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This question has been rolling around in my head for a while now, and I have been unable to answer it. Just how many people play 40k? Does anyone even know how one might go about finding out? I know any number would be a rough estimate, but still, it would be nice to know.

Lot's.

I doubt that there will be a reliable estimate.
Maybe Jervis knows and writes about it in his famous column.

Well, you should have probably posted this differently, and I would say that since people over the pond and in the China play, I would say near a million, maybe two.

Let's turn this into rollcall to count how many there are.

Me, that's one so far.

*Looks around to the rest of the group therapy members*

I am a Gamer. . . And I .. I ... Play 40k....

joshau-k wrote:Let's turn this into rollcall to count how many there are.

Me, that's one so far.

2

Do video games count as playing because I don't play tabletop or dark heresy.

I play 40k, so add one to your list. I think this project might take a long time...

Not enough to have regular pop culture references in major media. (Apart from that one time on SNL and again in one of the Will Smith movies.)

The only number I've seen thrown around is about a quarter of a million people but that was about 5 years ago and was rumour and guesswork as far as I remember.

IvanTih wrote:Do video games count as playing because I don't play tabletop or dark heresy.

I think it shouldn't, just the table-top community.

I remeber a 40k radio episode last spring, where they mention the number is listeners they have. I dont want to exaggerate, and cannot remember the number exactly, so I wont say anythng here, but that number could be a good place to start guessing. That, and if we could find out how many models GW sells a year.

extrenm(54) wrote:... and if we could find out how many models GW sells a year.

GW's 2009 financials list total revenue for 2009 as £125.7 million. If you can guess how much the average gamer spends, it should let you generate a total player estimate. I would guess something low like £50 to £100 per year per player. This would give an estimate of 1.25 to 2.5 million Games Workshop players. 40K is 50% of sales. You can do the rest.

http://investor.games-workshop.com/downloads/results/results2009/gw_year_end_09.pdf

RanTheCid wrote:

extrenm(54) wrote:... and if we could find out how many models GW sells a year.

GW's 2009 financials list total revenue for 2009 as £125.7 million. If you can guess how much the average gamer spends, it should let you generate a total player estimate. I would guess something low like £50 to £100 per year per player. This would give an estimate of 1.25 to 2.5 million Games Workshop players. 40K is 50% of sales. You can do the rest.

http://investor.games-workshop.com/downloads/results/results2009/gw_year_end_09.pdf

Well lets break it down further.

Based on that 125.7 million figure, you need to figue out a real average. I think the average spent per year by gamers is much higher than 100 pounds(= to $163 dollars)

I don't know the actual average but I can say that most of the gamers I know, probably spend over $1,000 per year. I think a good place to start is to look at how many game stores there are, take an average of that, and then throw in a percentage that doesn't game at game stores. I think 1.25 million 40k gamers is way to high. I would guess it is more like 100K to 250K.

GG

Plus you also have to figure in the people that still play but dont buy a ton of miniatures.

I know quite a few people who have extensive armies, and have not bought a model in years.

And on a side note, what snl and will smith quips referenced 40k?

combatmedic wrote:Plus you also have to figure in the people that still play but dont buy a ton of miniatures.

I know quite a few people who have extensive armies, and have not bought a model in years.

Yes that's a good point.

GG

You can see an average for 2008 in a dakka poll here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/246612.page

$1000 per gamer is way too high as any sort of average. This Dakka poll returned $100-$500 as the most common answer to 2008 hobby spending.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/246612.page

My assumption would be that people who would be willing to respond would be the most active (where activity = spending) in the hobby. I would think there is an equal, if not greater number, of less active players. By the time you count veterans with reduced spending and kids with small allowances - $100 -+$50 seems about right.

If you want to push the definition and include people who in the last 5 years have owned a GW model, placed it on a table and rolled dice - I think the count could be 3-4 million people world wide who play (played) GW games.

Or you could just add together the number of 5e AoBR boxes and regular 5e Rule Books. The number of duplicate purchases od AoBR would logically counter the people who play, but borrow a codex from a friend or store (or download/print.)

If they have numbers on those specific sales you could reach a legitimate estimate of current 40k players.

RanTheCid wrote:$1000 per gamer is way too high as any sort of average. This Dakka poll returned $100-$500 as the most common answer to 2008 hobby spending.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/246612.page

Well the $500 to $1000 is a pretty close 2nd to the 1st place of $100 to $500.

But anyway, that poll isn't very representative, in that the sample population is fairly narrow, and also 2008 wasn't exactly a good year for people spending extra cash.

I don't think 40k has millions of adherents. If your talking people that have EVER played than yeah, but not people that play at any specific time frame(like over a 1 year span).

This would be an interesting social study though. I'd like to see a scientific study done. :-)

GG

There's a lot of ways you could do it but we need a way to extrapolate from known information rather than just relying.

The poll answer is a start, but you have to take into account that only the keener players and modellers join Dakka and even among them there must be a considerable variation in what they spend per year.

Manchu wrote:Not enough to have regular pop culture references in major media. (Apart from that one time on SNL and again in one of the Will Smith movies.)

The times are changing! A Peep Show character (Channel 4 UK comedy) said "I'm cancelling. Cancelling out of shame. Like my subscription to White Dwarf!".

Worryingly my wife got the ref and laughed at me......