Warhammer+ Preview Coming This Week – All Will Be Revealed, Hopefully
Games Workshop is hosting a mid-week Warhammer Online Preview for the upcoming Warhammer+. Will we finally get the big picture?
This Wednesday June 23, 2021, Games Workshop is going to be a big day for Warhammer Fans. It will be the big reveal of how and what exactly Warhammer+ is going to shape-up to be. We’ve seen a bit about the shows that are coming to the …platform(?) eventually.
We’ve also gotten the hint that there is more instore for Warhammer+ as well:
There are 5 total “pluses” in that image – so, besides animation, what is Warhammer+ all about?
There’s some speculation that even the name is a big clue as to what Wahammer+ will be as many companies are spinning up a streaming service for content delivery and naming it after their company with a “+” after it (a la Disney+). Considering that the “big” push seems to be the animation, this seems like a logical plan for GW.
That said, it seems like GW has more than just the animation planned here. But that’s kind of the big question, right? What IS the big plan for Warhammer+. Let’s just assume for a moment that it is going to be a streaming platform and what that would mean. Well, for starters, that probably means that GW is going to have it be app or web based. They already have a couple different Apps out there so this isn’t new territory for them. So that’s not that far-fetched.
Other than the animation, what else could the app be used for? Well, they already have Apps for rules and lists for both 40k and AoS. Could those be rolled into this app? Some of that stuff is already subscription based and, assuming this is a streaming service, it’s a safe bet a subscription will be involved anyhow.
What other streaming content does GW produce? Well – they do have that entire Warhammer Live channel on both YouTube and Twitch. They are already producing content on and for those platforms as well. They clearly have a way to create more video content so are they going to do more of that specifically for Warhammer+? Are they going to move stuff behind this new Warhammer+ as a “pay wall” vs the stuff that’s free on YouTube or Twitch right now? Currently you can only use the Warhammer on Twitch Chat if you’re a subscriber so it doesn’t seem like that big of a leap.
Their YouTube page is mostly animatics and painting tutorials as well. There is the occasional “how to play” video, but those are mostly created and posted on their respective websites for their respective games. And honestly, moving that content behind a pay-wall of a subscription service seems like a bad idea. A lot of this stuff is targeted for newer players and hobbyists. Adding a barrier to entry seems a bit counter intuitive.
Other subscription-based content that GW has offered in the past are things like White Dwarf or the monthly Miniatures services. I don’t know if there will be a physical aspect to a “streaming service” or not – but digital White Dwarf delivers could make sense, too.
And then there is the price. We still don’t know anything about the price of this service, whatever it may be. But, if you’re already paying for the App (at $4.99 per month) and you’re subbed to their Twitch Channel ($5 a month), then it wouldn’t be that far of a stretch to move up to a single “thing” that costs $10 a month to get all the same features you’re currently getting. But let’s be honest here – you’re also going to have to pay for those sweet new animated shows…so what’s the mark-up going to be?
As I mentioned in a previous article, Warhammer+ is going to have to look at the pricing of streaming services like Disney+ (at $7.99 per month) or Netflix (at $8.99 per month) and try and justify whatever the cost is to users at that point. If you rolled all their monthly subscription-based things into one big thing, what would you charge for it?
What does Games Workshop have planned? What will be included in Warhammer+? And what will the price be for this new “service” that GW is providing? Those are the things we’re hoping to learn on Wednesday. See you at the live show.
What do you think will be included in Warhammer+ and what price point do you think it’s going to be at?
