Games Workshop Removes Warhammer Collectors Range From Website

In yet another action which is earning the ire of veteran gamers, large sections of the Collectors ranges from the Warhammer 40,000 range disappeared. Everything from the infamous Cadian Lieutenant model to fan favourites like Cypher the Fallen One are now no longer available for purchase. In fact there is almost no indication they were ever on Games Workshop's website.

Almost the entirety of the Warhammer 40,000 section is now completely bereft of any products. Ork Goff Rockers (2nd edition 40K in all its glory) and the Space Marine Armour Through The Ages box are the only two products which remain. The latter of which is arguably not even a collectors set, having been re-released in Finecast form and added only a few scant years ago. Warhammer Fantasy was similarly hit, with the entirety of the Vampires section having been removed along with numerous other models. Despite this there is still a much larger selection available than with 40,000.

While the sudden removal of almost everything on the website is something very unexpected and with no prior announcements, it's not entirely unanticipated. For several months now products had been disappearing from the website's listing. Usually the more popular or least used units, or those which were uniquely suited for conversions. This was however put down to the company running out of stock. With models in pewter no longer being created, there was obviously only a limited time they would be able to keep advertising them for. In this case there is no clear reason as to exactly why such a vast section of their website has been left barren.

This comes as a second blow against gamers invested in parts of the hobby no longer shown love by Games Workshop. Only a few weeks ago it was announced that the longstanding lines of Specialist Games would be completely discontinued in all forms. Models would soon start disappearing from the website, and even those produced by Forge World such as the Battlefleet Gothic Tau Armada would similarly fade from existence. Having come down hard on a number of websites and fan communities involving Blood Bowl and Necromunda back in 2009, it was clear the company wanted any support for them gone. Going from this latest decision, this mentality now seems to be extending towards anything the company created prior to 2005.

The current suspicions by many are that the company has opted to remove the products in order to re-release them as Finecast at a later date. Likely in co-ordination with major army releases by those who were hit hardest by this sudden removal such as the Imperial Guard. With many characters and entire ranges such as the Mordian Iron Guard, Steel Legion, Valhallans, and even some Catachan units only avalible for purchase within the collectors section.

The only good news in all of this is that somehow the Sisters of Battle remain available for purchase on the website. Despite nearly all of their range consisting of metal figures and the army being the target for abuse for years, they somehow escaped this purging unscathed.

As of yet the company has made no statements of any kind following this action, leaving forum conspiracy theories to spread like wildfire.

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Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Blood Bowl, Necromunda and all related characters and media are owned by Games Workshop.