You have probably got word of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k, and when you have not after that it’s likely that you have seen the excellent personal computer game Dawn of War.

Games Workshop are the masterminds behind these epic franchises. As the most significant tabletop battle games company on the planet, Games Workshop may also be responsible for the harder recent games based on our creator of the Rings trilogy.

A Little Historical past

Warhammer Fantasy Battle was the first game to become set in Warhammers alternate middle earth realm.  Since its release in 1983 Warhammer has inspired generations of table top gamers and their action figures, introducing them to painting and collecting the Warhammer miniature models that represent battlefield units.

Warhammer 40k is Games Workshops futuristic version with the original game, set in the far future.  Post apocalyptic societies struggle to control the galaxy, finding strange alien races and evil around every corner.  This particular franchise was delivered to wide media attention using the launch of Dawn of War to the PC in 2004.

The Warhammer Fantasy Franchise

The Warhammer fantasy franchise encompasses table top games, role-playing games, card games, video games, books, magazines and comics.  Games Workshop is famous for the hard line it requires against impersonators and those who try to sell fake versions of the products, specifically the miniatures needed to play the table top games.

Two-and-a-half decades of game development has produced an amazingly rich and detailed world.  The official website lists over 200 written resources for Warhammer Fantasy.  Additionally many older products are no longer in print or are unavailable.

The depth of information is staggering. Historical, religious and political histories are available for every single 15 major armies utilized in the overall game.

Warhammer Fantasy inspires amazing artwork.  Books produced during the worlds background feature stunning illustrations.  Fans with the franchise also produce spectacular artwork with their own – often rivalling the official artists.

Costly Hobby

Warhammer has evolved quite a bit from those start. Games Workshops commercial mindset to the franchise has turned many unsuspecting people into serious hobbyists who’re almost hooked on the system.

Miniatures are supplied unpainted and unassembled, much like an airfix model.  To collect, build and paint armies consisting of numerous models is not for your faint hearted!  Add to this the need to generate scenery and model buildings and you also begin to understand time, effort and money that fans invest into Warhammer.

Warhammer As well as the Future

The Warhammer franchise seems to be eternal.  Games Workshop are clearly willing to move using the times as demonstrated through the release of several video games during the past decade.

The impending release of a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) – Warhammer: Age of Reckoning - located in the Warhammer fantasy world is adding towards the reputation of this gaming giant.  Nearly 600,000 folk have opted hoping to acquire a sneak preview from the game, providing solid evidence that Warhammer is firmly in the mainstream.