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Looking back at several releases, I am puzzled as to why GW does this.
Using Eldar a recent example, we are getting an Avatar of Ynnead. But the Avatar of Khaine has a hideous finecast model and is in need of a plastic
Why couldn't they make a dual kit? It is pretty obvious the new Ynnead will not be a combo-kit, at least not for Khaine.
It would have been pretty simple to redesign both avatars to share a similar body and share the same kit, but no. It's going to look completely different.

Another example is the Crimson Hunter/Hemlock. Prior to the codex that introduced these, everyone assumed they would introduce the Nightwing as a plastic flyer
They could have made a dual kit fine, but why wasn't the Nightwing part of that kit?

I am sure there are non-Eldar examples too, but I want to hear you thoughts on why GW introduces new concepts rather than updating old ones?

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 Galef wrote:
I am sure there are non-Eldar examples too, but I want to hear you thoughts on why GW introduces new concepts rather than updating old ones?

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Maybe they don't expect to sell as much new versions to people who have the old versions already? GW has been struggling to attract new players for years(this year might possibly have started to change that but that's just assumption) so doing models nobody has before makes sense on that sense.

Lots of new releases(since releases sell mostly for first few months) of models nobody has before. That seems to be their strategy.

Because you don't own the new model yet. Fixing broken stuff that you already own doesn't sell new models, and GW doesn't give a about the quality of the game.

 Peregrine wrote:
Because you don't own the new model yet. Fixing broken stuff that you already own doesn't sell new models, and GW doesn't give a about the quality of the game.

This. GW obviously doesn't give a monkey's about balance, only about sales, and new model power creep sells.

 Peregrine wrote:
Because you don't own the new model yet. Fixing broken stuff that you already own doesn't sell new models, and GW doesn't give a about the quality of the game.

QFT

To be fair, they do update some of the older kits. Just not as fast as we’d like.

In the last few years Eldar have got:
Old stuff updated:
Wraithguard
Bikes (including seer)
Farseer on foot
Autarch

vs. new stuff

Wraithknight
Crimson Hunter
Sniper HQ
(not sure how old the spiritseer is rules-wise, of if that was new with 6th)

Harlequins spun off into their own codex, with a mix of new stuff (vehicles) and old stuff (most/all of the infantry)

Space Marines
Old:
Assault marines
Devastator marines
Tactical marines
Sternguard
Vanguard
Generic HQs

New:
Centurions
stalker/hunter
Stormtalon/hawk

Those are the two armies I play. Might be missing some things, just a quick list.

following through on that..

Chaos:

Old:
Thousand Sons Rubric Marines
Raptors
Helbrute (it got a new name but it's a chaos Dreadnought)
Kharne the Betrayer
Arhiman


New:
Hell Drake
Mutilator
Forge fiend/Mauler Fiend
Scarab Occult Terminators
Exalted Sorcs
Warp Smith
Cultist
Dark Apostle

I belvie the cultist and dark apostle may be more a case of "reaaaally old, discontinued and brought back" too.

Following through on that further:

New minis: Sisters Geminae, Celestine the Living Saint
Old minis: Everything else.

lol.

But yeah GW does have that tendency, sadly.

Sexy new toys sell. If Chaos got some neat new toys for my Iron Warriors to play with, I'd probably buy those instead of replacing my old Chaos Marine miniatures, even if they pale in comparison to most modern models.

I get it, but I don't really like it.

 Peregrine wrote:
Because you don't own the new model yet. Fixing broken stuff that you already own doesn't sell new models, and GW doesn't give a about the quality of the game.

Dark Eldar showed if they wait long enough to update most will just rebuy what they have anyway as well.