn of War.
They’re still hush-hush on that Amazon Warhammer 40k series (the one with Henry Cavill), but it’s clearly in motion. The licensing team earned its pay this year.
The only catch? GW admits this kind of spike is tough to repeat.
Record Sales, Record Stores, Still No Paint?
They opened 30 stores and closed 8, bringing the count to 570 locations across 24 countries. North America and Japan led the charge in store growth, while South Korea is next on deck. Meanwhile, online sales stayed flat, which isn’t great, but also not a shock considering last year’s e-commerce numbers were hard to beat.
But here’s where the wheels start to squeak: they literally can’t keep up with demand.
- They added a third shift and 10 robot pickers in Memphis, TN. Still behind.
- The new paint factory is live. Still behind.
- Forecasting is better. Still not enough product in the right places.
You know what’s worse than a sold-out model? Sold-out paints that you can’t get for months on end. That’s a problem in a hobby where you can’t play without the stuff you’re buying.
It also doesn’t matter how cool the minis look on the Warhammer Community feed if you can’t get them.
Chasing Growth, Ignoring Friction
They’re aiming to open 35 new stores next year, raise prices a little (about 5% average), and keep hiring. Wages are going up. Their UK base rate is now £12.75/hour, which is solid. They added 184 new roles this year, mostly in production and warehousing.
They’re even going carbon-light, claiming a 69% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2021.
But the core issue’s still staring them in the face: supply can’t meet demand. And that’s not sustainable. The demand spike is great, don’t get us wrong, but growth only works when you can fulfill it without burning out your system.
People Are Buying Warhammer for the Merch Now
Here’s the wild part: this isn’t just about the game anymore. Sales aren’t just driven by tournament grinders and weekend painters. A growing number of customers are snapping up merch, books, and collectibles. 4.5 million Black Library novels sold. People are treating the IP like it’s Marvel, but grimmer and bloodier.
You don’t need to show up to a store with a measuring tape and a tray of dice anymore. You can rep your favorite faction on a hoodie, binge the lore, or grab a badass statue.
That shift is changing how GW earns money, and they’re leaning into it, hard.
Risk? Oh, There’s Plenty
They flagged several red flags in their own report:
- IP theft
- Cybersecurity threats
- Supply chain instability
- Tariffs in the US (up to £12 million hit for next year’s finances)
On top of that, their massive IT overhaul won’t be done until 2028/29. That’s a long time to be flying with legacy systems.
And let’s be honest, they’re not fighting for your wallet anymore, they’re fighting for your time. The hobby’s not just competing with other wargames.
It’s competing with Netflix, Diablo, Baldur’s Gate, or that stack of shame from Steam.
Final Thoughts From Us
So yeah, GW crushed it. Profits up, dividends flying, and demand at an all-time high. But it’s not all power armor and victory parades. The biggest obstacle isn’t competition, it’s themselves.
Production can’t keep up. Paint shortages and out-of-stock kits are frustrating diehards and pushing curious newcomers away.
The cash is flowing now, but cash only matters if you can convert it into experience. And that starts with making sure we can actually buy the stuff we want, when we want it.
Until then, we’ll just keep hitting “refresh” from here…
GW’s CEO Gets Tons of “Free” Stock
