Warhammer World - Washington DC [2027]

[DemonGSides]

13 hours ago, dalmer said:

I'm attending the GAMA expo in Kentucky this March... and have already been told it's moving to Baltimore for 2027.  Sounds like that's not a good move from what I've been reading. 

 

That's crazy, I'd do whatever I could to stay out of Kentucky and Baltimore is fine; there's like two bad neighborhoods and the convention center isn't near either of them.  I was just in Baltimore last year and it's a gorgeous city, especially the downtown waterfront that the Convention Center is one block from.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

1 hour ago, Marshal Rohr said:

There’s no way they can afford to put it in DC. The literal military-industrial complex puts their offices outside DC. 

 

That's partly because there's no space inside DC itself.  Every square inch of that place is stacked already.

[Flaherty]

On 1/10/2026 at 6:18 AM, techsoldaten said:

Glen Burnie MD is lacking in many ways. There's not an appropriate venue for handling a large event, transportation is solely by car, and there are not nearly enough hotels for this to work. There's nothing old school or OG about it, the first GW stores in the DMV were in College Park and Laurel.

The NOVA Open takes place at a hotel in Crystal City, VA which would be more than sufficient to handle Warhammer World. But the place that might be the best option is the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, MD. Ample space in the convention halls, it's on the water, room rates are reasonable for the area, plenty of nearby restaurants, there's even a casino with all kinds of other attractions. If they want to keep it a little more intimate, there's a convention center in Rockville that would be appropriate (but people would have to do a lot of walking.) There's also a ton of other hotels which would be happy to host the event, there's always something going on in DC.

The Convention Center in DC is probably too expensive for this event and, while Baltimore is an option, the convention center there is oversized for the size of Warhammer World. It would be hard to cover 10% of the space.

There are a lot of FLGSs in the DMV along with competitive players who don't necessarily participate in tournaments but might show up for this. Amongst the local community, there's a weariness of the drama the comes with competitive environments. Most of the people I know just want to play the game, see friends and enjoy the lore. Maybe this could be what reactivates some of the old timers and rekindles an interest amongst the youth in competitive play.

Regarding the talk about Americanizing Warhammer - made me chuckle, the game always seemed to be lampooning the US military's focus on high technology. The setting has become more serious in a lot of ways, but it's never completely broken from those roots.

With regards to the talk of factories - I know about the one in Tennessee but think it's more of a distribution center. From what I understand, the impact of tariffs is a marginal cost for GW and probably not sufficient to move manufacturing over here. If they do, it would probably be because of the cost of energy and access to inputs. Polystyrene is a lot less expensive in the US than it is in Europe and there are many, many other material options available.

I would be surprised if a production factory was actually set up in the US. The USMCA means printing the sprues in Mexico and boxing them in the US would count as Made in America.

Totally agree with the likelihood that GW will eventually open a US factory. They're getting so big, I'd worry if they didn't have some kind of redundancy in production.

 

If I had to wager, they'd likely site the facility somewhere in the south, likely near their TN warehouse – the difference in energy costs and lack of regulation is substantial.

Regarding earlier comments, GW has grown so large that there aren't many potential acquirers. GW has a ~$8B USD market cap. With a $12B market cap, Hasbro couldn't buy them unless GW's stock tanks; at best, it would be a kind of merger. Mattel is smaller than GW. Disney paid $8B for Marvel and Star Wars combined – it's theoretically possible, but feels like an odd fit. I'm sure there are a hundred brands that would make sense for Amazon before GW. Like Lego,

 

At this point, GW is just a thing unto itself, making toys, mostly for adults. Lego has factories in many countries and maintains tight quality control across them all.

 

Tying this back to the subject matter thread, having more destination shops makes sense given that the US is GW's largest market, and hopefully it augurs a more substantial investment to come. 

Edited January 11 by Flaherty

[WrathOfTheLion]

Definitely interesting, although I'd've preferred a different location personally. Even being on the (south) East Coast, it's an 8 hour drive up to Baltimore/DC. It's also an extremely difficult area to deal with traffic-wise.

 

If GW built a factory in the US, it'd likely be in TN, AL, GA or SC. Energy is significantly less expensive, there's a good supply of domestic skilled labor (from well-supported trade schools) and it's so much easier to operate there, wildly so. There's less than no incentive for them to build in the Northeast or West Coast, hence why most foreign automotive companies have production facilities down south now (BMW, VW, etc.). TN to be close to the distribution center would make a lot of logistical sense, but other nearby regional areas with a good rail line to it could work as well.

Edited January 11 by WrathOfTheLion

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

16 minutes ago, WrathOfTheLion said:

Definitely interesting, although I'd've preferred a different location personally. Even being on the (south) East Coast, it's an 8 hour drive up to Baltimore/DC. It's also an extremely difficult area to deal with traffic-wise.

 

If GW built a factory in the US, it'd likely be in TN, AL, GA or SC. Energy is significantly less expensive, there's a good supply of domestic skilled labor (from well-supported trade schools) and it's so much easier to operate there, wildly so. There's less than no incentive for them to build in the Northeast or West Coast, hence why most foreign automotive companies have production facilities down south now (BMW, VW, etc.). TN to be close to the distribution center would make a lot of logistical sense, but other nearby regional areas with a good rail line to it could work as well.

I feel the same way.

after moving across country it’s still a 5 hour drive with about $100 of road tolls between us.

 

 

[techsoldaten]

4 hours ago, Flaherty said:

Totally agree with the likelihood that GW will eventually open a US factory. They're getting so big, I'd worry if they didn't have some kind of redundancy in production.

 

If I had to wager, they'd likely site the facility somewhere in the south, likely near their TN warehouse – the difference in energy costs and lack of regulation is substantial.

Regarding earlier comments, GW has grown so large that there aren't many potential acquirers. GW has a ~$8B USD market cap. With a $12B market cap, Hasbro couldn't buy them unless GW's stock tanks; at best, it would be a kind of merger. Mattel is smaller than GW. Disney paid $8B for Marvel and Star Wars combined – it's theoretically possible, but feels like an odd fit. I'm sure there are a hundred brands that would make sense for Amazon before GW. Like Lego,

 

At this point, GW is just a thing unto itself, making toys, mostly for adults. Lego has factories in many countries and maintains tight quality control across them all.

 

Tying this back to the subject matter thread, having more destination shops makes sense given that the US is GW's largest market, and hopefully it augurs a more substantial investment to come. 

While my first instinct would be TN, the cost of freight is a concern they'd be considering.

The cheapest way of moving stock through the US is by water. Putting a factory near the Mississippi means they could move stock north to regional distribution hubs much cheaper than they could by land.

Dayton, OH is experiencing a renaissance as a distribution hub, in part, because there are overland routes that can reach anywhere in the Continental US in under 24 hours. There are other towns that enjoy just about the same accessibility that are even less expensive to operate from.

Just speculating based on what I know about the company's real estate strategy and labor costs in Southern states, they would want to remain east of the Mississippi and close enough to a major waterway that they don't need to leverage rail for shipments. Picking a distribution hub where they can warehouse product separate from production likely involves a rustbelt state. 

[Flaherty]

4 hours ago, WrathOfTheLion said:

Definitely interesting, although I'd've preferred a different location personally. Even being on the (south) East Coast, it's an 8 hour drive up to Baltimore/DC. It's also an extremely difficult area to deal with traffic-wise.

 

If GW built a factory in the US, it'd likely be in TN, AL, GA or SC. Energy is significantly less expensive, there's a good supply of domestic skilled labor (from well-supported trade schools) and it's so much easier to operate there, wildly so. There's less than no incentive for them to build in the Northeast or West Coast, hence why most foreign automotive companies have production facilities down south now (BMW, VW, etc.). TN to be close to the distribution center would make a lot of logistical sense, but other nearby regional areas with a good rail line to it could work as well.

DC struck me as a strange choice – the NYC metro seems the more natural place if you're targeting the East Coast. It's the biggest population center by far, and you could get Boston/DC folks pretty easily. I wonder how much the NOVA open influenced the site choice – You figure a huge portion of the attendees will make the pilgrimage every year, the GW team probably feels comfortable with the general area. Being mid-Atlantic has some benefits, and it's a solid tourism spot, so that may spill over. Looking forward to late 2027!

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

4 hours ago, techsoldaten said:

While my first instinct would be TN, the cost of freight is a concern they'd be considering.

The cheapest way of moving stock through the US is by water. Putting a factory near the Mississippi means they could move stock north to regional distribution hubs much cheaper than they could by land.

Dayton, OH is experiencing a renaissance as a distribution hub, in part, because there are overland routes that can reach anywhere in the Continental US in under 24 hours. There are other towns that enjoy just about the same accessibility that are even less expensive to operate from.

Just speculating based on what I know about the company's real estate strategy and labor costs in Southern states, they would want to remain east of the Mississippi and close enough to a major waterway that they don't need to leverage rail for shipments. Picking a distribution hub where they can warehouse product separate from production likely involves a rustbelt state. 

If we’re looking at waterborne distribution then Omaha/council bluffs would be a good option. Centrally located on the Missouri River, and right on the junction of Interstates 80, 680, and 29.

 

population to support a large manufacturing and distribution facilities.

[Marshal Rohr]

6 hours ago, Flaherty said:

DC struck me as a strange choice – the NYC metro seems the more natural place if you're targeting the East Coast. It's the biggest population center by far, and you could get Boston/DC folks pretty easily. I wonder how much the NOVA open influenced the site choice – You figure a huge portion of the attendees will make the pilgrimage every year, the GW team probably feels comfortable with the general area. Being mid-Atlantic has some benefits, and it's a solid tourism spot, so that may spill over. Looking forward to late 2027!

I imagine they realized they’d have to hire local New Yorkers to staff it if they put it in New York and didn’t want to deal with the inevitable problem of Warhammer World staff fist fighting tourists. 

[Malakithe]

They should have put it in the center of the country or the geo center of the continent

[Nephaston]

2 hours ago, Malakithe said:

They should have put it in the center of the country or the geo center of the continent

Interestingly, if we get a bit silly with it, this could have at least 4 possibilities with that route even when just considering the US.

The median center of population in Illinois, the mean center of population in Montana, the geographic center of the US in South Dakota, and the geographic center of the contiguous US.

The last two are interesting because until the inclusion of Alaska and Hawaii they used to be the same; the small town of a 178 souls, Lebanon, Kansas.

 

After the addition of Alaska and Hawaii the center moves to an uninhabited but privately owned pasture, with the closest city being Belle Fourche, South Dakota, home to 5855 people.

 

Overall; since americans have the tendency to live more densely on the coasts while keeping the middle of the country comparatively empty, paired with their outright horrendous train connectivity, I can see why Geesubs opted foe a spot that isn't nearly uninhabited and/or hard to reach by America's one true god: The Car.

[phandaal]

1 hour ago, Nephaston said:

Overall; since americans have the tendency to live more densely on the coasts while keeping the middle of the country comparatively empty, paired with their outright horrendous train connectivity, I can see why Geesubs opted foe a spot that isn't nearly uninhabited and/or hard to reach by America's one true god: The Car.

 

Only the Lost and the Damned try to drive their cars in and around DC and Northern Virginia. It is like Carmageddon there, only the traffic is worse.

 

The area GW picked, and the Northeast corridor it is part of, is one of the areas of the US that is highly accessible by train. That part of the country is roughly equivalent in size and population to the whole of the UK, so our friends from the land of guvnas and wo'ah bah'uls would probably feel right at home if they wanted to take a visit.

 

As for other parts of the country, well I heard they tried it in Florida but the trains kept getting overrun by alligators. And here in Texas we ride horses everywhere, when we aren't surfing back and forth on giant waves of oil.

[Evil Eye]

On the train front I think it's worth noting that the kind of rail system used by Europe, Britain etc would absolutely not work in the US. Between the sheer size of the country, large amounts of empty space between locations, large numbers of potential destinations, adverse environmental factors (weather, ground conditions etc) the cost of simply building the infrastructure for such a rail system, let alone upkeep, would be astronomical to the point it would be completely unsustainable, even if it was massively popular (which it likely wouldn't be). Smaller, more localised train systems could work, but one only has to look at the New York subway to see the issue there.

[Brother Carpenter]

On 1/9/2026 at 7:19 PM, mecanojavi99 said:

Now we need one in Tokyo, Canberra and Cairo to complete the secret intercontinental scheme by GW to rule the world!

And most definitely one on or at least at the foot of Mt Ararat

[The Praetorian of Inwit]

I share the concerns of my fellow fraters. There is every chance this ends up overshadowing the UK WW. Especially long term with this being a new build and not having the uks restrictions. 

 

I hope it doesn't...but hope is the first step on the road to disappointment. 

 

(And as a couple of you guys pointed out, yeah it does feel like this is GW starting to become more Americanised)

 

It would seen sensible to have manufacturing facilities in other countries though. Especially given the UK's significant problems. 

[Marshal Rohr]

7 minutes ago, The Praetorian of Inwit said:

I share the concerns of my fellow fraters. There is every chance this ends up overshadowing the UK WW. Especially long term with this being a new build and not having the uks restrictions. 

 

I hope it doesn't...but hope is the first step on the road to disappointment. 

 

(And as a couple of you guys pointed out, yeah it does feel like this is GW starting to become more Americanised)

 

It would seen sensible to have manufacturing facilities in other countries though. Especially given the UK's significant problems. 

NoVA could give the UK a run for its money in restrictions. Unless they’re adding a Warhammer World data center. Then they can do whatever they want. 

[ThaneOfTas]

2 minutes ago, The Praetorian of Inwit said:

 

Actually, thinking about trains further GW should do a collab with Hornby. Model railways and warhammer aren't exactly a million miles apart. Both companies are British. A warhammer themed train set would be epic. 

We do get a very cool look at a 40k train in one of the Operations missions in Space Marine 2, it it is extremely cool looking as cold be expected.

[Xenith]

On the dioramas, GW cycles through them in the WHW museum, and has a team making more. I'd be extremely surprised if they didn't ship old exhibits over there. They're probably already ramping up for this with the relatively high amount of new dioramas they have made in the last years 

[Joe]

I feel like shipping old exhibits over is a bit... risky? Those are relatively fragile displays in places, and given the state of international shipping these days there's a high chance they turn up damaged - or in the wrong country completely.

 

Purpose-built displays would make more sense from my perspective, at least.

[Brother Tyler]

Discussion about where anyone else thinks GW should have decided to build the new facility should be taken up elsewhere, like a new topic in the Amicus Aedes forum. While I'm in Texas and would have preferred something closer to me (because I'm selfish like that ), the NCR location makes perfect sense given the concentration of the tabletop miniature wargaming hobby and overall population in that region. I lived in the NCR at one time and can easily understand why it was chosen for this (and I suppose having the existing GW facility in Grapevine, TX means that I already have something close-ish to me so I need to stop whining about not getting something more ). As a tabletop miniature wargaming hobbyist, I wish my local scene was as populous as that found near the US NCR.

 

Construction can take a long time, so the note that "...we hope to open the doors late in 2027..." implies [to me] that either (a) work has already begun and is far enough along that GW feels confident in the timeline, (b) GW has a pretty ambitious construction plan (hopefully not too ambitious), (c) or the facility will be a modification to an existing facility that requires much less construction effort. Regardless, GW has clearly indicated that this isn't something that is six years down the road.

 

As for displays and such at the upcoming facility, I hope that GW uses new homegrown stuff and leaves existing displays in the UK. Those of us who are able to travel to different locations (not me, of course, but some of you) would probably prefer to be able to see different stuff at each. Also, each facility could then become a celebration of local (relatively speaking) hobbyists.

 

Hopefully the announced facility will be successful and GW might consider similar additional facilities in other countries where they might be supported (basic cost-benefit analysis involved).

[phandaal]

20 minutes ago, Brother Tyler said:

I lived in the NCR at one time and can easily understand why it was chosen for this (and I suppose having the existing GW facility in Grapevine, TX means that I already have something close-ish to me so I need to stop whining about not getting something more ).

 

If your username is any indication, it wouldn't take you much longer to get from NYC to DC on the Acela than it would take for you to get over to GW's DFW facility.

 

As another easterner-turned-Texan, I understand why GW wouldn't put their first US Warhammer World here. The scale of this great free State does take some getting used to. 

 

Edited January 20 by phandaal

[Focslain]

2 hours ago, Brother Tyler said:

(c) or the facility will be a modification to an existing facility that requires much less construction effort. Regardless, GW has clearly indicated that this isn't something that is six years down the road.

 

As for displays and such at the upcoming facility, I hope that GW uses new homegrown stuff and leaves existing displays in the UK. Those of us who are able to travel to different locations (not me, of course, but some of you) would probably prefer to be able to see different stuff at each. Also, each facility could then become a celebration of local (relatively speaking) hobbyists.

 

Hopefully the announced facility will be successful and GW might consider similar additional facilities in other countries where they might be supported (basic cost-benefit analysis involved).

 

I do think they are just modifying an existing structure as it is the easiest and most of the time, cheapest way.

 

Most likely all displays would be locally sourced, at least as close as the Citadel in TX. They are most likely already working on those as we speak to be ready for an opening next year.