Video games Workshop, the UK-based firm behind the Warhammer merchandise, has released its yearly financials (opens in new tab) and mentioned its ever-increasing presence in videogames. The Warhammer model isn’t a lot the corporate’s bread-and-butter as all the contents of the pantry, and whereas its core enterprise stays miniatures and its personal merchandise, it’s now concerned in an enormous variety of licensing offers to make videogames.
The monetary yr noticed six new Warhammer video games, 4 on PC / console, one VR, and one cell: the 2 Video games Workshop particularly highlighted as “launches of word” have been Total War: Warhammer 3 (opens in new tab), and Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate (opens in new tab). This contributed to the corporate’s total licensing income growing from £11.7 million in 2020/2021 to £28.0 million in 2021/2022, which is put all the way down to “a excessive degree of assure earnings on multi-year contracts signed within the yr”, which was £15 million in opposition to 2021’s £4.3 million.
That earnings splits as follows: 83% PC and console video games, 7% cell and 10% ‘different’. So about £25.2 million of the licensing cash is videogames.
Which is clearly some huge cash however, to place that in context of Video games Workshop total, the core enterprise of miniatures, retail, on-line gross sales and all its different in-house merchandise made £391.5 million over the identical interval. So videogames are an ever-more-important a part of GW, however nonetheless a comparatively small a part of the general image.
The financials additionally make particular point out of Area Marine 2, announced last year (opens in new tab), “which has been essentially the most constantly requested sport for the reason that first sport got here out in 2011. Fan response [to the announcement] was overwhelmingly constructive.”
The assertion goes on to say that Video games Workshop expects six Warhammer video games to launch in 2022/23, together with Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (opens in new tab) and Bloodbowl 3. As for an summary: “In complete there are 12 unreleased video games in improvement and 4 new licences have been signed within the yr.”
In addition to the three video games talked about above, these in improvement which might be recognized about embrace Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader (opens in new tab), Warhammer 40K: Boltgun, Warhammer 40K: Warpforge, Warhammer 40K: Tacitus (a cell sport), and Nexon’s Warhammer: Age of Sigmar sport. Which leaves 4 titles presently in improvement however unannounced.
An fascinating ingredient of the licensing strategy is that Video games Workshop has now break up that division into ‘videogames’ and grouped every part else beneath ‘media’, displaying simply how essential the video games aspect is to the enterprise. We’ll return to that in a second, however there may be an fascinating a part of the media part the place CEO Kevin Rountree breaks out of the standard dry-as-dust tone to say the next about display variations.
“[These deals are] fairly advanced and we do not want to slip up on any of our authorized duties or misrepresent progress when this business works at a distinct tempo to our core enterprise. I proceed to remind our workforce, it is a lengthy course of and we will fail at many hurdles. We stay assured we’ll deliver the worlds of Warhammer to the display like you may have by no means seen earlier than. We’re pragmatically affected person, it isn’t in our full management.”
Getting again to videogames, GW is searching for extra long-term companions and notes that “The efforts it takes to deliver a online game to launch is unbelievable: we take this chance to thank our present companions for his or her ongoing funding in Warhammer, their onerous work and dedication in representing our IP true to their creative and literary type and need them continued success.”
Occasions are good for Video games Workshop and its many followers, and it is nice to see the Warhammer universe proceed increasing into video games: my specific poison is 40K, and it is such an excellent setting. The corporate’s growing involvement in video games over the past decade has produced some absolute crackers and, with intelligent fan service like Area Marine 2, GW clearly realises there is a bunch of Warhammer nerds like me who might not have the time to fiddle with the miniatures, however simply need an interactive dose of ‘For the Emperor!’ now and again. Now, if solely it may get round to creating a good 40K MMOG…
