Warhammer 40K: 10th Edition Shows GW NEEDS To Start Selling STLs
Warhammer 40k’s new 10th Edition shows GW should get in on the 3d printing STL scene.
3rd party miniatures, whether pre-cast or 3rd printing STLs – hurt Games Workshop. How much they hurt the company isn’t clear, but they are overall bad for them. Certainly, GW feels this to be true. They have, over the past years taken increasing steps to fight them. Last year I wrote about how 3rd party minis and the steps taken to combat them are ruining 40K. With the release of 10th Edition, this is more clear than ever. That’s why I think it’s obvious that GW needs to radically revamp its approach – and start selling STLs themselves.
The Current Tactic
GW’s current tactic is essentially to say, “if there are no models, there are no rules”. For decades, it was very common to find 40K unit options or entire units with rules but no models. For example, there was a long period when there was no model for the Ork Battlewagon. It was up to players to find a model they could use. In more recent years, GW has moved to a release philosophy that – if there isn’t a model, there will be no rules. In large part, this has been to combat 3rd party models. If GW doesn’t make a model, it’s assumed someone else will. Rather than kitbashing from GW kits, players might buy 3rd party ones. This has even led to them getting rid of unit equipment options that aren’t explicitly included with the default model kit. Apparently, the view is that if players purchase a single 3rd party bitz, they might move on later to purchase whole models.
10th Edition Is Causing More Problems
10th Edition is causing its own new problems in this regard, but ones that are quite different. On the one hand, we’ve seen more and more units get changed around, either in model number or weapon options to match only what comes in the box. On the other hand, the changes to points are also causing a lot of issues. Nowadays you have to have the best of every weapon in the squad. You also have to have all the options you can possibly take. But plenty of people didn’t build their models or armies that way. Not everyone glued a hunter-killer and sponsions on to every tank. Lots of people didn’t put carapace guns on their Knights. Not every sergeant has a plasma pistol.
So what are long term players supposed to do? Some may have saved the extra bits and go back and add them on. However, most, won’t have. They either got rid of them or used them for a conversion or something years ago. This means a lot of people are going to start to turn to 3rd party bits of some type. In particular, I know a ton of players are already firing up 3d printers to start making whatever bits they need to be competitive. So with 10th Edition, not only has GW limited unit options by trying to fight 3rd party models (which they have every right to do), but they’ve also driven more people to use 3rd printers then ever before to fill the need for long-lost bits. So what can they do?
GW Needs to Start Selling STLs
Simply put, GW needs to get back into the Bitz business. They need to start selling STLs and big time. Now they should not by any means do this for entire models at all. But for bitz? For parts of models? Hell yeah. There are a million types of bitz GW could sell, from newly needed weapons, to alternate heads and helmets to shoulder pads for every known Space Marine chapter (ahem… Mentor Legion please). Hell, just look at the wide universe of bitz 3rd party makers already sell. Pretty much any of those could and should be made and sold by GW. We know they can do this, because other companies, like Mantic have already started doing STLs.
But, and this is key, they can’t charge normal GW prices for them. These official bitz STLs need to be dirt cheap. They need to be cheaper than 3rd parties can sell for. GW can leverage its size and expertise to undercut other sellers and produce cheaper and official STLs. I think given the choice, people would rather buy from GW, the official game developer.
What Would This Accomplish?
Look GW’s current tactic of fighting 3d printing and 3rd party bitz is not working. But this, this might work. People generally turn to STLs and 3rd parties because they want something that GW either doesn’t sell themselves, or only sells as part of a much larger kit. If you remove that issue, suddenly, you’d have these people buying things from GW. For GW that makes them a lot of money, and a lot of sense. They can even sell these both as cheap STLs and more expensive print-on-demand physical versions. As long as you stick to bitz people will generally buy the GW models and then buy the newly available GW bitz.
For hobbyists this would provide a wealth of new STLs and bitz options. It would also allow GW to relax its unit composition rules. The argument that they don’t want people to have units that have options they can’t buy from GW goes away as soon as they CAN buy them. Indeed this would allow GW to really encourage conversions and mods once again, because you’d be buying the stuff from them. Maybe they’d even bring back VDR (yes I’m an old-timer)!
Overall this move would be great for GW, for players, and hobbyists. It also wouldn’t hurt FLGSs, unless they want to get into 3d printing the bitz themselves. STLs and 3d printing is only going to get bigger as time goes on. GW has a choice to make, bury their head in the sand, or get up and take the reins.
Let us know what you think of this idea, down in the comments!
