The CEO Who Built Modern Games Workshop | Mark Wells in Conversation

I'm talking Games Workshop history with their former CEO Mark Wells. We explore a period of incredible change in the organisation as it shifts from the 90s approach of 2 core games (Warhammer Fantasy & Warhammer 40,000) with specialist games like Gorka Morka, Necromunda, and Mordheim alongside them, to the 2000s focus on 3 core systems - Warhammer Fantasy Battle, 40K, and the Lord of the Rings.
During Mark's tenure at the company there were many exciting, challenging, and at times controversial decisions, changes, and products. This was the era that saw the rise of the internet, the legal wrangles with Chapter House, the end and then return of the boxed game (and one of the best GW ever made in Space Hulk 3rd edition), the introduction of one-man retail stores, and a host of other inflection points in the story of Games Workshop.
A great many people and even more decisions have made Games Workshop into the global brand and production powerhouse that it is today; and there can be no doubt that Mark Wells helped shape that destiny.
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[@chitzkoi]

It's mad how you're cranking this stuff out at 10k subs. Legend in the making Jordan, thanks for your efforts.

[@radeadcool]

Found him yesterday. Instantly subscribe!

[@damienwatson9102]

He's has such a good channel. Its actually crazy he isn't on 100k yet

[@raymondwright5996]

I remember asking at a GW around 2008 how do I paint these Skaven. I was told to go read the f-ing book. Better staff came in and actually taught me how to paint pre-KZbin tutorials.

[@FootofPork]

hahaha, thats hilariously bad!

[@DaLavenderhillMob]

I always had great experiences at GW stores back in the 90s , game days for beginners, A painting corner where you could hang out and learn techniques, it was unique and awesome.

[@secondeditionwargaming]

Wow! Mark was a superb guest, a thoroughly enjoyable conversation.

[@jordansorcery]

Thanks!

[@davetaylor9966]

At 1:10:35 Mark mentions the share save scheme. The 2000 scheme netted me enough to put a deposit on my house, just as he said :) Great conversation!

[@JEKAZOL]

Mark "we are brilliant" Wells. Man, I can see how this guy became the CEO! Silver tongued devil.

[@distractme]

'The store staff can put in as much to the share scheme as the CEO' is 100% peak CEO nonsense when you are barely paying your store staff enough to live

[@JEKAZOL]

​@@distractmeI believe it.

[@interloper8029]

He's one of those CEOs that says "your doing a great job" when he's about to fire you.

[@seanclarke8015]

This guy reminds me of that boss who throws buzz words at you about how you arent doing your job to their expectations without actually understanding what your job entails.

[@iancastleman306]

How the heck are you getting these interviews?! These are awesome, and absolutely more fascinating than lore dumps and what not for me. So thank you!

[@JEKAZOL]

He doesn't argue. I have a podcast and some peeps asked me how I got a high profile first guest? Because 1. I asked very nicely. 2. I let him talk his game. I always thought 'why don't interviewers get tough?'. I found out why.

[@margaretwood152]

He gets interviews because, like the MS Media: He doesn't _Ask _*_HARD Questions,_* he skated right past that whole CHAPTERHOUSE Case, which as you may know, was a total Joke (GW claimed it owned the rights to the 🌎World🌏basically)

[@CMDRaudaxius]

Cause he starts them with "...hello."

[@Jackalblade9]

I am amazed at your ability to secure these interviews Jordan, nicely done!

[@thelonelybolter8245]

Great interview, and I appreciate Mark's insights. 30:59 That said, instantly selling out of a product doesn't excite hobbists. It burns us out. I understand from a warehouse perspective why you'd want to immediately sell out of a product, but how do you build a healthy longterm game that way? Looking at you Cursed City...

[@HappyDuude]

What's mad is cursed city has been back in stock for a good while now, but there is zero visibility

[@WarHogz]

I’m not sure I agree re burnout. It’s frustrating to me if I want the thing and can’t get it, but it also makes me want it more. I then try harder to get the next thing that could be limited, and so on. Putting my business owner hat on for a moment, that’s exactly what I’d want to have happen if I were selling the thing. They’re also not looking to build a healthy, long-term game with these boxed set, they’re looking for short term balance sheet boosts to support the main games.

[@iJasko]

Leave your business owner hat on for a second @@WarHogz. (1) Would you rather sell out 3000 or 4000 copies? (2) If someone came to you and told you he'd buy all 3000 copies you have for sale off your hands at once [and you knew with 100% certainty that he would then proceed and sell them to "your customers" at a markup], would you do it?

[@davidkimball5222]

Yeah this totally explains the approach to Kill Team. They don't want any of the box sets sitting on the shelf. Not sure they're very good at estimating demand though. To be fair, Jordan brings this up.

[@vzgg1973]

Really interesting to get this POV that places further context to controversies over 2000-2013. Does a great service to complete views of previous creators interviewed. The tension between profit vs creativity/ fun is a fascinating topic especially in the gaming world. So while I don’t agree with plenty of things Mr Wells says it’s really useful to hear his insight/ perspective. Thanks!

[@kengc3]

Primary motivation to end Warhammer Fantasy being a limited universe just rings hollow to me. So, 40K is not limited, yet 80% of the releases are some variation of the same Space Marine template? The Middle-earth franchise is extremely limited, yet is still being creatively produced. It feels like an excuse to me, with other underlying, unpopular, reasons as the true cause. I have respect for Mr. Wells, and he gives valuable management advice, but the hubris of destroying an entire fictional universe in order to maximize utilization of internal factors of production is just not understandable to me- even in terms of profit/loss. Thank you for this interview, Jordan. Excellent.

[@Kolyarut]

Limitations don't matter if the product is selling. If they could put out a new box of Empire soldiers with a different weapon each month and have it sell like Space Marines do, they'd have never considered any alternative, and people would have been just as miserable complaining about how the Empire gets all the focus. Not selling *and* running out of room to innovate is a problem, and like it or not, AoS fixed it.

[@kengc3]

@@Kolyarut Yes, AoS definitely fixed the innovate problem, but there were a lot of creative ways to do that without literally blowing up your prior work IMO.

[@MasterShake9000]

I suspect the “limitations” were: 1. WHFB minis, especially rank and file, need to fit in tight units, which limits things like size and pose. 2. WHFB adheres to real world nations and time periods, and it’s a bit harder to run free with designs compared to a made up background. 3. Similarly, in-universe explaining why Kislev is fighting Lizardmen can require more work to justify than AoS realm gates and if Chaos wins, you have a dozen other realms to keep using, unlike the Old World where they have had to reset the lore to undo world changes. AoS allowed for Sigmarines, but I think they thought retooling or adding armies that could drop 60% of the rank and file for big monsters and more large heroes and such was the motivator, and why whfb was seen as “limited”.

[@matthewdobson100]

@@kengc3 the interview with Gav Thorpe was better at explaining this and he gave a much more satisfying view of end times and AoS from a creatives perspective.

[@wakephillips]

Yep. I still think the biggest mistake GW made was in the "how" not in the "what". They could have dramatically shifted the setting whilst changing the main game into a skirmish game without completely obliterating their original setting and causing so much collateral damage amongst its fans. We could have gotten to where we will be in 2024 with a skirmish-style main game, a revolutionized model range and a specialist rank-n-flank game for old school players --but with a lot more goodwill and less hurt feelings. Even if we concede that dramatic change were needed for the business, there's still something icky about *desecrating*--Andy Chambers' choice of a word--your own company's legacy like that when that setting and game were so core in making GW an established company to begin with. What's done is done of course. I do like AOS and think it's a great game with a great range of minis. But I think it's important for posterity that we don't remember what happened as merely "well everything worked out anyways", because I really don't think that's the full story.

[@Chapterhouse53]

Hey Jordan, if you ever want to talk about the Chapterhouse Studios event reach out. I was the owner of the company.

[@jordansorcery]

That’d be really interesting! You can reach me at [e-mail] if you still up for a chat

[@mikemartell365]

Great interview, between you, peachy from Painting phase and Miramanga you guys are knocking out getting the history and life blood of GW to open up about the company and it’s history. Now to read my copy of Dice Men which just arrived in the mail. 🤘🏼🔥🔥🤘🏼

[@Kantohammer]

This was absolutely fascinating. I was seriously wondering how the one-man shops worked.

[@wesc6755]

This channel makes me smile.

[@RobertHolmesTech]

"everybody wanted plastic armies..." I dont think they wanted nearly all of the old molds, greens and masters thrown out and destroyed though. So much of what was lost, and what it wrong with Games Workshop today is due to his tenure as CEO.

[@MiniatureRealms]

That was really really interesting, another fantastic interview.

[@danroberts007]

Hmm, this interview… is a bit of a mixed bag for me. He certainly paints a rosy picture from his perspective, even when laying off 30% of the workforce and excusing it by saying they weren’t the right people. I think several of those people may still have PTSD from the experience. He has more remorse about over-producing GorkaMorka product than he does about firing people, from the way he talks about it. My wife’s company is currently in a death spiral, so I get it; in order to the save the company sometimes you have to lay off large numbers of people. Let’s not insult them after the fact by saying they were the problem; that can’t have been true across the board. The Chapterhouse lawsuit was a fiasco for GW; even if Chapterhouse didn’t ultimately survive the legal fees, they won the case! GW was found to be in the wrong. There was an infamous head of legal at GW with an absolutely draconian streak who’s tenure must have overlapped with Mr. Wells. Fan sites were threatened left and right, Boardgamegeek was threatened unless fan creations were removed, downloading any PDF from GW directly required the signing of a legal document. It was ridiculous. It was shitty. I can’t imagine this guy wasn’t involved with these decisions. He seems to have had quite the successful career with a healthy dose of good fortune to boot. I’ve met John Stallard and that guy is basically the greatest. Legend. I’m not so sure about Mr. Wells here.

[@countquackulon3004]

Most businesses are happy with 13% return, I wanted 50%! Says it with such self satisfaction too.

[@idiotproofdalek]

Prosperity is good.

[@ruairinotrory8591]

beyond greedy, looks happy with his price gouging

[@shadekiller19]

@@ruairinotrory8591 the goal of corporations is to maximise return on investments. Your enjoyment is but a usefull side effect of the mission statement.

[@JaySpringett]

OMG smashing it out of the park interview after interview. This one was *very relevant* to my interests. Thanks so much for doing these.

[@scorpionwargames4610]

Thanks for doing this interview, it was enlightening.

[@el_super_laser]

WotC should hire this guy, then, well, I wouldn't wish that on such a classy Sire. excellent interview that answers (or helps answer) a lot of the questions we have around the hobby/production/etc. thank you.

[@phillipdennick8509]

It was interesting to hear from 'the horse's mouth ' that the focus was on SELLING MINIATURES to the total exclusion of all other objectives. Making a good game would encourage far more players and as such more players. Excellent miniatures are good but if you don't want to play the broken game you have no reason to buy anything.

[@margaretwood152]

It's amazing just how many people this FACT flies right over their Smooth-Brained Heads;-)

[@kengc3]

Totally agree. I found this very interesting as well, and it feeds into his comments on desiring to use new technology with the 'limitations' of the Warhammer universe holding them back. Not saying that their games are broken, per se, but this focus explains some of what happened in that era.

[@jamesespinosa690]

Most hobbyists aren't gamers though... I say this a someone who is primarily a gamer.

[@phillipdennick8509]

@@jamesespinosa690 fair point.

[@Adam-antem]

This was a great listen. It sounds like he was a very capable CEO and helped put the company on a solid foundation, and I'm glad he's enjoying success in a second career.

[@jarekewertowski9108]

Amazing interview! Thanks!

[@charlieg3102]

Another really great interview, very interesting listen, cheers

[@Rob-hi4lp]

Another great interview. Take a bow Jordan.

[@benedictsingleton980]

Really interesting to see something from the "non-creative" side. Great stuff.

[@JescoJimBo]

Brilliant interview! I really love the company I work for; I'm going to pass these insights on to my management.

[@BenIqra]

I worked for GW as staffed store manager for over 8 years. This video made me want to work for them again 😅 although they paid me a pittance they taught me a lot.

[@FreeguildJoe]

Amazing interview, you're doing such a fantastic job, Jordan. I'm a patron now!

[@jordansorcery]

Thanks mate, really appreciate the support!

[@michaelgrey1351]

And another amazing interview. Right now there are a dozen youtube channel terrified you might move into batreps.

[@SunburntHands]

I was so EXCITED when I could'nt buy Space Hulk. I'm sure this bloke can run a company better than I can but like most CEOs, he has a definite whiff of brimstone about him. And did you ever meet someone who went to Cambridge who didn't let you know it?

[@jamesv.7041]

The whole range available at the press of a button - what a larf.

[@nickgraney2119]

Great interview Jordans, really well done 👏

[@animusvids]

corporate guys have such a cultist way of talking...

[@jkimmelcreative]

I dig your channel and found this episode super interesting! It's bonkers to me though how Chris stresses their logistics being one of their focuses of GW, while fulfillment (at least in the US) is a massive dumpster fire - even pre-pandemic. If you get an opportunity to ask a past GW staff about how they choose the priority of what gets shipped - the "mystery box" GW order IDs not paired with the shipping/tracking ID (so when a delivery shows "delivered" but is only a partial or something from a different order), is it a queue system, a pile system (last in, first out), or some extremely broken algorithm - I would love to see the response on that. Everyone harps about eBay or other sites, but it's wild to see Chris stress logistics being a priority and small indie shops or a one-person operation understands how to link a specific order number to the actual tracking number for that order. Also, as another commenter mentioned - the "temporarily out of stock" being out of stock for months or years - would be curious to hear their reply to that. Anyways, I am binging your videos as of late - great work - cheers!

[@NikoTeaJay]

As someone who's mainly into GW's boxed games, can't say I'm a fan of his "core games" focus. Cool interview all the same. Very different feel compared to many others you've done. And sure enough the guest is quite different.

[@Elazul.Lapislazuli]

39:00 when he speaks of plastic. This is when the the skaven and dark eldar were renewed. a huge jump in moulding quality. Just look at the Doomwheel and the Screaming Bell compared to their predecessor.

[@OldenDemon]

So many good points in this interview, sad to see it degenerating into personal insults in the comments. 1:05:42 This is an important lesson for anyone, employer or employee, to hear.

[@crafty_android]

Another great video thanks

[@hobbybobley]

Fantastic interview Jordan! I worked under Mark Wells in my time at GW HQ and I would have followed that man into Hell itself; an inspiring man, born to lead 👍🏼 I really enjoyed his recollections - thanks! 🙂

[@jaysunbodaysun3302]

How come he never mentions the quality of the actual GAMES!?!?.....

[@jasonb6860]

Yip. But their rulesets have almost always been justifications for getting minis on the table without rocking the boat too much in their design and alienating players.

[@jaysunbodaysun3302]

@@jasonb6860 He mentions " selling miniatures at a profit" but never mentions putting out a solid playable game.

[@eblingus]

Their rules were always weak. Great sculpts, great IP, rules not so much.

[@walt_man]

Not a creative. aka not a starving artist lol

[@farplaine]

Games Worksop isn’t a game company, they are a miniature manufacturer. The game is only important insofar as it helps. Sell miniatures

[@misomiso8228]

50:03 it's so interesting listening to how innovative they were with their business re the stores. Goes to show that in Business thinking outside the box can help so much,.

[@rodgertoner5705]

More amazing content!

[@komma8203]

Yes but we all get pi***d off when we cant get the latest release and they are only doing the one print, as its been with kill team and warcry the last year, its so enoying

[@commentarytalk1446]

In the noughties I enjoyed a gaming group meeting weekly to play WHFB. But somewhere along the line towards the latter half everyone gave up on WHFB - My guess is that that was not being jaded by the game but the treatment of the game by GW under this guy's watch? Also the thinning out of specialist games. We ran some incredible Mordheim campaigns. I guess the company was in that life-cycle phase from the initial creation or cottage-industry into more professional and creative outfit running a profitable business and then turning into a zombie corporate expansion and streamlining entity to maximize profits under this guy? Fair enough he sure achieved that target skillfully enough it seems, but GW was no longer GW by end of noughties imho.

[@lokennz]

Brilliant interview and very insightful. You and @mspaints are my favourite content creators at the moment - keep up the great work!

[@6Stevo]

Ooooh this is gonna be good! 😊

[@rubenlopezcatalan8661]

Thanks for the video. Please interview Nigel Stillman 🙏🏻.

[@Foxhound_1986]

Great interview Jordan - very interesting to hear from a different person than the norm and the cold hard business aspect of GW. Big question though.......can you get an interview with Big Tom Kirby? That'd be a cool first.

[@jordansorcery]

I would love to speak with Tom Kirby one day

[@iatebambismom]

I think it was his era I stopped really paying attention to GW stuff. I think it was a combination of how the feel/focus of the company changed and a natural change of my own hobby interests (possibly influenced by that change?). I've typed 'change' too much. Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

[@charly03090309]

Me too... but it might have been more to do with me wanting to have sex at some point... And now Im back again :)

[@iatebambismom]

@@charly03090309 hahaha. I mean, ewww yucky!

[@michaelgrey1351]

​@@charly03090309congratulations on the sex.

[@AsgeirrSpjuth]

No I think this is true for most of us. This is the era that other games companies started croping up everywhere right?

[@WarHogz]

What a brilliant guest and interview, thanks. Have immediately subscribed. GW takes such a pounding from fanboys who have zero experience/understanding of business, so it’s great when someone as informed as Mark is can explain the hows and whys of how companies take decisions, and do so in an interesting and eloquent manner.

[@misterjones7248]

Strength to strength ❤

[@ironbomb6753]

GW stores becoming unprofitable at about the same time as GW stopped gaming in the stores I think. Glad it looks like it's working out.

[@swabilius]

Shoutout Tabletop Tactics wooo, he is a hobbyist himself!!

[@kudosbudo]

9:46 oof ones of thoses CEOs eh? fair enough...

[@jameshilsdon1494]

The various positive ways in which he can describe 'greed'. Most impressive!

[@syd4890]

So this is the "genious" that created gw FOMO culture... he even celebrates going out of stock! You can see he is a Cambridge alumni... one can smell Posh from this distance

[@il_solitario55]

He seems like a proper slimy c**t doesn't he? I've had run-ins with his ilk in previous workplaces - educated idiots with massive egos.

[@makinote]

Then, is it during this guy period as a CEO that Rick Prestley, Andy Chambers, the Perry brothers and others left GW?

[@FlyingMonkeyDevil]

Culturally they weren't the "right fit" /s

[@AdamWhitehead111]

Sounds like he took over after 2004, I think that Andy Chambers had already left by that time.

[@FlyingMonkeyDevil]

​@@OldenDemonwas the staff member initials MW? CEOs, as a class of people and in general, tend to be extremely pompous

[@AsgeirrSpjuth]

Did they care too much about the gaming side?! Alessio Cavatore & Paul Sawyer too.

[@ParzivalPheonix]

Anyone got a PDF of the Black Book ?

[@margaretwood152]

Which Black Book? There are many & more Black Books

[@walt_man]

I remember when this leaked on Warseer.. not the book itself. But the fact they called the customer. "Gomers?" or "Wallets?"

[@bosshogg8273]

Like what everyone said - good work. One observation - has anyone ever seen Mark in the same room as Malcolm McDowell? 😀

[@RegensDominor]

Anyone who’s worked at Games Workshop knows there are some people in the company that are very toxic. Northern Exile is a KZbin channel and has tonnes of videos where ex and present GW staff submit their stories working at Games Workshop. It’s not all glamour and upholding high ethics as Mark makes it out to be.

[@AsgeirrSpjuth]

I ok f course it isn't. But what I wondering is. Was this guy really getting at those toxic persons or was he getting rid of the lazy and fun people. Not sure what the culture this guy set was.

[@MrDarthBudda]

I must be a mega Nerd,, like these two guys I am watching, cauz I like these stories..

[@NisGaarde]

11000K 🤩

[@rodneykelly8768]

One question I wish you had asked was, "Why is half of all GW products listed as "Temporarily Out Of Stock" for years at a time?"

[@Maximus_Vulpes]

I don’t understand. He says that gw goal is just to invest on two games (namely 40k and aos), and just push regulary some limited, side products, and that the problem with lotr and wfb was that they were too limited universe. Ok. So why do GW invest quite massively in horus heresy, new lotr, then legion imperialis with tons of minis and new stuff to come, and then the old word, more limited than ever before? GW is currently doing quite the exact opposite.

[@AsgeirrSpjuth]

Because this guy didn't get the hobby.

[@Le_Petomane]

I cant express how badly this guy ruined Warhammer. I worked under him believe me.

[@swabilius]

ooooo, gossip

[@thelonelybolter8245]

His era was "we're a model company, not a games company," with very minimal communication to player base, right?

[@kengc3]

It makes sense, really, if you are a ‘models’ company, then the priority becomes creating the most amazing, over-the-top, detailed miniature possible. If you are ‘limited’ with classic fantasy, then recreate your own amazing universe where over-the-top miniature designs are the norm, then you succeed in your own, internal goal. They succeeded.

[@makinote]

@@thelonelybolter8245 during the first part of the interview you see him talking about getting the good fits for the company. That way you have no internal critics and you end with the "we're a model company, not a games company" and then you kill warhammer and then you almost went bankrupt as one of the interviews in the Painting Phase said.

[@walt_man]

Reminds me of Andy Chambers talking about "Games Design run by games designers changing to games designed by corporate." on another channel's interview. @@thelonelybolter8245

[@matthewdobson100]

almost what bugs me the most is the statement around 29mins when talking about being left with unsold stock (of Gorkamorka) and "having" to write it off. They don't have to write it off, they could put it on sale at a big discount. I remember big fire sales of stuff in my old GW branch in the mid 90s, particualary one for Man O' War. Almost all other retailers do this at some point with old stock, but GW refuses to do so.

[@moodymullet9767]

I don’t know why they didn’t do it either, but from a cost point of view, if you’re going to discount a product to the point of breaking even, or making a loss, and you have to invest money into the distribution and display of that product at the cost of other products that would make a profit, it’s just not worth it. They would have to move the surplus from the warehouse, paying people to sort through it & deliver it where it needs to go. There is only so much room in a lorry/ van/ pallet, so if you have more profitable options, you would prioritize these. There is only so much space in stores- they’d have to remove items from the store shelves that might actually generate profit, to instead display products that don’t. Like I say, I don’t know why they don’t put things on sale, but from my experience in the business world, you don’t spend money to sell an item at a loss. It’s more cost effective to just trash it. If you have the product already at the point of sale, that’s different. Then you can discount it.

[@rickfool1452]

Sorcery? Do you hail from a lineage of celtic druids ?

[@MasterShake9000]

1. It’s telling he couldn’t admit to any specific mistakes 2. Equally that he can’t acknowledge Chapter House owned them and they blindly sued assuming they’d bully them like they had anyone else 3. Odd he won’t shut up about valuing people yet doesn’t mention a word about how one person stores impact the employees beyond how much more profitable it makes them for the company 4. Ditto that he openly admits inconveniencing customers makes them more profitable to the company 5. His claims about creatives being paid appropriately literally does not square with any creatives who have left GW and discussed their salaries (or that they have to change jobs or go into management to get a decent pay raise) This guy is either a habitual liar or utterly delusional.

[@MasterShake9000]

Also if he righted the ship so well, why was GW “six weeks” from not being able to pay salaries just prior to the release of Contrast paints, barely a half-decade after he left? (According to the recent Painting Phase interview with the former hobby division manager)

[@walt_man]

You're reminding me about the whole CEO's are high percentage sociopaths.. yikes! And yeah, a personal friend of mine has a hard time with his one man store. Been out of the 'meta-hobby' for at leasy 7 years, but the more I look out the stock situation. (still like to buy occasionally) Maybe the out of stock items is done more on purpose then because there's no bloke to swap the moulds?

[@gr4692]

making of warhammer next episode ??

[@jordansorcery]

It won’t be the next few releases, but I am working on it. It’s been tricky, but I think I’ve found the right approach for 7th edition now!

[@viktordickinson7844]

Hey, i hope this guy sees this and knows that I've been buying old OOP books and models from ebay just to play 6th ed 40k (an edition that was out a decade before i started playing) because him and his goons wacked the game so hard it's unplayable to many now. And i'm not the only one.

[@stevenkennedy4130]

Orky!!

[@yopitalla]

I wish I could ask him about Dawn of War.

[@charly03090309]

I was just going to say... There are a million Warhammer channels, and you have waltzed right in and are bagging all these awesome interviews. Not a very original thought, lol... Seems to me that "Sorcery" is more than just a name? Well done, mate.

[@jasonb6860]

It helps he's been focusing on the behind-the-scenes stuff without vilifying anyone involved.

[@charly03090309]

@@jasonb6860 Yes, easy to talk to and researches stuff really well... And has really fine looking knitwear.

[@toi_techno]

I've never come across a career that I felt would really interest me but listening to these chats with the founding staff I'm getting some delayed FOMO for early Games Workshop

[@MiniatureMasterClass]

This dude made so many bad decisions it's shocking, but he was no way near as bad as as that clown Kirby who almost bankrupted the company. We have to thank Rowntree for where we are now.

[@patinho5589]

Under Rowntree the company has 20x its share price. He brought in online community engagement.

[@neilcrompton9676]

I mean I love the stuff GW pumps out now. However I'll always miss the 90s era shops. Maybe because I was a red shirt and worked in them. And am glad he was so happy about AOS. However the handling of end times and its launch was a total cluster f*ck. No one was morning the end of GW. What it felt like was a massif F*ck you to the fantasy fanbase. I have stuck with the hobby and am glad we finally have The Old World now.

[@DaLavenderhillMob]

Regarding the infringement of IP I understand one must protect GW its more then a business. But feels like Mark is the one responsible for setting the legal dogs loose mercilessly witch hunting those small fan animators. (Id have liked to have seen them brought into the fold) I miss Kitten Imagine Dune, The foundation series or indeed the many other books wernt there to create 40k. Hes clearly the ruthless commisar GW needed, He's no Wulfen, more a Word bearer

[@interloper8029]

He basically turned Games Workshop into miniatures workshop. Because he had seen at Boots that you can make certain products very cheaply (cosmetics, skincare, perfume) and sell them at massive profit margins. He did the same thing at GW, canning all the boxed games, metal and resin miniatures, and simply churning out plastic Space Marines as cheaply as possible, and selling them at the highest price possible.

[@KingGhidorah_]

16:36 - "...trying to make the best fantasy miniatures in the world and selling them globally at a profit." This is the man most responsible for turning GW into the cold, callous corporation it became. That quote says it all. Selling miniatures for a profit. Before this guy, GW was a games company that sold miniatures. He turned it into a company that made miniatures and the games came second. This is the man that came up with the mandatory June price increase. No reason for the increase in price. It was just Summer. 16:50 - "Anything outside of that was a distraction..." Like creating games, supporting those games, listening to their customers, and so on. All distractions. They were ONLY there to sell minis for a profit. Nothing else. His words. This guy was possibly to worst thing to happen to GW in their history, as far as we gamers are concerned.

[@noheartfourteeneightyeight]

three minutes in and i know enough that this guy never should have been allowed to hold the reigns of games workshop,

[@noheartfourteeneightyeight]

little more than five minutes further in, and he doubles down on why he shouldn't ever have been there in the first place,

[@noheartfourteeneightyeight]

talks about people no buying into the "culture" of the company, what? the guys who don't want to eat stinking dogfood(curry) weren't up to par? what a dipstick,

[@noheartfourteeneightyeight]

11 minutes in, he is bragging about logistics while he was on top, that is a topic he would want to avoid spanning 2000-2013, here in Canada we never got enough of any kits in our local GW, and would often have to wait months for orders via mail, this guy is delusional, i hope Jordan doesn't just sit there and nod the whole interview, stress test this fools version of history, it needs it

[@noheartfourteeneightyeight]

30 minutes in, i cant listen to him anymore, just finished talking about gorkamorka and how they ordered to much stock..................................logistics are the strength he boasted of earlier,...........Jordan just smiles and nods,

[@idiotproofdalek]

Who hurt you?

[@tjthehobopainter9173]

"we created this amazing warhammer culture". Ehh, you make miniatures and sell them for a hefty price. Us, the hobbyist, is what makes the culture imo. "when the bubble had burst", sounds to me the CEO is still stuck in his bubble. Monthly releases as if its a videogame getting updated. Special boxes with better prices, like the christmas boxes, sold out before getting through the queue. Some products have been out of stock for so long the scalpers are making the cash. A price increase with a valid reason sure. Yet there have been many increases without proper reason over the years. The change in base sizes a while back, in part understandable, leads to many of my older models being invalid. Replacing said bases doesn't come cheap either. 65 euros for 1 tank is more than my weekly foodbudget and 40 euros for some bases that don't even amount to a quarter of my models.. Proposterous. Nice looking miniatures sure, but at what cost with mentioned practices?

[@davidmartyn5044]

New drinking game. Take a shot after all corperate speak and BS statement.

[@JPGotrokkits]

No thanks, I like my liver to be in working order.

[@boboayame2065]

He lost me when he started huffing age of fisherprice, discarding their core setting was, is and always will be the single most stupid decision ever made by ay business and a far worse mistake in terms of actual creativity

[@swabilius]

False, in every way imaginable.

[@Kolyarut]

Quite disappointing that this sort of asinine namecalling still gets likes, to be honest. People are allowed to not like it, but tripe like this betrays their lack of even basic knowledge about the topic. If someone can't see creativity in AoS, let alone in 2023, it's because they're not looking.

[@jasonb6860]

Except AoS knocks Fantasy out of the park in terms of miniatures, gameplay, and uniqueness.

[@margaretwood152]

Many would disagree w/ ur disagreement, like the 51%+ Majority in fact (i.e. the 30+ yr olds who actually have the $$ to buy this overpriced Plasti-crack⚪@@swabilius

[@margaretwood152]

@@Kolyarut Again, many & more would disagree w/ ur disagreement, like the 51%+ Majority in fact (i.e. the 30+ yr olds who actually have the $$ to buy this overpriced Plasti-crack⚪

[@eblingus]

meh guest

[@Jeff-ne1lh]

Despite some rando disgruntled employees opinion... I think GW desperately needs Mark back behind the Helm, long time fans can and do see the difference in the company since he left.

[@margaretwood152]

Perhaps....in *_BIZZARO_*_ World._

[@docremington1589]

Excellent interview! If you’ve been in large companies long enough, you can translate what Mark is saying and it’s not as good as it sounds. For example „promoting from within“ is all nice and well, but it’s also a cost exercise if the people within are already paid poorly.

[@nasigoring1525]

Interesting the way he talks about paying people well for what they are good at, but Games Workshop is notorious for being an awful paying company. I would LOVE to work at GW and I think I could be very good, but I would have to cut my salary in half to do it.

[@biseinerheult78]

GW recently paid a quite nice one time bonus to their employees (I believe it was about 4000 pound). I mentioned on reddit that this was nice, but it doesn't change the fact that GW pay is well known to be shit and that they shouldn't have made this a one time bonus but instead have raised salaries all around. Was downvoted to hell by people because I dared to spoil the nice feel good story. I mean people leave GW to go into video games because they pay better and if you know anything about the video games industry, that should tell you a lot about how badly GW pays.

[@batjutsu]

Blimey, yet another impressive interview. I appreciate some might have wanted a severe interrogation style interview with Mark, but I don't think an adversarial stance would reveal hidden details that those people would want. I can only imagine the difficulty in deciding on what questions to ask, especially about topics the vast and diverse community as debated amongst itself for years, figuring out the facts to the fabrications! Thank you for making and sharing. Squeak-squeak 🐀🌠💎🔥🪄🐀

[@RemingtonSteelewarhammer]

Brilliant interview! Love your content and guests