Silvereyes Posted 14 hours ago Share Posted 14 hours ago I've been into 40K since late 2022. In terms of interaction with other fans of 40K, I've been with my gaming group, posts on various Warhammer Reddit threads, some Youtube videos, the Poorhammer podcast, and very recently, joining this forum. I see a lot of people say things as fact, like "X faction has sold poorly", "X faction is really unpopular and not many people play it", "GW hates/forgets our faction exists" etc. The thing is though, a lot of this is said as a fact, or being common knowledge. I've been doing a small Google search to see if much actual data exists about whether any of these statements are true. GW seems to rarely ever release sales data on specific products, and likewise will rarely comment on a product, beside being very positive in stuff like articles for Warhammer Community and the occasional Warhammer livestream. I wonder how much of this is just people's own assumptions, or if there is any data coming from places like FLGS or from reputated leakers? I wanted to ask people's own opinions, what you think is popular or isn't, what is selling and isn't, and finally, whether you think GW "likes" a faction or not. Obviously, I think Space Marines is a big yes for all these, tons of people play them, they have tons of kits, and GW have made them the poster boys of 40K. But outside Space Marines, how are other factions faring? Any thoughts are appreciated. Or a link to any place that has sources on data like this that I've been dumb enough to miss. Thank you. N1SB, Teetengee and ursvamp 2 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/386453-40k-factions-by-popularity-sales-and-how-much-gw-likes-them/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexington Posted 12 hours ago Share Posted 12 hours ago Often it's a compilation of what's at events and such - there's a lot of stats out there for such things, so you can at least get an idea of what's being played. Which, of course, isn't going to render an exact match of sales figures, but it's probably the best data we're going to get. Otherwise, it's just general observations. What you see locally, what you see people talking about on the internet, what you see people playing in YouTube battle reports and things like that. That doesn't add up to much more than vibes, but it's not the worst barometer imaginable. You also occasionally get bits and bobs from people who are or recently have been involved with the company and are privy to The Secret Information, but it's rarely that surprising. Space Marines sell a ton. Genestealer Cults don't. Everything else falls between there, but there's a wide gulf on either side. N1SB and Silvereyes 1 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/386453-40k-factions-by-popularity-sales-and-how-much-gw-likes-them/#findComment-6127011 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Ming Posted 11 hours ago Share Posted 11 hours ago Isnt codex rotation not that random, sales have to influence it Marines being first etc etc Silvereyes 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/386453-40k-factions-by-popularity-sales-and-how-much-gw-likes-them/#findComment-6127016 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvereyes Posted 9 hours ago Author Share Posted 9 hours ago 2 hours ago, Lexington said: You also occasionally get bits and bobs from people who are or recently have been involved with the company and are privy to The Secret Information, but it's rarely that surprising. That's interesting, is that stuff from leaks I take it? 2 hours ago, Lexington said: Space Marines sell a ton. Genestealer Cults don't. See, I'm curious about the GSC, because you're not the first I've seen to claim that they are the worst selling 40K faction. Is it really that bad for them, compared to everybody else? I suppose I find it interesting considering in 10th edition, GW got rid of the Harlequins and the Ynarri factions. Granted, neither had that many units, and they just got folded back into the Eldar. Is the GSC range just too big, or too different, for GW to just fold them in with the Tyrannids as a sub-faction or something? They still got a new model, codex, dice, army box etc. The bare minimum for 10th edition factions, but still. Just very curious about the idea that we know which one is last right now. Sorry if this is me reacting to obvious information. 2 hours ago, Lexington said: Everything else falls between there, but there's a wide gulf on either side. Makes sense. I guess for future reference, I'm trying to think of putting factions in a tier list in terms of the factors I mentioned. Like say, on a scale that goes: S, A, B, C, D, Space Marines would be S, GSC would be D, and I guess most factions would be in B? Maybe something like C for Grey Knights and Drukhari considering how desperate they are for a range refresh? Not sure what A would be, what's popular but not Space Marine popular? Orks? Guard? 2 hours ago, Lexington said: That doesn't add up to much more than vibes, but it's not the worst barometer imaginable. No, that makes total sense. I get some feel of it from my own game group. But I also try to be a bit objective, and I like to try and see what the "big picture" is. Shame GW seems to try to obscure it from the rest of us. 1 hour ago, Emperor Ming said: Isnt codex rotation not that random, sales have to influence it Marines being first etc etc Oh I'm sure that's true. Space Marines come first but they've done a good job of trying to space out other Space Marine sub-codexes and releases before the launch of 11th. Although I'm sure there's also other factors like what models are being made, what ranges to promote, a bunch of other marketing factors at play. I suppose for full disclosure, part of the reason I thought about this is reading a few bits and bobs, including on this forum, the speculation for the 11th edition starter set, and who the faction facing the Space Marines will be. Reading people dismiss factions like Drukhari, even though they would benefit the most from a range refresh, because they aren't popular enough. Just find that interesting. Also, on a very surface level, I'm a Tau player, I'd like to figure out where my faction fits in. Somewhere in the middle? We seem to be doing all right, we get books, we got the Kroot range refresh, Vespid kill team, an anniversary and event models, Farsight getting a new model and to be the title character of an Ark of Omen books. Seems like there is at least some sort of dedicated fanbase for them. N1SB 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/386453-40k-factions-by-popularity-sales-and-how-much-gw-likes-them/#findComment-6127023 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ursvamp Posted 7 hours ago Share Posted 7 hours ago in regards to OP: In my experience it’s usually based on people’s personal guesses and assumptions. sometimes those assumptions and guesses are well founded. Sometimes not. We don’t Really have much to go on, when it comes to this stuff. And it doesn’t help that GW is very unpredictable, in what they release and why ^^’ The only pattern I seem to see is that Space Marines, Orks, and Chaos Space Marines, consistently get a lot of new stuff (maybe Aeldari, too. Especially if you count in all the mini sub-factions with harlequins, ynnari, and corsairs, that now share their ’dex!). While the others are about the same, seen over a stretch of years. We can assume that is because those factions sell especially well. But who knows, really. - The idea that GW ”dislikes” factions has always sounded off, to me. As if they’re a group of hobbyists sitting at home, deciding which parts of a setting they’d like to engage with in their home game of some RPG. They’re a company. That sells a product. it is in their best interest to make their product(s) sell. And they are constantly finding ways for them to do that. Sometimes that is done through a new release of a codex. Sometimes through new rules (like grotmas detachments, for instance). Sometimes it’s done through models. But these things takes time. And sometimes we have to wait for extended periods, and that’s no fun at all :( . (Though it’s way better, nowadays, than it used to be) Look at Leagues of Votann; released about this time last edition. And just now got their second wave of models, filling out a pretty sparse range into something nice and more robust. if you were a Votann player from launch, that probably felt like a long wait (and you might’ve felt somewhat abandoned during it). But looking at it from a editions-scale perspective, there is a certain pacing to it. Now, wether that pacing is deliberate, accidental, or even the vestige of a currently abandoned philosophy about releases, who knows? tl;dr: my points are that we don’t know why GW do the things they do (And when we don’t know it’s easy to construct relatable ideas, that sound like reasonable answers, in our heads). And that it’s hard to draw conclusions without, or before, we have the bigger picture. ^^’ Antarius 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/386453-40k-factions-by-popularity-sales-and-how-much-gw-likes-them/#findComment-6127027 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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