Warhammer: The Old World - Thoughts & What Lies Ahead

So, this weekend we got the news that Warhammer, The Old World, The World That Was is not getting banished to the annals of time like we thought. Instead, much like with The Horus Heresy, we're going to be seeing a new team working on bringing the large rank and file armies of the past back to the tabletop in an effort to tell stories of the old days.

With that in mind, I thought I'd offer up some opinions on the news since I've spent a long time in the wargaming industry and it was Warhammer Fantasy Battle which drew me into tabletop gaming in the first place.

Reforging The Past

Firstly, all we have to go on right now is the logo. This was the first teaser from them which appeared alongside a little teaser of a square base. There's nothing to really tell what form the game is going to take but it would be an educated guess that we're going to get the old rank-n-flank style gameplay of The Old World making a return.

One would also assume that this means we're also going to find that all of those old armies which we've got packed away into bags and boxes are going to be entirely legal again. I have a massive (almost 6000 point) Dwarf army sitting in a case right in front of me and the thought of those Longbeards making it back out onto the tabletop fills me with joy.

I would also have to guess that in bringing back what was old we're going to see them doing something very similar to what we've had with The Horus Heresy. Slowly, over time, the team at Forge World has been adding new books which tell chapters of the story throughout the history of The Horus Heresy leading up to the final battle on Terra. Perhaps we're going to be seeing them do something similar for The Old World?

This could mean that as well as the years of battle during the time of Emperor Karl Franz and Archaon we could also be seeing them look back even further in time to the Three Emperors and even beyond that to the years when Sigmar himself was walking the world, battling Orcs and Chaos warriors and bringing the Unberogens together. This could be very cool as we've always seen some fantastic artwork from this period but never any models. Looking back as Games Workshop is, they could very easily see this as a point to draw from.

The Switch; Is This Scummy?

Now we get to a thought which has resonated across social media for a few days now. The Warhammer world was decimated and in its place, we got Age Of Sigmar which completely changed the nature of the game, brought new and diverse models into the mix and had a lot of people converting their armies so they'd be useful in the new game.

Age Of Sigmar has been out now since 2015 and throughout those four years, it has diversified and changed into a really interesting entity. I think now that they've spent some time on it the Mortal Realms are a fascinating place. Rather than being influenced and inspired by our own world and its history we've seen them just go off the wall, bringing together a much more High Fantasy world compared to the grimdark nature of The Old World. It certainly opened up their opportunities to sculpt new miniatures, creating fascinating terrain pieces and make the game bigger and more impressive (depending on who you ask of course).

So, is them turning their attention back to The Old World a scummy move? Well, no. This new version of the game is going to be coming out in something like three or four years time (at least) so there's not going to be a way (beyond playing older editions of the game) to use those armies you've got for another half a decade! In that way, anyone who has taken their old armies and converted them up to play Age Of Sigmar with their round bases might feel miffed but you've (hopefully) been spending a lot of time really enjoying that game and still getting some use out of your army.

Now, I will concede that (if like me) you were a big Old World fan and you would have preferred it never went away and yet still converted up your armies you're probably going to be rather annoyed. Suddenly you've got an army you'd have wished you could have used in The Old World and you've now got a force which doesn't quite work for you anymore. I get it. It is annoying, but with so long still, to go before this game even returns to the tabletop in a playable form I think you've still got a lot of gaming time to enjoy the army you converted.

Also, let's face it; if you really wanted to just keep playing Warhammer you'd have been just playing 8th still I'd imagine?

At the core of it, this is a really fascinating decision from Games Workshop. I would imagine a large part of the methodology behind this has been the success of games like Total War: Warhammer and Vermintide but more importantly Games Workshop's want to make a bit more money. Again, they've seen the money-making power of games like Necromunda, Aeronautica Imperialis and Blood Bowl and realise that they could get a lot more people picking up games from the past with this new venture.

Where Could This Go Next...Mordheim Anyone?

Well, as mentioned above this is a long way off. We've got another three or four years to wait for them to get this to the tabletop (boy I wish I was going to be involved with that dedicated team bringing the game back to life) but I could see this coming back with a big new rulebook which gives you the rules for playing the core game (whatever the period) and either a Rules Compendium or Army Books for a lot of the original races, reforged for a new edition of the game.

The game itself I bet will feature the rank-n-flank gameplay of older editions but also speed up the game a lot. I think they've taken notes from Warhammer 40,000 and Age Of Sigmar and will be providing an experience which matches the older flavour but with a new twist.

Beyond that, I could see Forge World helming the majority of the work on a selection of new character and troop models for you to use, perhaps a little like Warhammer Forge used to do. It will be interesting to see if they produce any plastic kits alongside the resin because otherwise, this is going to get very expensive!

Away from the main game though I harbour a different hope. With the return of The Old World, we could see another favourite popping up. Mordheim has always been a game which captured the imagination and I think I played more games of that than I did Warhammer! Also, it would tie in well to the idea I talked about earlier where they're going to be wandering through a lot more of The Old World's history than we think.

In the end, I like this idea. I think it's cool that we're getting an interesting new look at The Old World from (I would assume) very dedicated designers. Yes, it sucks for those who converted their armies but there are still some fascinating doors opening with the news that this project has begun.

What do you think?