Same for the how-to-play stuff in the highest-selling first few issues of the magazine: that would’ve ideally been published summer 2020, rather than 2022. I maintain that the best time for Hatchette to start a multi-year magazine program would have been at the beginning of an edition. You can loudly proclaim that there’s no reason people should shy away from heavy spending at the tail-end of an edition (and I’m not saying you’re wrong-I bought a ton of clearance Death Guard stuff in 2020), but I suspect many players are more cautious, and some have been burned before. Since a new codex also tends to ramp up the power level of an army, some people may shy away from starting a new Necron army in 2022, fearing that all of the attention that faction received in 9th Edition might mean they’ll receive fewer codex updates in the future. This goes back to GW’s notorious struggles in balancing the units and armies-players don’t trust that their existing units and even armies would be useful in the long run. The impending release of a new version tends to suppress buying (the common refrain is, “don’t buy now, wait until the new edition drops”) since people don’t want to invest heavily in models which may be less useful, or even entire armies. But I’m talking about the common perception of the general public which will influence spending habits. Overread wrote: 10th edition isn't a huge barrier though.

I suspect that 2022 will see a huge explosion of people venturing out to restaurants, movies, live music, etc. While no one could've predicted the pandemic, having a steady release of models via magazine subscription would've likely been very popular during this extended period where people are largely stuck inside. If it's not going to even start until 2022, and if the 10th Edition of WH40k is released in 2023 (assuming they keep to the 3-year cycle as in 2014, 2017, and 2020), I suspect that I and others may lost interest by that time.Ģ020 would've been the perfect time to begin this endeavor: gauge interest in the summer when 9th Edition was released, then ramp up production for a release later that year. However, the timing of the actual release somewhat undermines the value of this test: I had wrongly assumed the Imperium subscription would begin immediately. So by doing it the way they do it they likely get more reliable real world data on uptake potential.

Overread wrote: Whilst it is a pain, I think they do it this way to try and gage real interest as opposed to potential interest.

Warhammer beginning of the end times