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Several sources including Harry confirmed that Rick Priestley has left Games Workshop.
Most say that he has been made redundant, some say he has been sacked, all this after 28 years of employment.
This is sad news as Rick Priestley has been one of the original designers of Warhammer and the first edition of Warhammer 40,000 (Rogue Trader). And he has been the driving force behind Warhammer Forge with its ambitious story arc.

Anyone knows more about this?

I don't think he'd have been made redundant, and I don't see how he'd get sacked....

Perhaps he has retired. He's not exactly a spring chicken you know.

True, retiring could be an option. Should have at least waited til 30 years of warhammer So long, and thanks for all the fish. Even if it is coated with space marines these days

Didn't he have/still has a similar contractual clause to what Blanche is rumored to have? I mean, being unsackable?

Maybe he just retired. Stuff can get old after 30 years...

Unless people have their wires crossed and he's simply moved Departments?

Happens quite a lot at HO.

Voluntary retirement? Nonsense! On Games Day UK, about a month ago, he presented his ambitious plans for Warhammer Forge, enough work for several years and really exciting stuff. But there have been signals that the GW management didn't believe in the potential of Warhammer Forge and kept financial resources low. So my speculation would be that Rick and the bean counters disagreed on the future of Warhammer Forge and parted in dissent.

This could be a real interesting story if the facts make it out.

RP leaving would be a huge blow to GW. Hopefully this is just some sort of mistake.

I'd guess he's retired, more likely. 30 years is a long time. After a certain point, it's just too much, I guess.

That does sadden me though. I read about examples of him doing awesome stuff all the time. I wish him the best in whatever new adventures he undertakes.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Kroothawk wrote:Voluntary retirement? Nonsense! On Games Day UK, about a month ago, he presented his ambitious plans for Warhammer Forge, enough work for several years and really exciting stuff. But there have been signals that the GW management didn't believe in the potential of Warhammer Forge and kept financial resources low. So my speculation would be that Rick and the bean counters disagreed on the future of Warhammer Forge and parted in dissent.

Not to mention those sexy chaos dwarves that everyone's looking forward to..If those don't get released, there's no hope for chaos dwarves ever being released....I'm sure he was a contributer to the original chaos dwarves, which certifies him 'not-to-feth' them up.

Mr Mystery wrote:Unless people have their wires crossed and he's simply moved Departments?

Not in this instance it seems.

Quite a few people have left GW recently, Messrs, Joyce, Williams and Dunn to name but three others.

Thanks to them all though, especially Mr. Priestley for all that he's done.

... not to forget Alessio Calvatore in April.

Rick did not retire.

I am reliably informed the WF project will continue.

This is just me speculating, but it seems they've had a management slice because of a cost/ benefit analysis.

Or it could just be he's "left Games Workshop" to work full-time at Warhammer Forge/Black Library.

After all, his wife Lindsey is a pretty heavy hitter over at BL from what I recall(ADB! If you're lurking, can you confirm?)

I would believe that he left to do other things versus being axed. Its possible they gave him a choice in the matter (retirement with whatever benefits it entails, or being sacked) but after 28 years one would expect a certain amount of loyalty from an employer.

It sucks when the cool ones go. With all the "old school" people missing there, they could make a new company.

paulguise wrote:I would believe that he left to do other things versus being axed. Its possible they gave him a choice in the matter (retirement with whatever benefits it entails, or being sacked) but after 28 years one would expect a certain amount of loyalty from an employer.

Not sure which America you're living in, but employer loyalty is an oxymoron in my neck of the woods. Mr. Preistly doesn't live in the US, but my understanding of UK corporations is they've got fairly draconian business practices as a whole and it wouldn't surprise me if the bean-counters in GW did draw his number. That being said, I hope this news is erroneous and that 'ole Rick is still kicking it for years to come.

Grimstonefire wrote:This is just me speculating, but it seems they've had a management slice because of a cost/ benefit analysis.

paulguise wrote:I would believe that he left to do other things versus being axed. Its possible they gave him a choice in the matter (retirement with whatever benefits it entails, or being sacked) but after 28 years one would expect a certain amount of loyalty from an employer.

Well, it is another sign of how GW works, when a manager from the shampoo industry(the current CEO) can decide that GW can't afford that many creative people. Said manager sacked BI at its peak, Gav Thorpe, Alessio Calvatore, now Rick Priestley, said that GW doesn't need marketing, made Space Hulk a limited edition and so on.

And it seems to be working out pretty well so far.

Alessio I believe went to work for a seperate company (and my word Fantasy is way better for his passing), Gav left to concetrate full time on his Novels, Space Hulk was a massive success (despite multibuying knobends on the make) the company is going forward, enlarging it's size steadily, and cutting the chaff. Advertising produces an immediate boost, which you need to maintain to keep the banks/share holders happy. Which means more advertising. Ever thought for a second that advertising might not be that effective for such a niche hobby?

Simple truth is, we don't know why, or indeed if, Rick left. And we may never know.

And British employment law, draconian? Pull the other one skip. You can't just get sacked on the spot for one offence, and if you are made redundant, you can take a large sum of money with you, depending on length of service. That's positively civilised!

Gavin Thorne wrote:
Not sure which America you're living in, but employer loyalty is an oxymoron in my neck of the woods. Mr. Preistly doesn't live in the US, but my understanding of UK corporations is they've got fairly draconian business practices as a whole and it wouldn't surprise me if the bean-counters in GW did draw his number. That being said, I hope this news is erroneous and that 'ole Rick is still kicking it for years to come.

That is just what I am used to. All of my family work for companies that have retirement packages (GE, IBM, a couple of gov. jobs). I am not sure of how British businessmen go about their day, but it still seems like 28 years would get you something resembling loyalty.

Sad to see him gone.

I thought he was a member of the board. Hard to sack him, though not impossible. Surely investors would know a board member being ousted or being asked to go quietly. Does priestly have a blog or anything?

He was, in his time at GW, perhaps the most influential creative forces in modern fantasy and scifi wargaming.

He was instrumental in the creation of both Warhammer and the original Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader.

His leaving GW is like the ravens leaving the Tower of London or the elves leaving Middle Earth.

Still, as more of the creative talent I admired in GW and looked up to as a boy leaves for pastures new, it does free me to loathe the company at new levels of excess.

I'd still exercise caution in believing this, considering the source.

You know, the one who claimed last year that C.S. Goto still worked at Black Library because they published one of his short stories that he'd turned in years before.

Which source are you talking about?

Which one are you talking about?

The same bloody one who started an entire huge joke about Dark Eldar being canned back in Feb/March as an "April Fool's Joke".

Still don't get it. In February it was already officially confirmed that Dark Eldar get a completely new miniature range designed by Jes Goodwin, so it can't be a good source (maybe you mixed it up with some Warseer Guilders making up fake rumours on an upcoming Dark Eldar Codex). As bad as your "several sources" saying that we get a Dark Eldar battleforce with the first wave

I never said I had any sources saying that, actually.

I said that I would be surprised if we didn't see one.

L2FactCheck.

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Kanluwen wrote:

Kroothawk wrote:Most people in the know are not aware of any battle force release in the near future, certainly not this year.

Then they're full of crap. Everything I've heard points towards a battleforce release for the first wave, in November/December.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/900/319245.page (scroll down)
Good thing I hotlinked your statement for future reference

Anyway, none of my sources said that DE will be canned or Goto is still with BL. But Harry and several others confirmed that Rick has left GW. (and that we shouldn't expect a battleforce this year)).

Is this "who has the best source" and epenis thing? I don't get this whole got to be first to post a rumor thing or point out "I said it first on x thread" - especially as half the rumors are just pointless wish listing or outright BS.