Games Workshop

Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.
Founded in 1975 by John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, Games Workshop was originally a manufacturer of wooden boards for games including backgammon, mancala, nine men's morris and Go. It later became an importer of the U.S. role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and then a publisher of wargames and role-playing games in its own right, expanding from a bedroom mail-order company in the process. It expanded into Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia in the early 1990s. All UK-based operations were relocated to the current headquarters in Lenton, Nottingham in 1997.
It started promoting games associated with The Lord of the Rings film trilogy in 2001. It also owns Forge World (which makes complementary specialist resin miniatures and conversion kits). It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has been a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index since 20 December 2024.
Founded in 1975 at 15 Bolingbroke Road, London by John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (not to be confused with U.S. game designer Steve Jackson), Games Workshop was originally a manufacturer of wooden boards for games including backgammon, mancala, nine men's morris, and Go. It later became an importer of the U.S. role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and then a publisher of wargames and role-playing games in its own right, expanding from a bedroom mail-order company in the process.
In order to promote their business and postal games, create a games club, and provide an alternative source for games news, the newsletter Owl and Weasel was founded in February 1975. This was superseded in June 1977 by White Dwarf.
From the outset, there was a clear, stated interest in print regarding "progressive games", including computer gaming, which led to the departure of John Peake in early 1976, who preferred "traditional games" (such as backgammon). The loss of Peake also meant the loss of the fledgling company's main source of income. However, having successfully obtained official distribution rights to Dungeons & Dragons and other TSR products in the UK, and maintaining a high profile by running games conventions, the business grew rapidly. It opened its first shop in April 1978.
In late 1978 Games Workshop provided the funding to co-found Citadel Miniatures in Newark-on-Trent. Citadel would produce the metal miniatures used in its role-playing games and tabletop wargames. The "Citadel" name became synonymous with Games Workshop Miniatures, and continues to be a trademarked brand name used in association with them long after the Citadel company was absorbed into Games Workshop. For a time Gary Gygax promoted the idea of TSR, Inc. merging with Games Workshop, until Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone backed out.
The company's publishing arm also released UK reprints of American RPGs such as Call of Cthulhu, Runequest, Traveller and Middle-earth Role Playing, which were expensive to import (having previously done so for Dungeons & Dragons since 1977).
In 1984 Games Workshop ceased distributing its products in the U.S. through hobby games distributors and opened its Games Workshop (U.S.) office. Games Workshop (U.S.), and Games Workshop in general, grew significantly in the late 1980s, with over 250 employees on the payroll by 1990.
Tom Kirby became General Manager in 1986. Following a management buyout by him and Bryan Ansell in December 1991, when Livingstone and Jackson sold their shares for £10 million, Games Workshop refocused on their miniature wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle (WFB) and Warhammer 40,000 (WH40k), their most lucrative lines. The retail chain refocused on a younger, more family-oriented market. The change of direction was a great success and the company enjoyed growing profits, but the more commercial direction of the company made it lose some of its old fan base. A breakaway group of two company employees published Fantasy Warlord in competition with Games Workshop, but the new company met with little success and closed in 1993. Games Workshop expanded in Europe, the US, Canada and Australia, opening new branches and organising events in each new commercial territory. Having been acquired by private equity firm ECI Partners the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 1994. In October 1997 all UK-based operations were relocated to the current headquarters in Lenton, Nottingham.
The company diversified by acquiring Sabretooth Games (card games), creating the Black Library (literature), and working with THQ (computer games).
In late 2009 Games Workshop issued a succession of cease and desist orders against various Internet sites it accused of violating its intellectual property generating anger and disappointment from its fan community.
On 16 May 2011, Maelstrom Games announced that Games Workshop had revised the terms and conditions of their trade agreement with independent stockists in the UK. The new terms and conditions restricted the sale of all Games Workshop products to within the European Economic Area.
On 16 June 2013, WarGameStore, a UK-based retailer of Games Workshop products since 2003, announced further changes to Games Workshop's trade agreement with UK-based independent stockists.
Tom Kirby stepped down in 2017.
In July 2021, Games Workshop made changes to their IP guidelines, adopting a "zero tolerance" stance towards fan-made games, videos and animations, drawing criticism from fans.
The presence of Games Workshop in the East Midlands has led the region to become the centre of the wargames industry in the UK, known as the lead belt with numerous other companies founded by former employees.
Alongside the UK publishing rights to several American role-playing games in the 1980s (including Call of Cthulhu, Runequest and Middle-earth Role Playing,) Games Workshop also secured the rights to produce miniatures or games for several classic British science fiction properties such as Doctor Who and several characters from 2000 AD including Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd. Alongside the rights to reprint Iron Crown Enterprises' Middle-earth Role Playing, Citadel Miniatures acquired the rights to produce 28 mm miniatures based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
In conjunction with the promotion of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy in 2001, Games Workshop acquired the rights to produce a skirmish wargame and miniatures, using the movies' production and publicity art, and information provided by the original novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. A 25 mm scale was used. The rights to produce a role-playing game using the films' art and both the book and the movies' plots and characters were sold to another firm, Decipher, Inc. Games Workshop also produced a Battle of Five Armies game based on a culminating episode in The Hobbit, using 10 mm scale.
On 10 February 2011 Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced that it had extended its six-year agreement with Games Workshop, continuing its exclusive, worldwide rights to produce tabletop games based on "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings." Games Workshop announced plans to expand their offerings of battle-games and model soldiers, and to continue to develop and increase offerings based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy books.
Games Workshop has expanded into several divisions/companies producing products related to the Warhammer universe.
The company has hard-to-reproduce, unique intellectual property, and a good export record. Sales slowed around 1999-2000 due to supply chain issues, but quickly rebounded a few years later.
Games Workshop previously produced miniature figures via an associated, originally independent, company called Citadel Miniatures while the main company concentrated on retail. The distinction between the two blurred after Games Workshop stores ceased to sell retail products by other manufacturers, and Citadel was effectively merged back into Games Workshop.
The following games were in production as of 2024:
The following games were in production as of 2024:
Specialist games came out of GW intention to create other games alongside the core Warhammer and WH40K. Originally called secondary game systems, these were intended to have a finite lifespan of a couple of years before being retired and a new game published. These games were aimed at the "veteran" gamers. These are gamers who are more experienced in the core games produced by Games Workshop. This is because the rules and the complexity of tactics inherent in the systems are often more in-depth than the core games. This also includes games that aren't necessarily more complex, but have a smaller more specialised target audience. Following the unexpected success of Necromunda, the Fanatic division of GW was set up in 1996, this was later renamed "Specialist Games". The division was shut down in 2013, with all games being discontinued.
These games were not made by Games Workshop but used similar-style models, artwork and concepts. These games were made by mainstream toy companies and were available in toy and department stores.
Games Workshop produces a line of acrylic paints for painting miniatures, under the Citadel name. At the end of March 2012 the company announced a new range of over 145 colours made in the UK. The current Citadel paint types are:
Contrast paints were added to the Games Workshop paint range in 2019, promoted as speeding up the painting process for players. The existing range of paints was also expanded and reorganised when Contrast was released, and branding changed from Citadel to Citadel Colour. The previously available Glaze line of paints was discontinued, replaced with the introduction of the Air Clear paints, the previously available Edge line of paints were combined into the Layer line, with some colours also being renamed, and the previously separate Texture line of paints was combined into the Technical line.
Several of the miniatures games (e.g. Inquisitor) involve a role-playing element; however, Games Workshop has, in the past, published role-playing games set within the Warhammer universe. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay was first published in 1986; a second edition appeared in 2005 published by Black Industries, part of GW's fiction imprint BL Publishing. In 2018 a 4th edition was published by Cubicle 7.
Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, the first of three proposed role-playing games set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, was released in late January 2008 and sold out almost immediately. In September 2008 production was transferred to Fantasy Flight Games.
Fantasy Flight Games subsequently published four other roleplaying games; Rogue Trader, Deathwatch, Black Crusade, and Only War, set in the same Warhammer 40,000 universe and employing similar mechanics.
The following games are technically out of print in their original editions, but have had new versions (in some cases heavily revised and in some cases with additional game expansions) published by Fantasy Flight Games.
Games Workshop had a strong history in boardgames development, alongside the miniatures and RPGs. Several may have had roleplaying elements, or had miniatures included or produced. Spacefarers released in 1981 was one of these board games with a set of miniature rules especially designed for use with Citadel Miniatures' figures.
Licensing for an undisclosed proportion of Games Workshop's back catalogue of board games was transferred to Fantasy Flight Games as part of the same transaction which included Black Library's Role Playing Games. Fantasy Flight has republished revised editions of a number of these games. At the time of the announcement, Black Library had only one boardgame in print, the 4th Edition of "Talisman". Fantasy Flight subsequently released revised editions of Talisman and of other former Games Workshop boardgames. On 9 September 2016, Fantasy Flight Games announced the termination of its licensing agreement with Games Workshop.
Games Workshop currently has several standalone board games in production.
The following games are technically out of print in their original editions, but have had new versions (in all cases heavily revised and in some cases with additional game expansions) published by Fantasy Flight Games.
Games Workshop released a trading card game (TCG) in 2018 based on the Age of Sigmar universe called Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions Trading Card Game.
There were yearly Games Day events held by Games Workshop which was started in 1975, at Seymour Hall, London on 20 December 1975. It included the Golden Demon painting competition, news stands, sales stands, and tables to play on. In 2014 it was replaced by 'Warhammer Fest', similar but with additions such as demonstration pods and seminars.
Games Workshop has run numerous Worldwide Campaigns for its three core game systems. In each campaign, players are invited to submit the results of games played within a certain time period.
Each Warhammer campaign has had a new codex published with the rules for special characters or "incomplete" army lists. Below are listed the Games Workshop Worldwide Campaigns (with the campaign's fictional universe setting in parentheses):
These Campaigns were run to promote its miniature wargames, and attracted interest in the hobby, particularly at gaming clubs, Hobby Centres and independent stockists. Forums for the community were created for each campaign (in addition to those on the main site), as a place to "swap tactics, plan where to post your results, or just chat about how the campaign is going." In some cases special miniatures were released to coincide with the campaigns; the promotional "Gimli on Dead Uruk-hai" miniature, for example, was available only through the campaign roadshows or ordering online. As a whole these events have been successful; one, for example, was deemed "a fantastic rollercoaster", with thousands of registered participants.
Games Workshop's has published the White Dwarf magazine since 1977 and has over 400 issues. Games Workshop also published Fanatic Magazine in support of their Specialist Games range. After the cancellation of Fanatic Magazine, an electronic version, known as "Fanatic Online" was published from Games Workshop's Specialist Games website.
For a brief period in the mid-1980s GW took over publication of the Fighting Fantasy magazine Warlock from Puffin Books who had produced the first 5 issues. The magazine turned into a general introductory gaming magazine but was discontinued after issue 13.
There was also a fortnightly series called "Battle Games in Middle Earth", which came with a single or several free Lord of the Rings SBG miniatures. Though the miniatures were made by Games Workshop, the magazine itself was written by SGS (part of Games Workshop) and published by De Agostini.
Games Workshop issued a trademark complaint against retailer Amazon, specifically relating to the novel Spots the Space Marine, claiming it violated their European 'space marine' trademark. Commentators such as Cory Doctorow and digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, questioned the right of Games Workshop to trademark the term. On 8 February 2013, Spots the Space Marine reappeared on Amazon. Games Workshop has issued no further legal action.
Games Workshop illustrators also published artbooks covering parts of their commissioned work for the company. These include Adrian Smith, Ian Miller and John Blanche.
From 1997 to 2005 Black Library published INFERNO!, a magazine of short stories, artwork, and other features set in the various fictional universes of Games Workshop, and regularly featuring that of Warhammer 40,000. Since 2010 Black Library has produced a monthly eBook called "Hammer and Bolter" with the focus on short stories set in the different Games Workshop universes.
In the late 1980s the death metal band Bolt Thrower wrote lyrics dedicated to the Warhammer 40,000 universe and used 40k artwork on the cover of their second album, Realm of Chaos.
In the early 1990s Games Workshop created its own short-lived record company, Warhammer Records. The first album released by the label was Oblivion by D-Rok, in 1991. A fragment of D-Rok's song "Get Out of My Way" was used in the computer game "Space Hulk", published by Electronic Arts in 1992. Wraith released two albums, Danger Calling (1992) and Riot (1993) while with the label. Rich Rags album, Psycho Dead Heads from Outer Space (1993), was the final original album the label released. The label also had the UK distribution rights for Saxon's album Forever Free. The label was folded in 1993.
In the early 2000s the German label Art of Perception produced a 12 part soundtrack vinyl series followed by three CD compilations. The task for the artists involved in this project was to conduct a theme for a species from the Warhammer 40.000 universe.
In 2009 the Singaporean death metal band, Deus Ex Machina released I, Human, which makes numerous references to the Warhammer 40,000 universe, particularly the Adeptus Mechanicus faction.
In 2007 and 2015 the German death metal band Debauchery released several songs about the Chaos God Khorne, "Praise the Blood God", "True To The Skull Throne (And Bound To Kill)", and "Blood For The Blood God".
Games Workshop announced that Exile Studios would produce a CGI movie based upon the Bloodquest graphic novel; a trailer was released, but the project was discontinued and Exile Studios disbanded.
For the 25th Anniversary Games Day, Games Workshop released in 1996 (for limited sale) a short movie entitled Inquisitor, using clips and footage that was created as a pitch to G.W. for a film deal. There were also trailers for two other films, "Hive Infestation" and "Blood for the Blood God". "Hive Infestation" pitted Space Wolf terminators against a genestealer cult infestation of a hive world. "Blood for the Blood God" was the second trailer released, and portrayed orks and Dark Angel marines fighting along with an inquisitor, much in the style of the Epic 40,000 video game cut scenes, but little information was given on this short film aside from a shot of a berserker of Khorne (available in YouTube but flagged by Games Workshop, removing the movie).
Another one was Damnatus, a German fan film developed over four years. Games Workshop announced in July 2007 that they would not give permission for the film to be released because of issues between Anglo-American copyright and Continental European Droit d'auteur.
In 2010 Games Workshop with Codex Pictures released a 70-minute downloadable film called Ultramarines. The screenplay was written by Black Library author Dan Abnett. Terence Stamp, Sean Pertwee and John Hurt head the cast of voice actors.
On 5 August 2021, Games Workshop launched Warhammer Plus, a subscription service that provides access to exclusive Warhammer-themed shows and animations, as well as other content such as classic issues of the White Dwarf magazine and exclusive miniatures.