The Enshittification of Warhammer 40,000: How is Games Workshop Undermining Its Own Legacy

Recently Discourse Minis posted a YouTube video entitled the “Enshittification of Warhammer Gets Worse”. Check it out on YouTube! Honestly, we at GamingFrome had never heard the phrase ‘enshittification’, and we certainly didn’t relate it to Games Workshop’s Warhammer products when we found out what it meant. So, we were intrigued … what gives, Discourse Minis?
In our eyes, Warhammer 40,000 is one of the most beloved and long-standing tabletop games in history. For decades, Games Workshop (GW) has cultivated a passionate community of players, hobbyists, and lore enthusiasts. However, in recent years, many fans have voiced their concerns over what Discourse Minis described as the “enshittification” of Warhammer 40K—a steady decline in product quality, affordability, and accessibility driven by corporate greed. So, what’s the score?

The Rising Costs of Entry – true.

Once upon a time, Warhammer 40K was an expensive hobby but still manageable for the dedicated player. Today, GW has pushed prices to higher levels. It’s true – starter sets that once provided a reasonable entry point are now prohibitively expensive. £100 is not a small amount of money (check us out for a 25% discount though!). Individual models and units have seen continuous price hikes, often with little obvious justification beyond “that’s what people will pay.” – I mean, fuel costs once raised prices!! Really.

A clear example is the cost of rulebooks. The core rules are technically free online, but to play competitively, players need multiple Codex books, campaign supplements, and the latest edition updates. This rapid-fire release schedule of new books makes it nearly impossible to stay current without spending hundreds of pounds per year. And the increase in faction numbers just adds to the burden! One point to the Enshittificators.

FOMO and Limited Releases – false.

The claim is, GW has also mastered the art of artificial scarcity. Limited-edition box sets, such as the Lion El’Jonson, vanished in minutes upon release it’s true. Snatched up by scalpers who immediately resold them at double or triple the price. Instead of producing enough stock to meet demand, GW seemed to enjoy fostering a sense of FOMO that pressured players into impulse buying.

Additionally, many new model releases are locked into bundles for months before they are available separately, forcing players to pay for extra units they may not want just to get the new hotness. But surely those days are behind us?! The big boxes come back in time, and units are released ‘sooner’ to purchase separately – we may not be the first to own them, but we are not forgotten! A point for the voice of stability, aka the Enrichors!

Rules Bloat and Power Creep – Score Draw!

Recently the GW game has suffered from an increasing trend of rules bloat and power creep. Each new edition promises streamlining and accessibility, yet quickly devolves into a bloated mess of special rules, stratagems, and faction-specific mechanics. Competitive players are forced to continuously buy new books as FAQs and balance updates render old ones obsolete.

The introduction of seasonal updates with the Arks of Omen and Leviathan changes has only accelerated this problem. Players now feel pressured to keep up with the latest meta, requiring them to purchase new books every few months or risk being left behind. True.

But has it ever been any different?! We at GamingFrome remember the days of the Compendium, and the Compilation in the 1990s. The White Dwarf articles that needed to be carefully cut from much loved magazines. And the metal Dreadnought that swept all before it, until the advent of Eldar Psykers, who were trumped by Grey Knight Terminators Psykers … or hell, just Terminators with a 2+ save on 2D6!! We all chased our friend’s latest purchase with our own, and we still do. It happens, then and now.

Neglect of Specialist Games and Narrative Play – false.

The claim is that GW has also increasingly neglected its specialist games and narrative-driven content in favour of churning out more competitive-focused material. The Horus Heresy, Kill Team, and Necromunda have all received sporadic support, with overpriced expansion books and limited model runs making it difficult for dedicated fans to stay engaged. But they are getting support! Not so long ago, Specialist Games was gone altogether! And yes we still fondly miss WAB, but we welcome the return of its stable-mates!

Narrative play, is still a major selling point of Warhammer 40K. Crusade mode was introduced as a promising alternative to competitive play, but yes, it has seen inconsistent updates and lacks the support it deserves. So, a fair point, well made. And the only response that makes sense is … you don’t have to buy the latest book, If your gaming group is happy to play with the book you all have and like, then play. We don’t need to be told how to use our imaginations – GW gives us the tools, and we bring the magic! Point to the Enrichors!

Corporate Greed vs. Community Goodwill – false.

At the heart of Warhammer 40K’s enshittification is the increasing prioritization of corporate profit over community goodwill. GW has always relied on the passion of its fans to sustain its brand, but the claim is that recent actions have alienated even the most dedicated players. Draconian IP enforcement, price gouging, and exploitative marketing strategies have created a growing sense of resentment. But this is not new news either. GW is a business, and has been for 50 years, and it employs business strategies. And if it didn’t make profits it wouldn’t make models, and we’d all be pew-pewing toy trains!
So, despite all this, Warhammer 40K remains popular – because of the size and strength of its community. GW is a business, and we are GW customers. We are the strength of GW. And we are all the community. Point to the Enrichors!

Can Warhammer 40K Be Saved? – From what!

So – 4-2 to the Enrichors! The harsh reality for the enshitifficators is that as long as people keep buying, GW has little incentive to change. This is the way … Games Workshop have ever taken this path, and yes it risks alienating some of those that make up its core fanbase and driving them toward more consumer-friendly options. And yes, the rise of alternative wargames supported by 3D-printable systems is giving players more choices than ever. But where are these ‘consumer friendly’ options? Trench Crusade offers us the latest buzz of excitement, but did you see the Kickstarter costs?!?

Ultimately, Warhammer 40,000’s long-term stability depends on whether Games Workshop values its community enough to change its ways. And we’ve been here before … Forums going quiet in the 2000s, Facebook pages suddenly closing in the early 2010s, faces disappearing from streaming in the 2020s. And yet, still we play. So, we will no doubt see an apparent response and a change in direction. Until then, fans must decide whether to keep feeding the machine—or take their love for the grimdark future elsewhere, like the mud, trenches, and craters that lie before the Holy City.

Still, we will play.