Hobbyists worldwide seem to be getting fed up with the incessant paywall releases from GW, and it’s getting worse…
The community has been fairly connected on some issues as of late, and we’ve seen actual responses from GW in ways we never have before. While the latest hot button issue was obviously the paywall hiding of the Heavy Intercessors and Flayed Ones in the Pariah Nexus box, that’s just the start of it. In January and February of 2021, we saw five never-before-seen pivots from GW as hobbyists continue to vote “no” with their hobby dollars.
Everything from lowering a price (previously unheard of) to changing the contents of new products mid-release, publishing a release date two months in advance, and changing a sculpt. Now, with the new Charadon book being previewed, there is no better time to vote with your hobby dollars because it seems like that $60 book has rules hidden behind a paywall now too.
GW Scrambling As Hobbyists Vote “No” On Paywall Releases…
The recent release of the Pariah Nexus box was basically panned all over the internet. But that just highlights a recent problem with GW releases. There should be a certain value proposition when you buy something. Let’s say you buy a Coke, would you expect to pay extra for the ice? No, you assume that’s part of the deal.
With something like the new Charadon book, the value proposition of the four factions’ codexes included goes down. Because yes, you just spent $40, but if you want all the rules, well, you have to spend another $60 (That’s right, it’s $60!). We’ll go into that deeper, but it highlights just how important it is to vote with your hobby dollars now!
Pariah Nexus
Let’s start here because it’s so fresh on everyone’s mind. This was a double whammy for both 40k players and Kill Team players. If you wanted the minis, the terrain and rules were lost on you, if you play Kill Team, this was the only way to get the new rules for the Indomitus minis.
We’ve gone over the paywall side of this enough, but let’s look at what the community was able to achieve by panning this box. First, GW has done something we’ve never seen them do, announce the release date for a release 2 months ahead of time! Usually, 2-3 weeks is the most we get in terms of a solid release date.
They announced recently that May is when the individual boxes for Flayed Ones and Heavy Intercessors will be released. People were just constantly hounding them, and they had no choice but to give a solid release date. However, that wasn’t the initial plan.
From their Facebook page, they originally said it would only be a few weeks until they got a separate release, not two months. Seems like GW is either having departments not talking to one another, or just made a totally different decision.
Still, if you were unsure of buying from the secondary market or getting Pariah Nexus, you know how long you’ll have to wait at least!
Changing the Kill Zone Contents
This was just kind of a slap in the face whether on purpose or accidental. GW used pictures of the old boxes in the original Sunday teaser posts about what was inside (along with telling retailers the old $80 pricing the next day).
But then after the pre-orders to retailers had happened, the items that went on to their webstore had new contents and pricing. We don’t know if this was done in a sinister manner, or if they just don’t talk between departments (or both lol).
Either way it happened, and a lot of hobbyists noticed it, alongside the Pariah Nexus release.
We won’t go too deep into this, but if you want to see the full breakdown of how things changed, check out the great video by Foyble Games below.
Lowering the Price of Something
Now, this is something we haven’t seen maybe ever from GW. People smashed the app so badly, they actually cut the price in half. Was that enough? Maybe, but it’s just a great example of how not buying something can actually make a difference.
In retail, it seems like the only reason to ever lower a price is to get folks to buy whatever it is your selling, so we imagine that would be the same for any price reduction we see for GW on any of their products.
Changing a Sculpt
We’ll let you decide which is better, but it’s pretty obvious that there were some serious changes. The overall shape of the head, the robotic pieces running from his neck, the mouth, the hair, and the eyes all seemed to have changed. It has a somewhat similar look, but a lot better. It’s a little curious GW didn’t even say anything and just released a new pic.
We assume it was from all the negative feedback received on social media because there was a lot of it!
Perhaps this could set a precedence for the future, where if enough people roast a mini and GW doesn’t think people will buy it, they’ll change the sculpt. Looks like voting with your hobby dollars, and hobby opinions matter now.
Voting on Book of Rust
Just a quick look at the contents of the Book of Rust will tell you a few things. One, the 40k rule supplements for each faction will only be 4 pages. That means for DG and DE players, in just a couple of months you will have to spend $110 on just rules! While you don’t have to buy this, if you want all the rules for your faction, well, it’s another $60.
Not to mention the Codexes have gone up $10 since the inception of the app code, which it’s still up in the air if anyone wants anyways. Since DG players have already spent the money on the codex, if they want the Fester Discipline (whatever that is) it seems like they will have to pay…
It could be even worse for DE players because this drops the same day as their codex. This could be a double slap in the face, because what if they don’t put any Cult of Strife rules in the Codex, then you may really have no choice.
This leads us to the value proposition argument again. Why not put the additional rules out for free? When a new book drops, people will buy the minis, so why double milk everyone?
This book is the perfect opportunity to vote with our hobby dollars whether it is of value for you or not.
Do you think voting with your money is important? What are your thoughts on the things that have been changed?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
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.
