On Friday, Games Workshop reported that its pre-tax profit for the year would be at least $345 million (£255 million), beating last year’s already record-setting tally by $70 million (£52 million). Massive licensing profits from hit videogame Space Marine 2 are a big part of that, and a knock-on surge in interest in the Warhammer 40,000 miniature wargame. But unfortunately for fans, the firm still isn’t able to keep up with demand for certain key products.
The most recent example is the Chapter Approved 2025-26 Mission Deck, which sold out on the official Warhammer webstore the same day it went up for pre-order. This is an essential product for competitive Warhammer 40k players, providing the full set of mission rules used in tournaments, and though it’s not essential for casual play, it is certainly the most popular system.
We published an article in the brief window between the deck being announced and it selling out, noting that competitive players were apprehensive about this happening. The deck for the 24-25 season was in similarly short supply.
This is nowhere near as bad as the supply problems Games Workshop faced during COVID lockdowns. Social distancing measures reduced its manufacturing capacity, cardboard packaging and other print material was difficult to source as production partners were similarly stymied, and at the same time thousands of new fans took to building Warhammer 40k factions as a distraction from the tedium of isolation.
Even as those problems lifted, the firm experienced massive success with the launch of 10th edition 40k. These put the spotlight on underlying weaknesses in the firms logistics and IT infrastructure.
CEO Kevin Rountree regularly acknowledges these difficulties in annual reports. The firm has put substantial effort into modernising its IT infrastructure, completing warehouse overhauls, and increasing the efficiency of its in-house production facilities. It has even secured permission to develop a fourth factory near its HQ in Nottingham, UK, which will move all paint production into one building, freeing up more space to make miniatures.
To the best of our knowledge, Games Workshop does not have in-house printing facilities for cards, and the firm relies on manufacturing partners to produce them. Restocks of Chapter Approved may therefore be delayed until that production partner has a gap in its schedule, or held up by international shipping if they’re located overseas.
Even when it comes to products the firm can produce in-house, things aren’t perfect. On Friday, Games Workshop announced the upcoming release of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy third edition, and on Monday, the Warhammer Community website posted a sizzle-reel article recommending products fans might want to pick up, such as the iconic Warhammer 40k Primarchs. But when I checked on Tuesday, fourteen of these character models were out of stock.
It’s hard to call Warhammer 40k a ‘victim’ of its own success when it’s doing so well. It enjoys a massive network effect – people play Warhammer 40k in part because everyone else plays 40k. But if that popularity means that key products are impossible to get, some players will bounce off. We’re a long way from that point – but GW needs to improve forecasting and meeting demand if it wants to keep it that way.
Did you lock down a Chapter Approved deck? Is there a unit you want for your army that hasn’t been in stock for months? Or do you think this is all a fuss about nothing? Come and chat about it in the official Wargamer Discord community!
Excited by the minis in the new edition of Horus Heresy, and want to learn more? Check out our guide to the Space Marine Legions.
Source: Wargamer
