How Games Workshop transformed into a miniature wargames giant
Share:
After stumbling upon the 2002 novel Soul Drinker in a small Irish library, Dave Rudden became hooked on Warhammer. The young adult writer, known for his Knights of the Borrowed Dark trilogy, says the mix of dark sci-fi and 'ludicrous bombast' was gripping and spurred him to write fan fiction before he could even afford to buy iconic Warhammer tabletop figurines.
![[Consistent growth: Games Workshop's sales have risen for the past eight consecutive years]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/11/13/31451104-14157295-Growth_Games_Workshop_s_sales_and_profits_have_risen_for_the_pas-a-27_1733924739077.jpg)
Rudden loves how a 'humble box of Space Marines' can occupy your time as much as any novel, computer game or television series, whether it is building, playing or painting them in your preferred style. 'Each model grants you partial ownership of your little corner of the galaxy,' he tells This is Money.
![[Permanence: 'Games Workshop can't patch my models out of existence, and even when they do update old model's aesthetic, the originals continue to exist']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/11/13/93034353-14157295-Permanence_Games_Workshop_can_t_patch_my_models_out_of_existence-a-28_1733924739078.jpg)
'It's almost like buying stock, except that the value of it is decided by you and a very enthusiastic community who want to hear about your journey with your models as much as you want to hear about theirs.'. And buyers of real shares in Games Workshop - the FTSE 100 debutant behind Warhammer - have become equally enthusiastic, cashing in on a hobby Rudden shares with millions around the world.
![[Fantasy: Warhammer fan 'Ringed Mountain' holds one of his models, a Stormcast Eternal]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/11/13/93034355-14157295-Fantasy_Warhammer_fan_Ringed_Mountain_holds_one_of_his_models_a_-a-29_1733924739079.jpg)
Top league: With an impressive market capitalisation of £4.7billion, Games Workshop will scale new heights later this month when it joins the FTSE 100 Index for the first time. Demand for the group's fantasy miniatures has contributed to its shares climbing by 144 per cent over the past five years - and a whopping 2,652 per cent in the last decade.
