How do GW improve sales?

[Brother Christopher]

While we can discuss this and that, when it comes to miniatures sales, I think the two-part simple solution that's bring more sales is: drop prices by 10-20% (and remove the ridiculous 'character tax' so that a single regular infantry character doesn't cost as much as 10 regular or 3-5 elite infantry dudes) and make the game more accessible and stable.

 

This is it - I'm quite sure. It's as simple and as difficult as that.

[gideon stargreave]

There are a lot of assumptions in this thread. The latest investor report showed a record year in core revenue. They are also free of borrowing and have a debt free balance sheet.

[Dark Shepherd]

Theyve been debt free for a long time (which is good) and dividends remain high and consistent. And the board afaik arent divesting shares

 

But the vibe index is way down too :)

[Marshal Rohr]

The vibe index has been down for reasons unrelated to GWs oddities. 

[techsoldaten]

3 hours ago, gideon stargreave said:

There are a lot of assumptions in this thread. The latest investor report showed a record year in core revenue. They are also free of borrowing and have a debt free balance sheet.

Have not read the report after I discovered how much the balance sheet colored my opinion of the hobby.

Did they break out revenue according to lines of business? Would be interested in knowing how model sales compare to video games and IP licensing.

Top line revenue might not be the best indicator of the company's direction. Were profits from licensing revenue to outstrip model sales, that could lead to a situation where they stop producing models. Hobby gone.

[Griefbringer]

22 minutes ago, techsoldaten said:

Did they break out revenue according to lines of business? Would be interested in knowing how model sales compare to video games and IP licensing.

 

They do separate the revenue from the sales of their own products from lisencing income. Presently, the lisencing income is relatively low compared to the total sales revenue (cannot remember the ratio to actual profit) but it is an important income source for the company, being quite easy money.

 

As for the revenue from the sales of GW's own products, the reports break it down by sales channels (online store, GW stores, third party retail), and geographical area, but no actual product line. So no info as to how much came from books, models, paints, brushes, different games etc.

[Stitch5000]

On 10/15/2026 at 9:05 AM, Robbienw said:

I don't think most people understand how share prices work.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one thinking this. 

[Stitch5000]

4 hours ago, Brother Christopher said:

While we can discuss this and that, when it comes to miniatures sales, I think the two-part simple solution that's bring more sales is: drop prices by 10-20% (and remove the ridiculous 'character tax' so that a single regular infantry character doesn't cost as much as 10 regular or 3-5 elite infantry dudes) and make the game more accessible and stable.

 

This is it - I'm quite sure. It's as simple and as difficult as that.

This is absolutely 100% correct if you want to do more work for less money. 

Evidently the sweet spot for GW in terms of volume and profit has yet to be reached, because revenue is still in growth. 

[Karhedron]

20 hours ago, Ahzek451 said:

-Stop primarily catering to the competitive player. Create a ruleset that is relatively user friendly with a narrative focus that is polished as the MAIN. Then create a secondary book designed for competitive play.

 

What would you envisage this user-friendly ruleset would look like? What ruled would you remove from the current ruleset that you consider too competitive? Alternatively, what would you add to make the rules more friendly? 

[sarabando]

Just now, Karhedron said:

 

What would you envisage this user-friendly ruleset would look like? What ruled would you remove from the current ruleset that you consider too competitive? Alternatively, what would you add to make the rules more friendly? 

the terrain set up being almost a second game on top of the regular game for a start, every time i talk to my friends who play 40k they all talk about how everyone they play with HAVE to follow tournament rules to the letter despite none of them ever even entering a tournament, but thats how they see the game as played now. 

[Scribe]

53 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

 

What would you envisage this user-friendly ruleset would look like? 

 

3rd to 5th.

[Griefbringer]

6 hours ago, techsoldaten said:

Did they break out revenue according to lines of business? Would be interested in knowing how model sales compare to video games and IP licensing.

 

And checking the actual financial report (June 2025 - May 2026) actually gives the following numbers:

 

- Core operations: revenue £626.8 million (profit £245.1 million):

- Lisencing: revenue £32.9 million (profit: £29.9 million)

 

I would not be worried about the lisencing outpacing the core activities any time soon. However, those lisencing activities are very profitable business.

 

The financial reports can be found at:

 

https://investor.games-workshop.com/annual-reports-and-half-year-results

[Craig]

8 hours ago, Stitch5000 said:

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one thinking this. 

The topic is "how does GW improve sales?" Not sure why GWs share price would improve sales.

[Halandaar]

4 minutes ago, Craig said:

The topic is "how does GW improve sales?" Not sure why GWs share price would improve sales.

 

The premise of the very first post is "share price is down so how do GW improve sales?". The point being made by those above is that the recent fall in the share price is not linked to a drop in sales at GW, and therefore a corresponding increase in sales doesn't necessarily increase the share price.

[Griefbringer]

BTW. To my knowledge GW only announces sales data twice a year, in their half-annual reports. The last one was released in late July, the next one should be coming out next January.

 

(If someone is aware of them releasing sales data updates between these releases, please correct me.)

[conscriptboris]

On 10/14/2026 at 11:29 PM, Craig said:

Bringing in new customers rather than relying on the current ones being an infinite revenue supply is the main one. GW need cheap (not GW cheap but pocket money cheap) entry point sets to bring new hobbyists in.

 

This is what a new edition is meant to do. I sense 11th Edition failed to do so. I dont understand why. However, I didnt pick up 11th (first one since 2nd Ed I havent bought). But, I couldnt advise on what business practice failed.

 

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

20 hours ago, Corswain said:

GW have already identified Asia as their growth opportunity. Easiest way to sell more is to offer to more people.

I wonder if they’ll introduce a more Asian coded faction to achieve that or just push white scars for that role?

[SvenIronhand]

1 hour ago, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

I wonder if they’ll introduce a more Asian coded faction to achieve that or just push white scars for that role?

It’s called Tau.

[Grotsmasha]

How about simply adding value.

 

GWs pricing model is not directly tied to cost, but largely to tabletop usage, and how many of each box/blister a person will need.

 

Remember when Guard Infantry boxes were 20 bodies for the SAME price as the 10 body tactical squad.

 

I'm not saying to go back to that, BUT things like giving boxes ALL the Loadout options.

Eg. Drukhari Scourges, 5 of each weapon instead of one each of some options.

Edited Friday at 11:38 PM by Grotsmasha

[darkhorse0607]

33 minutes ago, Grotsmasha said:

Remember when Guard Infantry boxes were 20 bodies for the SAME price as the 10 body tactical squad.

 

I'm not saying to go back to that, BUT things like giving boxes ALL the Loadout options.

Eg. Drukhari Scourges, 5 of each weapon instead of one each of some options.

 

Prime example is how 20 tac marines for the Heresy cost ~$80USD, where 10 Intercessors cost $67.50

 

Different game systems yada yada, but when someone goes into a store and sees them side-by-side it puts a highlight on the value discrepancy 

[Halandaar]

9 hours ago, conscriptboris said:

This is what a new edition is meant to do. I sense 11th Edition failed to do so. I dont understand why. However, I didnt pick up 11th (first one since 2nd Ed I havent bought). But, I couldnt advise on what business practice failed.

 

You can't rely on a single product launch every three years to bring in new hobbyists, you need to give them an affordable on-ramp all the time. Sure, an introductory box with a couple of squads worth of models and some paints is fine conceptually, but it's nearly £50. That might suit adults looking to start the hobby, but it's useless for kids/teens who simply aren't going to have that kind of money available, and parents will often balk at spending that much on something they don't know the kids are going to stick with.

 

Pocket money prices have been mentioned a few times in this thread and I think ignoring those is such a massive failure by GW. You can't nostalgia-bait millennials forever, you need a new wave of hobbyists in 10 years, 20 years and so on. Giving a kid a free Clanrat at the Warhammer store is meaningless if, when they have a tenner of pocket money to spend, you haven't got a good product to offer them.

 

If you go to the web store and the "shop all" tab of 40k and sort by price. The cheapest complete model you can buy is a pair of Tau Drones for £13. There are only six kits (excluding upgrade sets which are useless on their own) for under £20 in the entire range. SIX. And four of them are webstore only, so in all likelihood a kid going in to a GW or FLGS with £20 to spend is walking away empty handed. It honestly boggles my mind.

 

When I was starting out in the 90s there was a huge amount of stuff I could spend my few quid on; boxes of plastic models for £5, blister packs of metals for the same price, single models for cheaper. In 4-5 edition there were little £5 boxes of push-fit core troops, and even as recently as 8th you had those £10 easy-build boxes. £5, £10, £20 are psychological thresholds and failing to have model kits available at those prices to keep kids (and adults with limited budget available) engaged until they can build up to bigger sets is, imo, GWs biggest failing in their product offering currently.

[Griefbringer]

New edition may be of some value in getting fence-sitters invested, in the sense that people who have been potentially interested for a while might at last decide to buy in when seeing the big new shiny box drop into a local store. At the same time, news of impending new release may drive potential present purchasers into fence-sitters; instead of getting into the game now, they will instead wait until that next edition release before making a decision. (In sales terms this should show up as a drop in sales in months leading to a known new edition release, and a temporary increase in the months following.)

 

And a good point about the "pocket money" category for prospective young customers.

 

Also, adult customers may have an effective "impulse buy price limit" as to what they are willing to pay for a product without thinking about the topic overnight. I tend to plan my purchases for a couple of days, but I can occasionally be enticed to buy modestly priced items on impulse - but less likely to do so with items priced above £20 or so (which sort of matches with upper end of the pocket money category for the youngsters).

[Cactus]

How can GW increase sales? Bring the new factory online and increase production.

[gideon stargreave]

53 minutes ago, Griefbringer said:

Also, adult customers may have an effective "impulse buy price limit" as to what they are willing to pay for a product without thinking about the topic overnight. I tend to plan my purchases for a couple of days, but I can occasionally be enticed to buy modestly priced items on impulse - but less likely to do so with items priced above £20 or so (which sort of matches with upper end of the pocket money category for the youngsters).

This is a great point. If minor character packs were 10-15 euro I’d buy them all the time (in fact I often pick up a nurgle champion - who is still 12 quid for some reason-when I pop to a GW) but I’m not paying 25 for a chaos lord from fifteen years ago or whatever. 
 

spearhead/ conquest etc etc scratch that itch for me now I suppose 

[Griefbringer]

Regarding that "magic £20 price point", maybe I should mention that the various Journal-supplements for the Specialist Games are still priced below that, at £17.50 (and do not need require any glue or paint). I have actually impulse bought a number of the Arcane Journals (The Old World), but they are quite close to my impulse buy limit, and somewhat limited value for the money at 48 pages. And while the ones I have got are nicely done, they provide rather limited depth to the background ("lore") or game itself, so I have decided to abstain from buying more for the time being unless they come with some excellent ones (or provide more content for the price).

 

I presume that many youngsters would rather spend their £20 not on a handful of models to assemble and paint, than on a Journal-style booklet. The Specialist Games range does not offer much in the way of options at that price point either - typical Necromunda box (two identical sprues of four models) or Blood Bowl team box seems to come at £33.50 which would require some saving up for someone relying on pocket money. (There might be some educational value in teaching a young person to plan ahead a bit and save for something that the person really wants, rather than blowing everything on impulse purchases, but I am not counting on that being part of GW business plan...)