Warhammer 40k fans finally get a break as Games Workshop rolls out a fresh plan to stop scalpers and make limited runs fair again.
For years, Games Workshop has been stuck in a losing fight with scalpers, especially when it comes to Black Library special editions… Let’s be honest, with any exclusive run of a miniature or box.
Fancy novels or limited-run boxes would go live, the webstore would wobble, and minutes later, the books would pop up on eBay at double or triple the price. Fans got stressed, bots got paid, and GW got another black eye.
Now with this Era of Ruin special edition preorder, it looks like Games Workshop may have finally learned its lesson.
The End of Ruin Disaster That Forced a Rethink
The breaking point came with Era of Ruin, the big finale to the Horus Heresy saga. Demand was massive, bots blasted straight through GW’s safeguards, and the website folded fast. P
reorders were canceled, the store went dark, and GW took the unusual step of actually trying to get them in the hands of the readers and not bots.
That move mattered. It signaled that the company knew this was no longer just “high demand” but a system failure that rewarded resellers instead of readers.
Siege of Terra Showed the Cracks Years Ago
Longtime Black Library readers saw this coming with limited edition releases. Books launched as a heavily limited, leatherbound edition. Every time, the site struggled, copies vanished almost instantly, and resale listings appeared minutes later.
Fans who wanted the limited edition books were forced into speed-clicking contests or paying aftermarket prices that felt disconnected from reality. Obviously, eventually you could get the regular edition books, but that’s not what collectors want.
GW kept repeating the process, and frustration kept piling up.
Enter the Era of Ruin and the Made-to-Order Fix
Now comes the recent move with the Era of Ruin, and this time, the approach is different.
Instead of a fixed run, Games Workshop is offering the Era of Ruin special edition as a guaranteed stock run, effectively a Made to Order window. Order between December 13 and December 24 at 8 am GMT, and you are guaranteed a copy. No race. No bots winning in seconds. No refreshing the checkout screen like it owes you money.
Production happens after the window closes, with delivery taking up to 180 days. That wait is the tradeoff, and it is a fair one. Generally, it doesn’t take the full 180 days, and not paying triple the price is fine with us.
Why Made to Order Hurts Scalpers
Scalpers thrive on artificial scarcity. When supply is locked and demand spikes, prices skyrocket. Made to Order breaks that loop.
If anyone can buy the Era of Ruin special edition during the preorder window, the resale value drops fast. No urgency premium. No panic pricing. The book ends up in the hands of people who want to read it, not flip it.
Games Workshop already uses this system for classic model reissues, and it works. Applying it to Black Library novels feels overdue, but very welcome.
What You Get with the Era of Ruin Special Edition
This is not a stripped-down compromise version. The Era of Ruin special edition still brings the full collector treatment.
You get a leather-effect cover, metal decoration, gilt page edges, ribbon bookmark, and interior illustrations. Inside are eight Siege of Terra stories from heavy hitters like Dan Abnett, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Chris Wraight, Guy Haley, John French, Nick Kyme, and Gav Thorpe.
The prestige remains. The stress does not. It’s a win-win; GW makes more money as more people order, and actual readers get the books they want.
The Scouring Confirms a Bigger Shift
This change does not look like a one-off apology tour. The Scouring series, which follows Siege of Terra, launched its own limited editions without run numbers and with plans for reprints.
That tells us Games Workshop may be moving away from ultra-restrictive book releases, at least for the flagship Black Library series. Scarcity is no longer the selling point. Access is.
Here’s the thing for GW: people will buy them; they don’t need scarcity.
The Only Real Cost Is Patience
Waiting up to six months for delivery is not ideal. Nobody loves that part. But patience beats paying triple to a reseller who added nothing to the process.
For collectors who enjoy the chase, the thrill takes a hit. For everyone else, this is a win. Books get read. Collections get finished. Stress levels drop.
GW Might Have Finally Figured This One Out
Between the Era of Ruin Made to Order release and the direction shown with The Scouring, Games Workshop appears to be choosing fans over scalpers for once. It took a public stumble to get here, but the correction feels like a step in the right direction.
If this approach sticks, it could reshape how Black Library handles special editions going forward. Less panic. Fewer bots. More books where they belong, on shelves, not auction listings.
Now the real test is simple. If future releases follow this model, then yes, Games Workshop actually learned something.
Pre-Order Info on The Era of Ruin MTO
