Warhammer 40K Tabletop Thread XL: Bloated Rules

[Cheesegear]

There is no other route by which GW will give sufficient resource to the design team to update rules, and each of these is a major project within the company.

Despite making record profits?

To go back to the original point of discussion, what this means is that there isn’t really a model that can support regular updates to all factions at once AND that is compatible with GW’s operating model.

In that case, GW's operating model needs to change, just like it did when Alan Merritt left.

What GW wants, corporately, is for regular, big, heavy releases tied up with new models. What people focussed on the rules want is regular updates to whichever faction they play.

Which is baffling.
Imaging running a company where you don't do what your consumers want you to do? It feels insane, and I genuinely don't know how GW is making those record profits.
Oh right. Sky-high prices and reducing staff costs.
(Also, apparently ~20% of their profit comes from 'royalties' and the pumping out of video games?)

To riff on Cheesegear’s favourite saying: rules only exist to sell models.

Here's the thing.

You've got a box of models, you've got an entire Faction, sitting on the shelf.
Release day; Reviews come out saying that everything is garbage and nobody should buy (I like using my hypothetical Wolves in Space, for an example).

You are not moving stock, because the majority of your player base doesn't play Wolves in Space.
The ones who do play Wolves in Space, are unhappy, because nothing has really changed, and also, there are no new models. What they already have, works well enough (Werewolves and Wolves-riding-Wolves) and nothing is different from the Index - not really. Why buy anything, if nothing has changed? GW even managed to fail an invalidating Wolves in Space's existing army build.
The ones who don't play Wolves in Space, but could, are turned off by how terrible they've heard that Wolves in Space, are.
Ergo, nobody buys anything.

How is it not in the company's interest, to write new rules? Effectively immediately, and effective immediately?

You've got ****loads of stock that isn't moving. You can fix it, by simply making an Errata document. You know all those YouTubers you gave review copies of the Codex to, those same YouTubers who couldn't really talk about the Codex without saying a ton of negative comments and thus, losing their access to GW? Yeah. Them. Ask them what's wrong with the Codex, ask them how to fix it. People aren't stupid, they're willing to try and fix your game.

GW is model led, therefore regular rules updates generally won’t happen without some tie to the model production process

All GW's Stock, on every shelf, has rules attached to them, that can be changed at any time.

Vyper Jetbikes don't sell.
Change the rules.
Vyper Jetbikes start selling.

It's that easy. GW does not have to make new models, in order to sell existing models.