40K Rumors: 8th Edition Ruleset Splits
Come get the latest from the rumormongers on what the new edition will hold:
This one comes from longtime rumormonger: Mikhael on 1-30-2017
Regarding 40k’s New 8th Edition belived to be on the way in Q2:
- The new edition will have two separate rulesets.
- 40K: Primary game will have a new set of streamlined rules.
- 30K: Heresy era ruleset will be seperate and more complex.
Thoughts
First of all, this is a bit of a shock and unlike anything we have ever seen before out of GW (if true). On the other hand over the last few years we have seen Forge World carve out a vibrant (and profitable) and extensive set of 30K books and models with their own distinct set of rules and style of play.
It is possible that GW sees the main game as their primary breadbasket and want to see it “reset” with a much streamlined style of play to make it easier for new players to get onboard. The main game is a bit bloated right now and desperately needs a trim. Under this concept, all the previous rumors of lifting some concepts from Age of Sigmar make sense.
The more complex ruleset for 30K to me sounds like they may may just tweak the existing 7th Edition rules to make them 30K specific, so Forge World need not update all their existing gorgeous (and pricy) Horus Heresy books.
If this turns out to be true we are looking at basically a three-tier system for GW:
- Age of Sigmar: Introductory wargame
- Warhammer 40,000: Mass-market wargame
- Horus Heresy: Advanced level wargame
Note how the prices for rules and minis also go up at each step while the potential playerbase goes down.
~What do you think of the rumor?
