The latest Tactics of Games Workshop to beat Warhammer 40k Lecks, melts my brain

Wargamer usually does not cover through or rumored products for Warhammer 40kHorus Häresie, Age of Sigmar or the rest – even if we believe that they are authentic. This is my call as a publisher. It would be simple traffic and as fans it is always exciting to see models early. But I don't want our reporting to devalue and derailed and derailed for months or years of working for miniature designers, sculptors and creative people just because a package was sent to the wrong address. When the Games Workshop began to publish its own leaked product on a website pretend Lecks as a marketing play, my understanding of reality was a little … Cottage Cheese-Y.

Let us break down a timeline with events, for the fans of Warhammer 40k and Horus Heresy, which did not follow this strange small additional number. Last Thursday, May 8th, Game's workshop announced that a new edition by Warhammer The Horus Heresy started it over a cute teaser video with Big 'Dad Witz' Vibes under the chic legend “The Horus Hearsay”.

It is filled with obvious Easter eggs that (mostly) do not seem to have anywhere. It is just a funny, light -hearted unveiling that his specialist Spinoff -Miniatur -War game – which cover the battles of the Horus Heresy Books – receives a new edition.

This traditionally fires the starting pistol in months of speculation about which new rules we receive – and which delicious new models come in the inevitable, large, shiny start box set. Usually we do not expect hiding or hair to see many weeks after the first revelation.

Also On Thursday, May 8th, a new one-sided website and the right social media channels with the title Thehorushearsay.com were created. It is not associated with other official GW websites, but shows them everyone Signs for the fact that GW is a market-virgin marketing trick, and not as supposedly it is supposedly-a particularly well-informed rumor.

Its header-image is a higher resolution, transparent-compatible version of the “Horus Hearsay” logo in GWS official trailer. In all upper limits, it is proud: “This is a completely 100% legitimate Warhammer website”. It uses the same fonts as the official Warhammer website of GW -something that fan sites do not do; Why should you? It has authentic copyright messages and links to GWS data protection guidelines in the footer.

Apart from the selection, it published original, high -quality pictures of dark, invisible plastic components that, if they are real, could only come from GW, and if they are fake, it would be bizarre to fake. The short blog posts read how the carefully formulated parody of a marketer of real fan post.

In every respect, it seems to be a slightly amusing guerrilla marketing campaign that makes fun of the conspiratorial habits of toy soldiers. I don't love it, but it's not a biggie-only GW has a little more fun with a second stage. Enter the big leak.

On Monday, May 12th, two pictures started to get into circulation online and showed what the New Horus Hetzy Launch Box set looks like, months before we expected it. You show two copies of the box set with the title ” Age of darkness: Saturnine – In the back seat of a car.

The other shows the rear side of the box, in almost high resolution to see the hero models of the box: A Saturnine Dreadnought and space marines in Saturnine Terminator Armaments, classic characters, of which fans have had new models for decades. It is a really cool -looking set -the kind of things that GW usually shows about a chic video during a Warhammer -Vorschau -Livestream.

We saw it, we sighed, we understood our work. It is not uncommon for new Warhammer kits to be sent early by chance. It is true that this supposed leak came much In the past as we usually see such logistical muck-ups-but the production cycles are long and the release time plans change. It's not a big surprise. As usual, my feelings were a 50/50 mix of a nerd tube about the new models and sympathy for bad worksters in marketing, which are just shaking their summer labor plans like peas in a drop of pod.

However, it got strange on Tuesday. Instead of the usual, accelerated official reporting from Warhammer Community, the Horus Hörensay -Promo -Site -Site reposted The apparently seepled pictures say-in a snarky, not serious tone that is painfully familiar with Warcom readers that they are so completely wrong, man. GW, it seems, satirized its own leaked product.

“Is that the new box set!?!” A contribution reads. “We are skeptical. How is it that the photos are so bad?”

“Photographer, the Bigfoot type called – he wants his camera back.”

According to my experienced editorial opinion, everything is a bit frightening. The overall community had already decided that hearsay was a GW location. It had already come to the conclusion that the Saturnine box was probably real, and Hörensays Nattter, apparently seemed to confirm it -but in an annoying way. Who was this strange meta tool that I should like, I wondered? I'm still not sure.

But here is the thing: The jumping point of the Horus Hearsay website seems to be in the new edition and miniatures to be gentle by uncovering real product details that are disguised in the “Lecks” gimmick. And this strange little saga has achieved this goal nice. Instead of the listening campaign, which is knee points of a campaign at an early stage of a distribution error, she took the leak in his crotch and made everyone talk. The timeline may be wrong, but the results have been banged at the destination.

It is even activated that the minorities of Tin Foil -Hass fans who have been “leaked up” to the “leakage” information about GW products have been choreographed by the company to turn the hype wheels. It could be that GW licked his own box setAre you wondering that your little nerd hearts with excitement inflame – or even an meticulously made fake version have leaked through only for the hype?

Of course not certainly not. The razor from Occam applies: Each option would be far more expensive, risky and stupid as just the normal routine of blog posts of the Drip -Fed blogs and any video decorations. It is much more likely that the Saturnine Box leak is both real and unintentional, and GWS simply jokes on the listening comrades as a humorous form of damage control that the website “in character” holds.

But whether through happiness or design, uncle geedubs somehow cut it. I have never been a fan of marketing that feels like it was trolling or mocking its customers -and I am with the General Schtick of the Hearsay website at a time when online fehlin formations are actively burning down the world. It rubs me wrong – but it doesn't knock it, it worked. And I am damn if I don't want Saturn terminators.

How do you think about it? Jazz to get a few space marines with more even greater Shoulders as normal? Just a little little confused about all the excitement and the effort? Visit the discussion about the Wargamer Discord community – we will probably talk about it for a nice old time.

Or in the meantime, you can always read a little background with our leaders to all Warhammer 40k fractions and our compendium of all 21 40 -km primaries.