Here is the secret sauce that has kept Warhammer around for so long and how Games Workshop built up such a strong intellectual property and following.
A guest post by Ben De St Paer-Gotch: Twitter @nebuk89
I have written before on Games Workshop’s strategy and where I, at least, feel they could lean into different areas to drive the business’s success.
I thought it could be fun to pair these previous articles with one that really went into why Games Workshop is a fantastic company at what they do today.
What is the secret sauce in their intellectual property that has driven so many content creators, websites, writers, bloggers, 3d designers, game makers, etc., to invest their time supporting, collaborating with, or working for Games Workshop?
Games Workshop is still a powerhouse; let’s dig into why.
Why is the Games Workshop Intellectual Property So Valuable?
To start off, let’s take a step back and look at the heart of Games Workshop- the right unique intellectual property.
I get the impression that this may be focused on in the upcoming book by Sir Ian Livingstone, ‘Dice Men,’ and is, in my opinion, one of his long-standing impacts still on the company.
I touched on this in my previous posts, but I think diving into the specific magic of the Games Workshop intellectual property is both fun and insightful as to why they are such a powerhouse at what they do.
When we talk about intellectual property and GW, it is more often negatively associated with take-down requests for 3d prints, YouTube, etc. However, the intellectual property that Games Workshop has created is so much more than Space Marine’s design or the imperial Aquila.
Over time, GW has learned the lessons laid out, in the main, by JRR Tolkein on how to go about creating a universe. I don’t just mean stars with names or different types of aliens. GW has created consistent rules for races, cultures, laws, physics, magic, science, religion, and more.
They have created a basic set of foundational conditions for a universe, a rich history for it, and settings that continue to grow.
This has been done over many, many years, and yes, some bits have been restated as no longer true, while other bits can, at times, be silly. But the real magic of having such clear rules is that the universe doesn’t have to just focus on a single person, family, or even race.
This empowers people to fit in to play parts of this history out, to create new parts of the history, or to have their own stories and adventures to the side that can live by these rules. Yes, there are also major characters and events to anchor around, but GW is always willing to create room for more imagination or invention.
What Sets The Games Workshop Intellectual property Apart?
The core difference in the Games Workshop intellectual property is the balanced ability to create a story as rich as any of the main story arcs without breaking the universe.
That is the one that makes which makes them (company value approx $2b) so different.
If we consider an intellectual property like, say, Harry Potter (Brand value approx $4 billion), this is a universe where there are a small number of races, limited to one planet, and where most magic has an ‘upper bound.’
Anyone can be a wizard, but you cannot fit your hero in with Harry– we know he had a couple of friends. Nor can you make up new houses in Hogwarts; we know the houses that are there. The world is a much smaller place with much less room for major creation, and it’s harder to see yourself as the hero or to express yourself than in Warhammer.
If we also consider something like Lord of the Rings, though much bigger with more races that you may want to relate to, it is still so small compared to something like Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40k, or even the Old World. There are fewer races, a known single planet, and far less room for unique new creations around major events that you want to be part of.
The magic in Games Workshop is how they have managed to create IP which so finely lets you play a trodden path of known Heroes and replicate their adventures. Or to create your own path, with your own heroes creating your own stories and memories. Or you can tread the middle ground, create known heroes and create new adventures for them.
A clear universe with laws you can play within, intentionally designed for creativity and variety, means that we can all create as much as we want (and Games Workshop can also create as much as they want as well)!
Long-Lived Characters
Another trick GW have snuck into both worlds is making most of their characters very long-lived. Those that aren’t are being phased out (poor Yarrick) as it’s harder to have people create new adventures infinitely when someone is only alive for 100 years.
Within this space, all heroes can have as many adventures with you as they like while also having all their official stories remaining just as true.
This is amazing for the IP as it means that GW can always create new stories or expand on what they have, creating new major characters or events that drive new sales or products. Whether they want to create a new race, a new main hero, or just a new narrative for a book or game, all of this can be done without hurting existing content or characters (in the main!)
I do want to say that there are tons of amazing sci-fi and fantasy books out there that may have all these attributes as well. The sad thing is not seeing these being picked up and developed more or getting that continual investment that keeps them alive. (I would love to see in the comments some suggestions of books I could try that are amazing sci-fi or fantasy universes!)
So What Does it Mean For Everyone Else In The Hobby Space?
Given all of this, what does this mean for everyone else in the miniature hobby space? Well, it presents a really tricky challenge for the other companies out there.
People like to get ‘into’ their hobby on a different spectrum, from ‘just painting’ to being immersed in every book and speck of lore. Much like the range of options within the universe, having this well-balanced ability to engage in the depth of narrative and take it with you in different ways makes this universe hard to challenge for other game makers.
You can play the other games, but none have the depth of lore and open creativity and variety which can be adopted by its players. I would even speculate that no one will even compete until they get some top-line authors onboard creating books around their IP, which bring with them some of these foundational universe laws and lore.
What Could GW Do Next?
One question tends to leap to mind given all this, why is Games Workshop valued at less than other IPs if it’s really this good? The answer is that they are only just starting to lean into it the same way.
Over the last decade, we have seen unique IP explode in value as companies like Marvel have properly funded universes of films and other materials to go with it. On the other hand, GW is just starting this now, with an empire of stores, minis, books, and their IP- their value is less than half something like Harry Potter.
Games Workshop is on the edge of embracing doing more, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see GW’s stock price go up ‘a lot’ over the next few years as they dive into this hidden value for other products they can monetize.
People love to play and create. This is true around the world and depending on who you are, depends on what kind of constraints you would like for your “play” and “creation.” Some people want to play in a totally open world, and others want to follow a pre-laid path and pattern.
GW does both of these and everything in between so well. I honestly wish more companies were out there creating such broad and immersive unique IPs as Games Workshop.
I hope that companies other than GW will, at some point, focus on not just “creating video games” but instead realize the value of trying to find the next Lord of the Rings, the next Harry Potter, and the next Warhammer 40k universe.
I want to see those amazing new universes created for everyone with games, movies, books, comics, and more. I want to see startups that focus on creating this new content value that others can invest in.
I want to see creativity be funded and more options created for everyone. Until then, I am grateful for the balance that Games Workshop has struck and hope they never lose it.
Check out Ben’s full series on what Games Workshop is, and how they could be so much more below!
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A guest post by Ben | Principal Product Manager @docker| Life goals: – Get Big – Turn Green – SMASH! \Views are my own\ Twitter @nebuk89
What do you think sets Games Workshop apart from other game companies? And what other books are out there with amazing backgrounds and lore?
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