You won’t like the reason that the math for the pricing of Horus Heresy around the world doesn’t seem to make sense…
Seriously though, when you start converting currencies, it really doesn’t make sense how much GW is charging for not only the new Horus Heresy Starter but all their products actually.
Yes, prices are expensive in general but hear us out.
You see Games Workshop charges you for the right to pay in your local currency, and sometimes, that privilege costs a lot! We understand they have costs and need to make a profit, but that math really doesn’t seem to add up for the pricing of Horus Heresy!
The Math Doesn’t Add Up for the Pricing of Horus Heresy
This graphic is from the Warp Storm and let’s break it down. In the UK the price is £180, if you directly convert this to Euros it would be €211.55 then if you change it to USD it would be $226.82.
However, when you look at the end prices the rest of us get, it’s €225 and $299 respectively. For Europe, it’s not terrible as the arbitrage is about $15, so that’s something we can sort of understand when you think about BREXIT, extra shipping, etc.
However, it gets really bad when you look at the USD pricing. Somehow, there is basically an $80 increase for… shipping? Maybe, but that seems way too much if you ask us.
Don’t get us wrong though even at $299, Horus Heresy is a great deal, with well over $600 in value inside (click here for the breakdown).
However, GW’s huge global marketing blitz for Horus Heresy has not gone unnoticed. They have really pushed this super hard and it feels like they need may be looking to make some serious money somewhere, and where better than their biggest market?
So what’s up with the math here? Well, it seems that long ago GW figured out they could arbitrage currency conversions to pad their profits. Sure it costs money to transport this stuff across the globe from the UK and sometimes from China than to the UK than to other areas, but how much is too much?
North America Cannot Discount Like the Rest of the World
Perhaps even worse, Games Workshop does not allow their “partner” stores in the US to discount as much as the rest of the world…
This policy is called MAP, and while retailers in the UK and EU can effectively sell the products they buy at what they want, here in the states we can not… The most you can legally discount is 15% off. This is a little confusing as a lot of the world can, but the USA cannot. Just another issue when it comes to Games Workshop and how they go about retailing products to the US. Not only are they more expensive conversion-wise, but retailers can not even start to compete with overseas sellers.
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Even worse it is also against GW policy to ship products overseas from any country, cutting off customers from buying in Europe, etc to do their own currency conversions to save big money.
GW’s Arbitrage Killed Horus Heresy Once…
Back in 2018, when they took away our ability to pay for Forge World products in GBP, some say that effectively killed the resin-heavy Horus Heresy community. Now we pay in our own currencies for Games Workshop products, which as you can see is significantly more.
When GW raised the price by about 25% across the board on Forge World by allowing the “privilege” of paying in our own currency here in the states, they made already expensive kits, just that much more expensive.
It seemed back in 2018 that a lot of Horus Heresy hobbyists just couldn’t keep buying with the raised prices, or at least in the capacity they did before.
Ash Wastes was the Same Thing
This is nothing new, as Ash Wastes was exactly the exact same thing. With the GBP price at 180 and the USD price at 299. So, it looks like anytime they spend a lot on marketing, the North American market (their biggest market by the way) will be picking up the slack when it comes to price.
So be sure to vote with your hobby dollars when you step up to the register for Horus Heresy (or any huge release really) and consider buying from a local game store. That one simple change basically cuts GW profits in half, a loss that they WILL feel over time.
Remember when GW changes the currency, they also pad their profits.
Here are more articles on the issues that Games Workshop is facing now as their stock has dipped and investors have taken notice:
- 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
What are your thoughts on the price differences in different currencies, and how GW seems to squeeze every last dollar out of hobbyists?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
