Age of Sigmar: Why The Battletome Delays?
Something is odd with the Age of Sigmar Roadmap and the leak situation. What’s going on with the Battletome delays?
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar is quickly approaching it’s one year anniversary. In that time we’ve only gotten a handful of new Battletomes. We’ve speculated on what could be next already. And then this weekend happened. We got a bunch of leaks and GW dropped a new Roadmap on us with some big news.
While this is all exciting news and we’re pumped about all the books coming we’re also slightly confused. For starters, isn’t that the special edition cover of the Slaves to Darkness book? That seems odd. Compare that to the other image we’ve seen:
The style of the Slaves to Darkness book is completely different vs the others from this edition as well. But that’s not the main point — the real point is that the Slaves to Darkness book is done and sitting in a warehouse and won’t be released for another 4-6 months. What gives?! That also begs the question…what ELSE is GW just sitting on for Age of Sigmar?
The State of Things
As mentioned, the One Year Anniversary of Age of Sigmar 3.0 is coming soon. For the past year* we’ve only gotten …5 new books?
- Stormcast Eternals
- Orruk Warclans
- Maggotkin of Nurgle
- Idoneth Deepkin
- Fyreslayers
*We’re still technically waiting on the new Nighthaunt and Daughters of Khaine books (one of which is basically leaked already).
Let’s assume GW drops the new Nighthaunt and DoK books in time for the anniversary. That’s still only 7 books in a year for a brand new edition. Does that not seem…off to anyone? Maybe GW knows something I don’t but it seems like the best time to churn out new Battletomes is when the new edition is out and folks are hyped-up for the game. We’ve seen how well that works for 40k. And we’ve also seen what a slow release schedule did to Warhammer Fantasy. Just sayin.
“Oh 7 books a year, that’s basically 1 every two months — that seems like a good pace” said no one. But okay Mr. Strawman, that’s a point you’re trying to make. To counter that, I’d like to point out that means there are SEVENTEEN (17!) armies without 3.0 books that are currently in the game. 19 if you count the two Nighthaunt and DoK books that still aren’t out yet.
That’s a lot of books. Compound that with the fact that now we know that GW is basically sitting on the Slaves to Darkness book for the next 4-6 months. And based on the Roadmap, would anyone else be shocked if GW isn’t holding on to the REST of those unannounced books, too?!
That’s 6 books that are probably done and waiting to ship…probably.
Why The Battletome Delays?
Okay, now that we’re caught up on the current state of things let’s step down the from the /rant box and think about things a bit more rationally. Why would GW hold back these releases? We’ve come up with a few reasons but if you’ve got some ideas toss them in the comments.
Reason #1 – Major Logistical Problems
This seems like a legit issue and it’s been impacting, well, everyone and every industry in the world. We’re not going to get into all the factors about how difficult logistics and shipping is right now. But it is a HUGE issue. That could be the reason GW is parking a lot of these products in a warehouse (we’re assuming). Plus they also had to redo their release schedules due to delays last year, too.
Reason #2 – Intentionally Holding These Releases Back
On top of the logistical issues what if there’s also a problem with their miniatures production pipeline? It’s possible that GW is trying to hold these books back so that they can release them at the same time as when new miniature are also ready to go for these new books. Why would they do that? See: Chapterhouse lawsuit. GW doesn’t like to release new units without rules AND miniatures these days. So maybe they are sitting on these new books while they get their respective miniatures lined up for release as well.
These battle boxes are starting to feel like a stop-gap for their releases…and it’s making sense.
Reason #2.1 – Intentionally Holding Back Releases To Extend The Edition’s Lifespan
Holding back these releases also means they are extending the lifespan of AoS 3.0. There are 7 more books have been announced from Summer to Winter 2022. That means by the end of this year we’re looking at a total of 10 books remaining for armies that would need updates in 2023. That’s a little less than a book a month for 2023. We’ve been assuming a (roughly) 2 year life-cycle for GW games between editions. Perhaps GW is looking to slow that down a bit. Could this be part of the plan to push out a 3 or even 4 year life cycle for editions?
It’s tough to say. We can also tell that some of the books that are released towards the tail end of an edition are typically geared up for the next edition, too. Personally, I think based on the wrinkle in releases for 2.0 (looking at you Lumineth Battletomes) GW might be using this delay to level-set and make sure they get all their timing worked out again.
They got an Army box, a new battletome, a campaign book update, and then another new codex. Talk about a winkle in releases…
We don’t know what’s going on at GW with the Battletome releases. We don’t even know for a fact that the next 7 books are in a warehouse just waiting to be released. What we do know is that companies typically don’t like to create potentially millions of dollars of products and then just park them in a warehouse for 6 months without a REALLY good reason.
We also know that the longer these books sit in a warehouse the higher the odds are that someone is likely to snap some bad photos and post them online. Is it on purpose to build hype? Is it a disgruntled employee “sticking it to the man” or something less sinister. Whatever the case or reason is for the delays I hope GW gets them sorted out soon. I’d really like to get some new Battletomes for the armies I play and play against regularly. The people want their new rules (and models)!
I just want my new Battletomes.
