Topic: Will GW Ever Return To WFB?

[Von Trinkenessen]

Never

[Konrad von Richtmark]

Zygmund, I would defer assessment on whether T9A's growth has levelled off until 2.0 gets out of beta and is finally released. That should, if everything goes according to plan (which looks rather likely at the moment), put an end to the rules instability that seems to have made a great many old WFB players reluctant to get on board.

[Zak]

Never

 

[Oxycutor]

I'm pretty sure the Old World itself will resurface in one form or another. It has not been entirely wiped out by GW, Blood Bowl is one example (no sigmarines in sight). Almost every White Dwarf I've read in the last 12 months has had some allusions to the old setting, there's novels being re-published, older minis remade etc. Sometime ago there were rumours about Mordheim getting remade (that one I find hard to believe, but who knows). Now I don't believe that WHFB will return in the way we've known it, but I firmly believe there will be some Old World related products in the future.

When the new version of Specialist Games Studio was launched, they listed "Blood Bowl, Necromunda, Epic Armageddon, Battlefleet Gothic and many, many more." 

So far they've released Blood Bowl and Necromunda, with Adeptus Titanicus out in August. 

While I can't say for sure they will be doing Mordheim  (It could be one of the "many, many more"), we can still be hopeful that they might re-do it. 

[StealthKnightSteg]

Never

Never

 

I agree with Never but not with the message Icon Von Trinkenessen used.
It won't come back not even as a classical specialist kind of way.. there for the old world editions are to complex.
AoS is the thing now and with the "AoS The New Edition" it might move a bit more to 40k ruleset but it won't go back to the old days. And in my opinion this progress is a positive thing and I like it.

I'm pretty sure the Old World itself will resurface in one form or another. It has not been entirely wiped out by GW, Blood Bowl is one example (no sigmarines in sight). Almost every White Dwarf I've read in the last 12 months has had some allusions to the old setting, there's novels being re-published, older minis remade etc. Sometime ago there were rumours about Mordheim getting remade (that one I find hard to believe, but who knows). Now I don't believe that WHFB will return in the way we've known it, but I firmly believe there will be some Old World related products in the future.

When the new version of Specialist Games Studio was launched, they listed "Blood Bowl, Necromunda, Epic Armageddon, Battlefleet Gothic and many, many more." 

So far they've released Blood Bowl and Necromunda, with Adeptus Titanicus out in August. 

While I can't say for sure they will be doing Mordheim  (It could be one of the "many, many more"), we can still be hopeful that they might re-do it. 

Mordheim was mentioned to come back explicitly though when was never said.. but my hopes are for late 2018 or atleast 2019

[Oxycutor]

I don't agree with Never

Extrapolating from an example of one (More of a guess), with Warhammer Legends, it looks like they're re-instating the compendium Warscrolls to make the old World that Was armies playable as an army, along with a Made to Order of a small number of mostly recently OOP models (Mengil's Manhides were much longer OOP, but all the rest only went of sale 18 months ago).    Anyway, Who is to say they won't expand on the Warhammer Legends to do more old units, rather than just characters, and combine with a softback Print-on-Demand or pdf for the old army books.  I could quite easily see Bretonnian or Tomb Kings doing really well, especially if they include the plastics in Made to Order.  I'd guess it's unlikely any time soon, but I wouldn't say it would never happen.   They have after all re-printed Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader, and REalm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness - though it would be better if it was available at more than just GW events and Warhammer World.

Mordheim was mentioned to come back explicitly though when was never said.. but my hopes are for late 2018 or atleast 2019

I'm not sure it was.  I've just been googling to try and find if they actually did say that.  I'm sure it's been asked on the Warhammer Live Twitch stream, when Andy Hoare has been on, without a transcript, I can't recall if he said yes, or probably eventually, or no.

Probably Eventually would be my guess.

[Midaski]

Depends if the suits think there is money to be made ……………………… 

[Oxycutor]

Depends if the suits think there is money to be made ……………………… 

That is pretty much the defintive answer for whether it will return or not.

[StealthKnightSteg]

Mordheim was mentioned to come back explicitly though when was never said.. but my hopes are for late 2018 or atleast 2019

I'm not sure it was.  I've just been googling to try and find if they actually did say that.  I'm sure it's been asked on the Warhammer Live Twitch stream, when Andy Hoare has been on, without a transcript, I can't recall if he said yes, or probably eventually, or no.

Probably Eventually would be my guess.

The Twitch stream is where I remember it being mentioned.. But it's been a long time ago

[Bartolo Miachevelia]

I hope they'll not bring back Mordheim. I'm more than happy with the original one.
Warhammer legends has nothing to do with Warhammer, round bases and rules from the game that cancelled Warhammer. Warhammer original models shouldn't be used for that game.

[Zygmund]

Had a browse round the GW (web)store.

Looks like six out of seven* Empire** units and characters have become Webstore Exclusives. Only melee State Troopers (Freeguild Guard), Greatswords, Battle Wizards and the General remain on the shelves. On average, one third of Grand Alliance Order are Web Exclusives, so the ordinary Humans are really being pulled from the shelves.

My personal thought is they're slowly being withdrawn - which likely mirrors sales, knowing GW, but also the future visual and mental image of the AoS setting.

There have been no ordinary Human concepts introduced during AoS, whereas we are seeing new concepts and sub-factions for Dwarfs and Elves. Also the Lizardmen/Seraphon, Goblins/Grots and Skaven are mostly Webstore Exclusives, as are all ex-Beastmen (Bray- and Warherds). Something going on with the Seraphon. They seem to be in the process of being lumped into Celestials with the Stormcast Eternals.

It will be interesting to see if new kits replace the ex-Empire, or if ordinary Humans as a concept will be brushed aside from AoS setting. Possibly only the superhuman Stormcast (Sparta! Marvel!) will remain. After no more Bretonnia and if no more ordinary humans fight in the setting, the feel of the setting will be totally different from the Old World***, which clearly was a Human setting surrounded and invaded by the hostiles.

My personal thought is that a lot of old WHFB and general fantasy familiarity - with a Human vantage point within the setting - will be vanishing within a year or two. Not a revelation really, just the continuation of where AoS has been heading all the way.

Edit: Not meant to be rumor mongering. Just my own thoughts, thought aloud.


*24 out of 28, counting double kits as doubles
**Humans without the Stormcast Eternals: Collegiate Arcane, Devoted of Sigmar, Free Peoples, 4/10 of Ironweld Arsenal
***the Old world itself having strong roots in Tolkienesque fantasy, Elric and real world history.

-Z

[The Black Knight]

Damn....you are right Zygmund. Almost everything is in Webstore Exlcusives. Same for High Elves I see.

This might have something to do with the new edition coming out in June. Wouldn't be suprised if a lot of stuff got moved to Last Chance to Buy sooner than later. It's the end times all over again! Need to get a few more things before they disappear.

EDIT:

*PANIC MODE OFF*

Or it might not mean anything and things will just linger in the direct only sales for who knows how much longer. They do seem to recognize that there is some interest in the older minis. They wouldn't have run the Dark Elf made to order otherwise.

[Zygmund]

Not meant to be rumor mongering. Just my own thoughts, thought aloud. Storaged for memory. Will be nice to compare in a couple of months and a couple of years.

-Z

[Karak Norn Clansman]

Yeah, one would better buy what one wants from Games Workshop before it disappears, or wait for Ebay or sporadic limited runs from GW itself to pop it up.

I doubt WHFB returns, but not the Old World. Warhammer lives strong as a setting in PC games at the moment, and it's not inconceivable GW tries some hurrah with that setting in miniature form in the future. If there's money to be made by it.

Take it from a Dwarf: Holding grudges against Age of Sigmar is pointless. At the end of the day it's just another game and another way of enjoying the hobby, on a massed fantasy wargame scene that is for better and worse no longer dominated monolithically by Warhammer Fantasy. Age of Sigmar not classic fantasy grounded in Tolkien and history, so it's not something I'm interested in, but many peope are, and since this hobby is primarily what you yourself do with it, there can apparently be room for historically based armies among AoS collectors, whatever magitech steampunk high fantasy Games Workshop cooks up. Cheers.

[Konrad von Richtmark]

I suspect that still, WFB sales have been in a death spiral for some time. I just had the following realization: If the WFB active player base decreases, it doesn't decrease GW WFB sales proportionally. It would decrease sales by more than the proportion that stops playing.

Demand for new WFB miniatures would be proportional to the size of the active player base. The supply that will meet that demand wouldn't, though, just be new GW sales, but also partly the second-hand market. A supply that would be roughly proportional to the rate at which people stop playing.

I wouldn't be surprised if GW kept a close eye on the WFB second-hand market and now concluded that the dark pixies have gotten rare and expensive enough that they can make bank by doing a made-to-order.

[Zygmund]

Take it from a Dwarf: Holding grudges against Age of Sigmar is pointless.

Just for the record, I have no grudges against AoS.

And I have no grudges against GW. I just wish I had bought their stock a couple of years back. 

-Z

[Bartolo Miachevelia]

Well it was rather silly that the freeguild of free peple of eww of sgimar had the same look of Warhammer  Empire after Aeons of Warhammer World no matter the explanation they tried to give it. It's shame those kits will disappear in future but if they're not used in eeew of sigmar it's better.

[GamesPoet]

So ... it looks like they are at least returning to the Old World. 

It is being called by GW ... "Warhammer: The Old World", and seems it will have a new set of rules.