On Friday, Games Workshop announced its provisional financial results for the financial year, and they are – for a change – merely excellent instead of unprecedented. The Warhammer 40,000 manufacturer estimates it will close the year with total revenue of at least $879 (£655) million, a substantial growth on last year’s total of $694 (£517.5) million. But profits have hit a plateau, at $355 (£265) million compared to last year’s $353 (£262.8) million; respectable, but a negligible increase that doesn’t match the rate of inflation.
We’re at the end of a three year cycle for Games Workshop, with the extremely popular 10th edition of Warhammer 40,000 running down and the upcoming Warhammer 40k 11th edition set to release this summer.
10th edition proved extremely popular for recruiting new players to the game, giving the studio its single best sales month ever when it launched in 2023. Financial year 2024-25 featured completely unprecedented licensing revenue for the firm thanks to the sales sensation of the licensed Space Marine 2 videogame.
I would ordinarily expect the year prior to the launch of a new edition to have slower sales. At this point GW doesn’t usually have substantial releases for faction-specific model ranges which would provide big sales surges, and with a shiny new edition on the horizon it’s a time when players become cautious about purchases. But revenues have grown – so where are the extra costs coming from?
In its half year financial report, GW stated that it had incurred $8 (£6) million in tariffs on imports to the USA , and was on track for that to hit $16 (£12) million by the year end. It spent $20.8 (£15.5) million on capital investment during the first six months of the financial year, a 20% increase compared to the previous year. It also announced the sign-off on a capital project to build a new Warhammer World-style destination venue in America.
As a firm that makes its products from plastic and ships them to customers around the world, we can reasonably infer that GW has incurred some extra costs as a result of the invasion of Iran and the ensuing disruption of oil supplies. Quite how substantial those have been we’ll learn when the studio releases its finalised report for financial year 2025-26, on July 28.
GW’s persistent over-performance has long raised questions of when it will run out of stamina. I don’t think this plateau in profits marks that point – it’s more like a breather before the next sprint, which will start when Warhammer 40k 11th edition launches this summer, and will get an early energy boost from hotly anticipated licensed title Dawn of War 4. However, global factors disrupting international trade are going to make the path before it a lot rockier.
If you have a different prediction for the future of Games Workshop, come and join us in the Wargamer Discord community.
Source: Wargamer
