You’ll never believe what we’re working on. The Studio had to tell us twice.
This article was originally published on the Warhammer-community site.
Yeah. For really reals.
In the deepest dungeons of the Warhammer Studio, the counsel of the wise have convened, ancient forges have been re-lit and work has already begun. So far… we’ve made the logo.
Next up, everything else.
You get the idea – this is a long way off. Years. More than two. Like three or more. Definitely not soon.
Obviously, this is really exciting news for all of us, and just like with Sisters of Battle, we’ll keep you updated with more news as the project unfolds.
For those of you who don’t know, in 2015, Warhammer: The Game of Fantasy Battles changed forever, in so far as Archaon destroyed the world. Classic Archaon.
Everything we knew of the Old World collapsed into a void of Chaos and infinite possibility. From that tumultuous storm came the Mortal Realms, heralding a new dawn of unending war in the Age of Sigmar.
Booooom!
From the reforged primordial soup and etheric energies of the Old World rose wonders we could never have imagined – armies of ghosts, fleets of aether-powered aircraft, Greenskin brutes the size of horses, and flying sharks! The heroes, villains, warriors and monsters of Warhammer Age of Sigmar represent the best range of fantasy miniatures in the world, beloved of a passionate, global gaming community. And over the past four years, Warhammer Age of Sigmar has become by far, the most successful fantasy game ever.
And yet, the Old World whispers from ages past with its siren song. We grow misty-eyed at the memory of long-lost heroes and glorious kingdoms laid to ruin and of mighty champions whose sagas are sung no more.
And of course, much of the lore of the Mortal Realms has its roots in the world that was – with some of it’s most venerable denizens being the very same that fought across those war-torn kingdoms (along with a small selection of choice magical artefacts.)
The Old World is to Warhammer Age of Sigmar, as the Horus Heresy is to Warhammer 40,000. The bedrock of lore from which mortals rose to godhood and legends were forged. And like the Horus Heresy, seeing those mythic heroes in action has an undeniable appeal, as does re-creating the glorious armies of a previous epoch – an exciting proposition for hobbyists and gamers alike. And now, we have a dedicated team in the Warhammer Studio beginning the work of bringing all that awesome back to the tabletop.
Exciting stuff!
If you’re itching to jump into the Old World right now, you can! There is a fantastic selection of computer games, such as Vermintide and Total War: Warhammer, offering a chance to engage in the enduring appeal of the setting.
And what next, then, for Warhammer Age of Sigmar?
There are some HUGE (some might say giant) plans for the Mortal Realms… More news soon. For now, we have to keep it hysh-hysh.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
Say whaaaaaaat?!?!?!
I would love it if they moved back to square bases, that would be the ultimate trolling from GW!
Annoyingly, I sold off my fantasy stuff last year. They are definitely not getting me back into it a third time. Definitely………
This is cool, more options is always good, particularly for people who never dug AoS.
Personally though, the hint that we’ll be seeing Hysh stuff in AoS soon is the most exciting part of the article for me 😛
YOOOOOOOOOOO
Maybe they should not have killed Fantasy to begin with.
Maybe. But they also killed stuff like Necromunda and Blood Blowl, etc.. when it wasn’t selling and brought it back, sometimes with more, sometimes with less changes.
I would also think they’ll still try to avoid forcing people into painting up to 100 mono-pose spearman on 25mm square bases, despite airbrushing being more common, contrast paint being a thing, etc.., etc.. and go for more dynamic, varied and cinematically posed miniatures filling the space of larger square bases so you need less of them for each unit-block.
And even then, it wont be a “2nd main game” trying to be a company pillar 40K or even AoS. It’ll be a smaller game alongside AT or Necromunda, etc.. for a smaller customer base already in the hobby (!!!!) for whom the hobby-barrier-to-entry or a massive rulebook wont matter.
The business-reasoning to have something like AoS or 8-page, non-matched play 40K where two twelve-year olds can each buy a box of 5-15 miniatures (or a double-starter like Know No Fear) and start basically right away as the “main games” is still sound and something old Fantasy just could never be.
I have been playing and painting fantasy since 1995 version 3 (Hero-hammer for those who recall).
I collected and painted every army (except for Chaos) and all the scenery, forts, etc. as they came out . My children and I went to tournaments on a regular basis. I read the books too.
I was devastated when WHF was discontinued and refused to buy into Age of Sigmar.
I miss the rank and file of square bases, units of 40+ soldiers, detachments, special rules and more.
I welcome any return of fantasy.
Right, like I consider myself a normal dude in most respects but I went through the full mourning process when they shut down WHF. It was weird how much I loved it.
I’ll definitely keep an eye on this, but in the mean time I have to recommend 9th Age. It’s much more light weight than old hammer, but gives that same irreplaceable visual only ranks of spears can provide.