My Life In Fandom: Games Workshop Taking Defeat From The Jaws of Victory, AGAIN

And the disapponitment is complete. Games Workshop bought up all those fan animations just to lock them behind a paywalled app.

They're completely misreading the room here.

Is there an audience for Warhammer animations? Sure. Is there an audience for Yet Another Paid Content app? No, there isn't. When far bigger corporate IP empires are already consolidating their streaming services down into a handful of offerings due to the need to have massive libraries on tap to make it worthwhile, a process that will not stop until--like Highlander--there is only one then GW needs to get their head checked by the fist of an Angry Marine.

You want to know what the reaction to the attempt to disappear Astartes was? The immediate proliferatio of the pre-GW version across YouTube, and likely several other such sites, specifically to spite this stupid move. The same is happening to SODAZ's videos, and you can count on all of this--if it's any good--getting busted out of the paywall and put forth thanks to Captain Harlock and his crew.

The reason? Spite, pure and simple. There is no stomach for this sort of thing, nor should there be any; the only smart move for GW was to use the animations as marketing and put them all up on their official YouTube channel where the actual video-viewing traffic is and not on some company blog that no one goes to and few are even aware exists.

"But-"

No "but"s.

Games Workshop spent over 30 years defining the Warhammer property as anchored by the tabletop wargames. They got their message across, and now they're going to suffer the full consequence of that relentless brand identity campaigning with the inevitable piracy of these videos and their concommitment incompetence at both the public relations and the practicality of snuffing out unauthorized redistribution outside their control.

Such bad will is already prompting the spread of the sentiment to shun Muh Official Products in favor of fan-produced alternatives, such as recast and 3D minatures and PDF/POD versions of the rules and supplements. Muh Officialdom only goes so far in any tabletop hobby, and once it reaches a critical mass of disdain, that approval becomes a Scarlet Letter instead of a Seal of Approval.

Good job breaking it, again. Fire the morons responsible for this project from a cannon.