2025 releases speculation thread.

[Aarik]

On 2/16/2025 at 7:23 AM, jimbo1701 said:

Moving a little bit into the future here but with the factions in the game not far off total plasification now what would people like to see for factions going forward:

 

1. Return of old classics (ie guard regiments, older special characters etc) 

2. now defunct FW units brought to plastic (ie c

shadow spectres, reaper, hazard battlesuits) 

3. completely original models and ideas 

 

I think we'll continue to see sort of "sub-faction" releases/expansions for existing armies, ala the Beast Snaggas, Kroot, and Krieig ranges.  Taking older ideas/models and expanding on them, while still having them be usable in the army generally.  So, Eldar corsairs and exodites, for example, or other guard regiments.  I can't think of examples for all the ranges though, but I'm sure GW could find some other ideas.  But I would be surprised if we got any completely new factions anytime soon just because there are so many already and GW already has a very hard time getting them to some semblance of balance and being able to redo them every edition.  

[jimbo1701]

I think the recent krieg release shows they are happy to do #2 and #3 and the eldar exemplifies #1 so fingers crossed we will continue to see a mix going forward. 
 

I would love love to see things such as the great knarloc in plastic, but doubt we will see knarloc riders now that rampagers are a thing. Shadow spectres ported to plastic would be amazing and there’s definite potential for some new dual build guard tank kits to fill roles, such as a salamander/griffon and a basilisk/medusa. 

[TheArtilleryman]

14 minutes ago, jimbo1701 said:

I think the recent krieg release shows they are happy to do #2 and #3 and the eldar exemplifies #1 so fingers crossed we will continue to see a mix going forward. 
 

I would love love to see things such as the great knarloc in plastic, but doubt we will see knarloc riders now that rampagers are a thing. Shadow spectres ported to plastic would be amazing and there’s definite potential for some new dual build guard tank kits to fill roles, such as a salamander/griffon and a basilisk/medusa. 

That Basilisk/Medusa kit was a massive missed opportunity. It would be perfect for Krieg but a) doesn’t have all the weapon options for 40K and b) Medusa isn’t in the codex. We keep saying it time and again on here but this idea of keeping the ranges totally separate to enable better tracking of sales is an own goal imo, as surely more people would buy that kit if it was fully useable for both systems…

[jimbo1701]

12 minutes ago, TheArtilleryman said:

That Basilisk/Medusa kit was a massive missed opportunity. It would be perfect for Krieg but a) doesn’t have all the weapon options for 40K and b) Medusa isn’t in the codex. We keep saying it time and again on here but this idea of keeping the ranges totally separate to enable better tracking of sales is an own goal imo, as surely more people would buy that kit if it was fully useable for both systems…

indeed. I can’t help but feel that they will cross that line in 11th by releasing more mechanicum and then custodes for 40K and allowing part of the range in 40K, for want of not knowing what else to release for their 40K counterparts. (Female custodes sculpts aside) 

[ZeroWolf]

Problem is, I could see them arguing that tracking sales is what tells them if a game is in good health or not (there is logic there, at least a little bit. If no one is buying anything then the game may as well be dead to them). Basically, they'd say that if kits were usable in both ranges, a sale of a HH kit wouldn't tell them if HH was doing well as the kit may be used for 40k. No  if that was the case, they'd have to get off their bottoms and actually do more engagement with their customers to see how things were going, but you know, why do that?

 

1 hour ago, jimbo1701 said:

indeed. I can’t help but feel that they will cross that line in 11th by releasing more mechanicum and then custodes for 40K and allowing part of the range in 40K, for want of not knowing what else to release for their 40K counterparts. (Female custodes sculpts aside) 

I think they'd just resculpt those figures in plastic and then lock them to 40k (sadly) rather than going back on this silly move.

[TheArtilleryman]

5 minutes ago, ZeroWolf said:

Problem is, I could see them arguing that tracking sales is what tells them if a game is in good health or not (there is logic there, at least a little bit. If no one is buying anything then the game may as well be dead to them). Basically, they'd say that if kits were usable in both ranges, a sale of a HH kit wouldn't tell them if HH was doing well as the kit may be used for 40k. No  if that was the case, they'd have to get off their bottoms and actually do more engagement with their customers to see how things were going, but you know, why do that?

 

I think they'd just resculpt those figures in plastic and then lock them to 40k (sadly) rather than going back on this silly move.

The dumb thing is that both versions of kits like the Rhino, Vindicator, Land Raider and Predator are already interchangeable between both systems. All three types of terminators kits can also be used in both games, providing you pick legal options for both. I could buy a bunch of heresy vehicles and use them exclusively in 40K, and they’d think “this guy loves heresy.” In fact, considering the price of heresy kits compared to 40K, I’m actually quite likely to do so (although in my case I do like both).

Edited February 18 by TheArtilleryman

[Rain]

I don’t dispute that tracking “game health” is important for GW, but it’s pretty dumb logic.

 

A sale is a sale. GW makes the same money from a sale of a HH vehicle to a 40k player as to a HH player, as to someone that will paint up the vehicle and put it in a case to look at and never “use.” If some 40k players really like the aesthetics of HH units, and want to buy them for their 40k armies, GW should be happy.

 

In other words, if HH sells models then HH is a success. *Why* it sells those models is only important insofar as those reasons should be catered to further. So, if it sells because of cross compatibility with 40k, then cross compatibility should be *increased* to sell even more. 
 

Instead they see it as “cannibalizing” 40k sales, which is silly as it’s the same company making both products, and the margins on the kits are likely similar. If some players prefer the HH look for some 40k units, give them the option, and make the sale. Dollars (or pounds sterling, or maple leaves, or whatever Canadians use) are dollars. As GW themselves love to say, they are a minis company, so the only aim should be to sell minis.