"Is it true Rick Priestly has left Games workshop?" Topic

Rumours on other forums are circulating that Rick Priestly has left / been fired / teleported out of Games Workshop after 28 years.

Does anyone know if this is true, or the reasons why? By all accounts, the hugely lauded release of Warhammer Forge at Games Day saw Rick present lots of plans for the future of the WF, and he didnt seem like a man of the verge of leaving. What has happened?

I spoke to Rick on Sunday at the Fiasco show in the Uk. He is no longer at GW. No more details though and i'm not going to speculate and start rumours.

Great guy, who seems to have been flitting from project to project in GW as a sort of roving eye.

He'll be a big loss for GW – a top bloke and one of the last remaining true hobbyists in that company…

Still, maybe he'll have more time to do the ancients version of Black Powder now; every cloud etc. :)

Seriously though, hope he's OK – he really is a great guy.

Why was I thinking of Rick Astley? That was surreal…

a sort of roving eye.

I used to have a roving eye but I got my face slapped so I'm just a good boy now.

Why was I thinking of Rick Astley? That was surreal…

Nah, Rick Astley is never gonna give GW up.

As for Rick Priestley, I hope he stays in the industry.

"Why was I thinking of Rick Astley?"

Perhaps because of the misspelling in the title? It's "Priestley".

Here's Rick, on long-term commitment:

tinyurl.com/y8ufsnp

Allen

Rick no longer works for Games Workshop. I spoke to him last Friday and can confirm that he's absolutely fine and, like many people in his situation, actually sounded relieved that he could now talk about it.

He now has the opportunity to pursue all those other projects he's had on the back burner, and I wish him well for the future. A nicer guy it would be hard to meet, and in my opinion, GW will be the poorer for letting him go.

Henry
Battlegames
battlegames.co.uk

in my opinion, GW will be the poorer for letting him go

Will they, though? I mean, what has he actually done there in the last few years? Both Warhammer and 40K have had other lead designers for at least a couple of editions. Pretty sure the same goes for Lord of the Rings.

Andrew Paul 02 Nov 2010 3:52 a.m. PST

in my opinion, GW will be the poorer for letting him go

Will they, though? I mean, what has he actually done there in the last few years? Both Warhammer and 40K have had other lead designers for at least a couple of editions. Pretty sure the same goes for Lord of the Rings.

That's very blunt….but.

There does come a point when companies have to "move on" – look at D&D, you'd hardly know that Gary Gygax had anything to do with it anymore. There must be lots of RPGers who've never heard of Dave Arnson.

Same with GW I guess – the company is ~35-40 years old, so none of the originals can be much under 60. And it's aiming to be one of the few hobby companies to really survive it's founders.

Fiddlesticks. The guy is a legend. There wouldn't have been the Warhammer phenomenon without him.

And Warhammer has not changed much since 1st edition really.

Cannot believe he is leaving.

Hope he goes on to do something he can sink his teeth into.

Well, the founders (Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone) have left GW ages ago already. As for Rick, I seem to recall he was the actual owner of the Warhammer franchise so either he has sold it for a really good compensation, or he might still have a foot in, albeit only financially.
I remember on a Studio tour being told specifically by one of their lead designers "If Rick goes, Warhammer goes", so I guess that this issue has been addressed somehow

GW is 35 years old, but remember that many of them were very young when they started up: Rick Priestley is "only" 51 years old now (and did not join GW in 1975 – he was only 16 years old in 1975, and wrote Rogue Trader in 1986-87), and seems to have quite a few new ideas in his head, at least if his non-GW activities are anything to go by.

GW seems to be running on a rehash cycle: new army books now and then and a new edition every 3-5 years. The "fresh" material is mainly in miniatures design, the sales of which is their bread and butter. The background really needs no major creativity at the moment: all it needs is for it to be Inspiring! for the people who buy models.

Priestley was mainly a rules (with varying degrees of success) and setting (arguably something he is really good at, as he was the creator of the 40k setting, GWs cash cow) guy. As Creative Director, what was there left for him to do? The recent Warhammer Forge Throne of Whatsitsname project seemed to be just what he was going to be doing for some time to vent creativity. But apparantly he was only meant as the launch vehicle for that.

I was speaking from a point of ignorance (that makes a change, eh ?) as I do very little GW gaming. They shed me from their core customer base about 20 years ago.

But if they have a plan to still exist in 2050 then they've got to think that there's a 20 year old in the company now who is going to be chief games desinger/rules supremo by 2030. So you need to have a plan to transition to that situation – so that there's somewhere to promote them to in 2015, 2020, 2025 and finally the big chair in 2030.

GW is a big business. It has to be able to survive the loss of any member of staff if it is going to continue to be a big business.

Which is all a bit practical and, for me, dull. Hence the reason they shed me from their customer base about 20 years ago when this whole corporate process started.

The assumption that the Rules Supremo of the company needs his entire career in said company is not necessarily a valid one. They could (and should, really, to avoid the design department becoming more ossified) recruit from outside the company, keep the ones they like for a few years, and promote the best.

Rick is one of the best game designers in the business and I hope he goes on writing and publishing games.

GW is a big business.

Only in terms of wargaming. Compared to most real world businesses its fairly small.

I can understand why Mr Priestley is no longer required. Ventures outside 40K/fantasy have not been successful in the long term, so perhaps that is now the future of GW, tweaks to their core products and making new figures. No great need for creativity.

So, did he leave, or was he let go? There's a significant difference between moving on voluntarily and being shown the door.

That is what I am wondering, Battle Works Studios…

I remember seeing him in White Dwarf with that goofy tanker helmet and goggles on… This was YEARS ago…

I do not have enough of a finger on the pulse for GW or their primary employees or even founding members lives to offer much…except that he seems to have been and is still a gamer.

Playing and making gaming he wanted to play.

As gamers, could we ask for a better opportunity?

Design the game you want to play and be paid for several decades to develop and prop up said game.

That and he makes good models, a clear sign of being a quality human being :) picture

What is this Warhammer Forge? I've never heard of it and my Google-fu is failing me.

GW's loss, really. He was their primary game designer. Now we can see more good stuff from him from other companies, which will most likely be far less constraining.

"I remember seeing him in White Dwarf with that goofy tanker helmet and goggles on…"

*sniff* I miss the Reader's Wives section in White Dwarf.

"What is this Warhammer Forge? I've never heard of it and my Google-fu is failing me."

Here, Steve:

TMP link

Allen

GW is a big business.

Only in terms of wargaming. Compared to most real world businesses its fairly small.

Measured on which measure ? Turnover ? Number of employees ? I can think of lots of smaller non-gaming companies. There's the guy who cuts my hair (3 shops), the guy who sells me coffee (1 shop), the guy who sells me books & cds (2 shops), the people who run my local theatre (1 theatre)……..

GW employees several thousand people in the UK (HQ, manufacture, dstribution, retail staff – mail order and shops). That makes it a big company.

And in terms of wargaming – which is the primary area of concern I guess, the vast majority of UK wargaming supply is still done by companies that empoly less than 10 people and, bluntly, will die when the owner retires. Oh, someone might pick up the figure line – but only to keep it in production, the new design, new molding, new ranges generally stops when the "main man" retires. GW can't afford to follow that business model.

So, did he leave, or was he let go? There's a significant difference between moving on voluntarily and being shown the door.

Doubt we'll ever find out. It's not like it's any of our business.

GW's loss, really. He was their primary game designer.

Operative word there is "was". The last thing he had a guiding hand in was Lord Of the Rings.

I thought he and Brian Ansell were bought out of ownership when GW went public. 1993?
Least thats what I could understand through Brians accent.

Measured on which measure ? Turnover ?

Yep thats the one.

GW is a big business.

Only in terms of wargaming. Compared to most real world businesses its fairly small.

SMEs are businesses with fewer than 250 employees so GW is a big business.

Most (90% plus) "real world" businesses are SMEs.

"Doubt we'll ever find out. It's not like it's any of our business."
Of course it's none of our business, but many of us feel concern for a pillar in the hobby. When we read an obituary, we often are curious to know the cause of death, when in fact it doesn't make a bit of difference. The person is dead and how he or she died is none of our business. Plus, how Rick was treated informs our decision making process and can color the future relationship with the corporation. Just ask BP.

Talking about GW sector 51 wrote:

Compared to most real world businesses its fairly small.

You're wrong there.

As Space Cadet points out it's a big business by the UK and EC definition that uses the number of staff to define SMEs (Small or Medium Enterprises). GW employs more than more than 2,000 people, the definition of an SME is one with up to 250 employees.

With a turnover of £126.00 GBP million ) GW is well in the top 0.5% of UK companies that have a turnover of more than £50.00 GBP million.

See PDF link for GW employment and turnover and PDF link for UK government statistics on business turnover.

Measured on which measure ? Turnover ?

Yep thats the one.

£126.51 GBP Million turnover doesn't seem that small to me. Certainly more than that fella with the cofee shop :-)

But it's still damn fine coffee nonetheless…

Indeed ! I just don't think he can make 140,000 cups of it a day, 365 days of the year.

Having glanced through GWs report – is it just me who finds it amusing that their board of directors backgrounds are – tax inspector, accountant, accountant, Tarmac manager, and a barrister.

See – they're just like us !

Right. <insert rolling eyes icon here>

Garcias,

Glenn

As the guy who wrote the original 40K Rogue Trader rules, he WAS GW as far as I am concerned.

It's done now, kids. Somebody please go to Nottingham and shut the lights off.

I guess I could say I'm kind of a fan of the guy… at least his earlier stuff… so I'm curious to see what, if anything, he'll do next. Having him gone does seem like a bit of a symbolic negative for GW.

He's probably going to pursue a little project he has(with Jervis Johnson) called Black Powder now.BP Ancients is coming out and they are supposed to be doing supplement books for BP and presumably BP Ancients too.Now that he has more time I would think that project will roll on.
Isn't he also involved with Warlord Games? That company seems to have all the old real talent of the GW heyday now.

When warlord releases the first "fantasy" version of BP then we'll know the links are really cut.

Wowzers, this is some serious news. Part of me wonders what he'll come up with next now that he's a free agent, while the other half wonders how badly GW is going to muck up his rules without him being there (even as a figurehead) to keep them in line…

GW's loss will be historical gamers gain. Black Powder is brilliant and I can't wait to see the ancient version. I rate Rick as a good bloke.

I struggle to see how Black Powder Ancients will be as good – it's such a shooty game. I played a game of Wars of the Roses with it, and because Longbows are present in large numbers it was fun, but a lot of ancient periods a simple conversion will not work so well.

The WotR Game was ace I have to say – a thousand figure game finished in 3 hours.

Pat

It's like if Disney fired Walt.

Can't really see GW without Rick.

He's a great guy. Hopefully his severance is huge.

GW is a big business, but they're a very small multinational. There are businesses in my hometown that employ more people in one plant than GW does in the entire UK.

I wish Rick good luck on his next endeavors.

Lion in the Stars "GW is a big business, but they're a very small multinational. There are businesses in my hometown that employ more people in one plant than GW does in the entire UK."

Agreed. We gamers tend to see GW as a gargantuan organization, but we tend to forget that it is really the biggest tadpole in a very small puddle.

BtaQ – does not stop GW being a big company, just because there are bigger ones.

Doesn't he own a huge chunk of GW?

GW is a big business, but they're a very small multinational. There are businesses in my hometown that employ more people in one plant than GW does in the entire UK.

Nobody said they were a huge.

And they're not really even a multinational. A UK firm with worldwide ambitions at the most..

wargamer1972 wrote:

Doesn't he own a huge chunk of GW?

No.