How Fantasy Retailer Came To Sign Amazon Deal

Tales of big screen blockbuster deals with streaming giants and A-list Hollywood stars don’t normally start with model-making in a small west London apartment.

But then again there’s nothing much typical about Nottingham, U.K.-based retail chain Games Workshop, which has just agreed with AmazonAMZN
to create a series based on its hit franchise Warhammer, likely featuring former Superman star Henry Cavill.

The share price soared Friday when the $3.3bn market value Games Workshop confirmed that it had struck a deal with Amazon for its science-fiction fantasy miniature war game to develop the company’s IP into film and TV productions as well as sell merchandise.

Games Workshop said that the first rights to be developed will be for the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, previously made into a computer-animated film in 2010.

Last week reports linked Henry Cavill, who will not return to future Superman films, to the new series and Cavill subsequently issued a confirmation on Instagram: “For 30 years I have dreamt of seeing a Warhammer universe in live action. Now, after 22 years of experience in this industry, I finally feel that I have the skill set and experience to guide a Warhammer Cinematic Universe into life.

“To all of you Warhammer fans out there, I promise to respect this IP that we love. I promise to bring you something familiar. And I endeavour to bring you something fantastic that is, as of yet, unseen.”

Who Is Games Workshop?

Games Workshop started in a small apartment in west London, when three friends – John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson – began making wooden board games and created gaming newsletter White Dwarf. The business fast-tracked when the U.S. creator of Dungeons & Dragons asked them to become its U.K. distributor.

The first Games Workshop store opened in Hammersmith, London in 1978 and began producing miniature wargaming models, in 1983, creating Warhammer, which stages battles between orcs and elves.

Warhammer became a global brand spawning books, video games, a magazine, and animations and the company has grown to around 530 stores worldwide, with the priciest miniature plastic gaming models running to $120 and more.

Run by Kevin Rountree, a publicity-shy former accountant, the retailer counts Ed Sheeran, Fast & Furious actor Vin Diesel and, of course, British actor Henry Cavill, among its celebrity acolytes, with the latter once describing his addiction to collecting Games Workshop’s tiny figurines as “plastic crack”.

Worldwide Fantasy Demand

Indeed, the stakes are high. The worldwide tabletop games sector will be worth $12bn by 2023, up from $7.2bn in 2017, according to the consumer data firm Statista.

But despite the hype over the Amazon deal, Games Workshop struck a note of caution and did not raise its financial guidance for the year to the end of May.

“While the parties have reached agreement on material commercial terms, the project is wholly dependent on and subject to contracts being agreed and entered into, which the parties are working towards,” the company said.

Investors showed no such reticence and shares in Games Workshop soared by 15% on Friday as investors were buoyed by the prospect of a relationship with Amazon. Trading Monday consolidated those gains.

For its part, Games Workshop has continued to post soaring growth.

In July, Games Workshop’s reported in its annual report for the 52-week period to May 29, with revenue up from $444.9m to $505.1m, while core revenue grew 10% from $430.1m to £470.1m. Pre-tax profit was $190.5m up from $183.8m in the previous period.

Run from its headquarters in Nottingham, the retailer has delivered a consistent financial performance and Rountree said: “It’s been another astonishing year. I once again take great comfort that some things don’t change – our staff and customers love Warhammer. I thank you all for helping make this another very successful year.”

Staff have also shared an extra $12.2 million of profits over the past 12 months.

And the Amazon deal could introduce Warhammer, and Games Workshop, to a new army of fans as fantasy gaming continues to grow in popularity.

Co-founder Livingstone, who sold his stake in 1991, recalled last year: “We used to be told we were geeks, nerds or anoraks…Now it’s become pretty cool. People enjoy social fun and communicating with people while stabbing each other in the back.”