Warhammer price hike pits the Empire against its most hated enemy: inflation

You’ve probably noticed that the price of food, household items, and pretty much everything else has been rising over the past two years, with a decidedly sharp uptick in the past six months. Surely Warhammer plastic and resin miniatures boxes are immune to this trend, right? Unfortunately, Games Workshop has announced yet another price increase across its wargaming lines that will come into effect in June.

The British producer of Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar outlined the price increase in a recent post on its Warhammer community page, comparing the price hike to the “unfortunate truth” that food, transportation, and raw materials are becoming more and more expensive. It seems a little hypocritical to categorize Space Marines alongside the actual necessities of life like food and rent, especially given the hobby’s reputation for its already exorbitant cost to play.

From June 10, Games Workshop will be increasing the price of selected box sets sold in brick-and-mortar Warhammer stores and on its official website. This is likely to impact local hobby shops, which are already surviving on razor-thin margins and unable to absorb the difference. The company offered a figure of between 3% and 5% increase, which would take the cost from $50 to $52 (or £30 to 31.50 and €40 to €41). Ancillary products such as paint pots and sets, Black Library books and issues of White Dwarf magazine will not see any change in price. If you live in Sweden or Norway, this increase will be more in the 8% to 14% range.

“We understand that no one likes price increases, and we’ve done everything we can to keep prices low. We’re letting you know now so you have plenty of time to take advantage of current prices,” the post reads. Warhammer fans are likely familiar with this annual phenomenon. Games Workshop also increased the price of plastic miniatures and spray paint by 6% in 2023 (citing much the same economic reasons as this year) and by 5% in 2022. Games Workshop updated the cost of a significant portion of boxed sets and products in 2020, claiming that an increase had been expected for years.

Some may scoff at players worried about a $2 increase on a box of Tyranids or Ork Boyz, but it’s worth remembering that global inflation affects everything. If someone’s rent, grocery needs, and energy bill all go up by 3-5% at the same time, it becomes that much easier to decimate whatever money that person has left for hobbies and leisure. And that’s without addressing the worrying fact that wages for most jobs haven’t kept pace with inflation for decades. Much like in LGS, everyone is forced to do more with less.

Games Workshop, on the other hand, recorded £23m more revenue in 2023 than it did in 2022 and racked up £94m in profits over the past year. That windfall meant the company paid a £2,500 cash bonus to all employees, but it also demonstrated its ability to absorb some of the rising costs of producing and distributing its miniature games. But that’s capitalism: feigning regret while the price of doing business is passed on to a consumer base that is already stretched too thin.