Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm a 40k player and an Infinity player; those are my two favourite games, and I don't have much time for any other wargames. Let me give you some perspective on how GW treats its customers in terms of information.

Infinity is about to launch a new edition, N4, which is an eagerly awaited revision and polishing of a deep, complex and excellent ruleset. As part of this launch they've been releasing videos where they discuss the new edition, but also their release schedule, plans for new models, and long-term goals for faction revamps. While they're not completely open, they provide enough information for fans of a certain faction to have something to look forward to. So eg 'Shasvaasti', an awesome sneaky alien faction, have been getting a SHEDLOAD of new releases, almost unprecedented in Infinity's history, and this release might have a player of another faction, such as 'Corregidor', a bit miffed because their old models really really need an update. But wait! The company has told me that Corregidor will be getting a major overhaul in 2021, and shown a few images and profiles of a taste of their new stuff. I now, as a Corregidor player, can stomach the endless Shasvaasti love, safe in the knowledge that in 12-18 months time it will be my faction's time in the sun.

Now let's look at 40k. Space marines have had more new models in the past three years than nearly any other faction has had in the total span of its existence in the game. Their rules are extreme, their competitveness only challenged by a few other entries in a few other codexes. A large proportion of the community is in despair at the unending release cycle for marines, both in terms of new powerful rules, and new models taking up all the attention of their design team. The problem is exarcebated by the fact that many of the game's factions are just subfactions of marines, leading to a real case of marine fatigue, even among marine players. It just seems unending, and completely tone deaf, as if the company has lost all sense of balance, leading to the common refrain that non-marine players are just supposed to be 'NPCs'. Just when you think they've reached a plateau (say, a new entire range of marines in phobos), it kicks on again with another 15 new units. And another 10. Accompanied by a Codex. And another. And another...

There is no end in sight, not because GW will never develop another faction again (of course they will!) but because they point blank refuse to inform their customers of when that will be. Their grip on information borders on paranoia, and customers that have spent thousands of pounds on other factions are subsequently left feeling forlorn, with ancient tiny models and rules that haven't seen much change for years and little hope for change. This is not a necessary feature of a design cycle: it is a decision that GW has made, and I believe it is one that is costing them dearly in terms of community good will, if not yet in terms of profit.

(This approach to information is one half of their structural problem - the other being their addiction to hardback income, and the terrible affect that has upon game design, balance and adjustment, but that's a story for another thread.) So what do you think? Would it make a difference to you, as an eldar player for example, if you knew that Summer 2021 was going to see a large revamp of your faction, and you got to see some sketches and early designs to whet your appetite?

 grouchoben wrote:
So what do you think? Would it make a difference to you, as an eldar player for example, if you knew that Summer 2021 was going to see a large revamp of your faction, and you got to see some sketches and early designs to whet your appetite?

Not really. I mean, I like seeing previews of new models, sure. But I've been playing GW games long enough to know that non-marine stuff will come out. Likewise I've got better things to do than fret & rant about them not playing show & tell.

Need to change? Their sales and share price disagree.

You’d prefer them to change? That’s the truth of it.

Yeah you're right Johnny. I'd prefer them to. Would you? Would we all? What do they benefit from their current stazi-level of information control, is the question, and is it worth the barrels of salt that are currently building up in the community?

 JohnnyHell wrote:
Need to change? Their sales and share price disagree.

You’d prefer them to change? That’s the truth of it.

Well, there you go folks, no need to make any changes ever at GW now, after all they're making good profits so clearly they're not doing anything wrong and everything is perfect.

Sarcasm aside, the OP has a very good point. The biggest problem is probably more to do with the sheer number of Marine factions, which means they take up more of the release schedule than other armies because roughly half the factions in the game are power armour dudes because GW seems to want to treat Salamander and UM like their own faction while not really doing the same for Iyanden, or Novokh, for example. Just like the OP compares to Infinity I can compare the way information is revealed with X-Wing (and FFG in general). Release dates are often a little sketchy but that's because new info is revealed well in advance with an initial preview, then a more detailed preview happens about 4-6 weeks prior to release. That detailed preview talks about almost all the rules, with full details of them. Additionally, they do live streams with the developers where they show an actual understanding of their own system and the nuances of how their rules function. They also talk openly about why they make the decisions they do when it comes to the points updates they do every 6 months. All that helps to build confidence among the players that the devs are competent.

GW, in contrast, constantly show a lack of understanding of their own system. Just this weekend they mentioned the great combination of Ophydian Destroyers getting to re-roll their Deep Strike charges thanks to the Chronomancer's special rules. Which doesn't work because of the timing of the two rules, which is an issue with a lot of similar rules so it's hardly a niche interaction. Add in the ham-fisted 9th edition points updates and the overall feeling is not one of confidence in the GW designer's abilities to understand their own system. I think changing their approach in this area would be a net gain for GW. Even at the weekend they probably should have recognised that announcing 4 new Codices/supplements all of which were SM would not go down well. Even just a simple announcement of which Xenos Codex is next with maybe a sneak preview of one model/unit would have gone a long way to appeasing people. In this aspect of promotion and marketing it feels like GW are stuck in the 80s/90s model of telling people how great things are without crediting them with intelligence of their own. It's a pretty outdated view of how to do marketing.

I think that GW may risk some people their games for good. It is one thing to wait for the next FAQ or CA, and have a hope that maybe next updated codex is yours and be told that GW plans to update your faction in 2 plus years times. Now some people may switch an army, while waiting, or change from w40k to AoS. But there is also a bunch of people who will leave. Specialy if GW botched your codex, and new models come only with a new one. The known prospect of a 2 plus year wait would not be a nice thing, specialy for a new player who hasn't played for decades.

GW clearly knows what they are doing buisness wise, as they seem to be getting bigger and bigger. The games may often be unfun for parts of their fandoms, but having a good game doesn't seem to be GW goal, or at least not a main goal.

Right now GW tends to operate in a 3month or so bracket of releases in preview for their core games. This works out about right because it means that, barring world wide epidemics, what they preview comes when they say it will and it looks how they show it. This is because at 3months basically everything is done design wise and its more about production of mass material and shipping it around the world ready for release. Even then hiccups can happen, but its rare.


The result is we get not just a preview, but a reliable preview of what is to come.



For their specialist games GW is adopting a 3 or so preview window roadmap. We can see this with Necromunda where we know the next three or four releases coming up in a rough term. This isn't as precise, but gives us a rough part of the year when a faction should get a release of some kind. This works for those games because they aren't getting content every week nor even always every month.



GW has to balance the desire to show stuff coming out against release plans and production and a million other things. There are likely many projects that are dead certain to arrive in a year, which then get shelved or delayed for long periods of time.




If you look at the old Spartan Games they used to do loads of previews and upcoming releases quite a good chunk of time in advance. Then when issues came up they'd slip on dates, cancel releases; move things around and in general the community got very sour about it. They couldn't "trust" the marketing. Even if it was just a date slip.

GW wants you to trust their marketing, that when they say X will happen on Y date then its going to happen.







I do think that their secrecy has issues, but its more internal issues. Keeping releases hidden from other departments or departments not talking to each other as well as they should. We got a big dose of that when AoS was released; however I think the new management at GW is changing those attitudes.

Karol wrote:
I think that GW may risk some people their games for good. It is one thing to wait for the next FAQ or CA, and have a hope that maybe next updated codex is yours and be told that GW plans to update your faction in 2 plus years times. Now some people may switch an army, while waiting, or change from w40k to AoS. But there is also a bunch of people who will leave. Specialy if GW botched your codex, and new models come only with a new one. The known prospect of a 2 plus year wait would not be a nice thing, specialy for a new player who hasn't played for decades.

GW clearly knows what they are doing buisness wise, as they seem to be getting bigger and bigger. The games may often be unfun for parts of their fandoms, but having a good game doesn't seem to be GW goal, or at least not a main goal.

The main goal of any company is not to make a good quality thing.

It is to make the most profitable thing.

Think about the most profitable movie, the most profitable music, the most profitable food, the most profitable coffee, the most profitable video game....

and be honest to yourself, even if you like this thing: Is it the BEST thing out there? Is it the BEST QUALITY thing?

but it is the most profitable.

As much as I'd love to know what was in the pipeline, you just have to look at the reaction to how any GW deadline slips to understand that it's not in their best interest to tease anything until they have it fully locked down.

What Infinity is doing is definitely great, but I'm not sure people here will respond as well to it. Especially when they see what ever is in the Marine WIP pile!

From a business perspective it can also damage sales too. I'm less likely to invest in a new army if I know mine is due an overhaul in 8 months.

Yeah I agree with a lot of this discussion so far - there's a plausible case that there is a tension between GW's profit motive and corporate best-practice, and what their community of players would actually like to see in the game. But in this instance I actually think the two ends need not compete, just that GW need to shift gears in terms of their interaction with their community.

A move away from the "gotcha!" big reveal and towards a more respectful, mature style of marketing would do the community a world of good - Like Infinity's Corvus Belli or X-Wing's FFG as Slipspace pointed out. Involve us in things a bit more - this wouldn't mean specific dates would have to be given, and if things had to shuffle, we could hear that too. I'd love to hear from the designers on what they're working on, see renders and sketches and webcasts discussing how they want to realise the lore or older style of a unit in its new iteration.

I also think it would help GW internally to be more 'honest' - transparency means you have consider how your plans look to your customers. The current imbalance of releases would have been a bit harder to greenlight, when you had to explain it. Really, GW has a chance to cement its place at the top of the tree, and that will involve changing how they do things a little. They need to move into the 21st century in how they deal with information: this is the age of information and theyre currently operating with a 20th century model of how they share, produce and distribute the information that is the lifeblood of their business.

It's almost as if the "fanbase" is reinforcing bad habits by showering them with cash despite their bad behaviour.

It's always funny that people hold up Corvus Belli as an example of some kind of 'open' company.

Yes, you've been told that Corregidor will be getting a rework in 2021...you have not been told what will get reworked nor how the rework will happen. We know Wildcats are getting an overhaul as a unit and new sculpts, but guess how you have to find out how the models are supposedly coming out?
Third-party podcasts that are basically nothing but mouthpieces for CB's company line. Because Corregidor is supposed to be coming with a new 2P box where it will be locked with the Ariadnan "Kosmoflot" Sectorial starter according to Bostria on a podcast.


What you're wanting is something that GW literally did with the Sisters of Battle. They had a whole thing where they showed off renders...and people complained about it.

I completely agree. The MCU announces stuff years in advance and shows off their roadmap for upcoming releases that goes on for like 3-4 years. They obviously don't reveal exact details on everything but their method only increases hype and gets people to look forward to things even more.

However what you need to consider is whether complaining and negativity or backlash on the internet actually hurts the overall health of the game and its profits as a whole. The level of backlash against Marines right now is far beyond anything I've ever seen in this hobby and I've certainly seen its ripple effects in my IRL 40k experiences, but GW profits keep on soaring and the Primaris line continues to carry the rest of the company on its back. As of now, the GW model seems to work but I don't think the backlash and uncertainty you're seeing is enough for them to do anything like what has been suggested here*. If numbers of people actually playing the game collapses and results in legitimate loss of sales then maybe something will happen, otherwise they have no reason to change anything.

*They are however very aware of it and that's why I think on one of the other previews they showed off a Necron model with no corresponding Marine model, and how Saturday's preview started with the Necrons. Even on Saturday I think Adam Troke had gotten some marching orders from higher up to be a little more enthusiastic about non-Marine stuff and less dismissive and ignorant about Necron things.

 Sentineil wrote:
As much as I'd love to know what was in the pipeline, you just have to look at the reaction to how any GW deadline slips to understand that it's not in their best interest to tease anything until they have it fully locked down.

What Infinity is doing is definitely great, but I'm not sure people here will respond as well to it. Especially when they see what ever is in the Marine WIP pile!

From a business perspective it can also damage sales too. I'm less likely to invest in a new army if I know mine is due an overhaul in 8 months.

Really tired of people holding up CB as some kind of exemplar. They're not.

We still don't know when Merovingia is coming back. Still don't know when Shock Army is coming back. Don't know when NCA is coming back. They refuse to adapt their boxes to actually address SKU bloat and their next 2P box is the trashiest lore breaking thing yet and that's just based off of the dang proposed factions(Nomads and Ariadna).


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Bosskelot wrote:

*They are however very aware of it and that's why I think on one of the other previews they showed off a Necron model with no corresponding Marine model, and how Saturday's preview started with the Necrons. Even on Saturday I think Adam Troke had gotten some marching orders from higher up to be a little more enthusiastic about non-Marine stuff and less dismissive and ignorant about Necron things.

This is the kind of thing that is just ridiculous to say.

Adam Troke has been pretty excited about everything. Him being excited about Marines is because he's a well-known Dark Angels player. His armies have been featured in years past for WD and codices both. His ignorance over Necrons is because he hasn't ever really played them--and he's said as much talking about things. Never struck me as him being "dismissive" of Necron things.

 Bosskelot wrote:
I completely agree. The MCU announces stuff years in advance and shows off their roadmap for upcoming releases that goes on for like 3-4 years. They obviously don't reveal exact details on everything but their method only increases hype and gets people to look forward to things even more.

However what you need to consider is whether complaining and negativity or backlash on the internet actually hurts the overall health of the game and its profits as a whole. The level of backlash against Marines right now is far beyond anything I've ever seen in this hobby and I've certainly seen its ripple effects in my IRL 40k experiences, but GW profits keep on soaring and the Primaris line continues to carry the rest of the company on its back. As of now, the GW model seems to work but I don't think the backlash and uncertainty you're seeing is enough for them to do anything like what has been suggested here*. If numbers of people actually playing the game collapses and results in legitimate loss of sales then maybe something will happen, otherwise they have no reason to change anything.

*They are however very aware of it and that's why I think on one of the other previews they showed off a Necron model with no corresponding Marine model, and how Saturday's preview started with the Necrons. Even on Saturday I think Adam Troke had gotten some marching orders from higher up to be a little more enthusiastic about non-Marine stuff and less dismissive and ignorant about Necron things.

MCU releasing an iron man 4 (random made up example) doesn't reduce the value or replace my iron man 3 blu-ray though is the big difference. I don't withhold buying thor: ragnarok because love and thunder potentially replaces it.

Dudeface wrote:

 Bosskelot wrote:
I completely agree. The MCU announces stuff years in advance and shows off their roadmap for upcoming releases that goes on for like 3-4 years. They obviously don't reveal exact details on everything but their method only increases hype and gets people to look forward to things even more.

However what you need to consider is whether complaining and negativity or backlash on the internet actually hurts the overall health of the game and its profits as a whole. The level of backlash against Marines right now is far beyond anything I've ever seen in this hobby and I've certainly seen its ripple effects in my IRL 40k experiences, but GW profits keep on soaring and the Primaris line continues to carry the rest of the company on its back. As of now, the GW model seems to work but I don't think the backlash and uncertainty you're seeing is enough for them to do anything like what has been suggested here*. If numbers of people actually playing the game collapses and results in legitimate loss of sales then maybe something will happen, otherwise they have no reason to change anything.

*They are however very aware of it and that's why I think on one of the other previews they showed off a Necron model with no corresponding Marine model, and how Saturday's preview started with the Necrons. Even on Saturday I think Adam Troke had gotten some marching orders from higher up to be a little more enthusiastic about non-Marine stuff and less dismissive and ignorant about Necron things.

MCU releasing an iron man 4 (random made up example) doesn't reduce the value or replace my iron man 3 blu-ray though is the big difference. I don't withhold buying thor: ragnarok because love and thunder potentially replaces it.

I mean, not that I disagree with you entirely but Infinity War definitely devalued my enjoyment of Thor Ragnarok

Dudeface wrote:

 Bosskelot wrote:
I completely agree. The MCU announces stuff years in advance and shows off their roadmap for upcoming releases that goes on for like 3-4 years. They obviously don't reveal exact details on everything but their method only increases hype and gets people to look forward to things even more.

However what you need to consider is whether complaining and negativity or backlash on the internet actually hurts the overall health of the game and its profits as a whole. The level of backlash against Marines right now is far beyond anything I've ever seen in this hobby and I've certainly seen its ripple effects in my IRL 40k experiences, but GW profits keep on soaring and the Primaris line continues to carry the rest of the company on its back. As of now, the GW model seems to work but I don't think the backlash and uncertainty you're seeing is enough for them to do anything like what has been suggested here*. If numbers of people actually playing the game collapses and results in legitimate loss of sales then maybe something will happen, otherwise they have no reason to change anything.

*They are however very aware of it and that's why I think on one of the other previews they showed off a Necron model with no corresponding Marine model, and how Saturday's preview started with the Necrons. Even on Saturday I think Adam Troke had gotten some marching orders from higher up to be a little more enthusiastic about non-Marine stuff and less dismissive and ignorant about Necron things.

MCU releasing an iron man 4 (random made up example) doesn't reduce the value or replace my iron man 3 blu-ray though is the big difference. I don't withhold buying thor: ragnarok because love and thunder potentially replaces it.

Sure, but complete uncertainty basically stops any actual purchases because you have no idea if and when things will be replaced, or even if your selected faction will see proper support in terms of models. I know lots of Eldar players and people wanting to start the army that are basically buying nothing right now since they have no idea what is happening with the army, not just in terms of rules but in terms of model support too.

Kanluwen wrote:Adam Troke has been pretty excited about everything. Him being excited about Marines is because he's a well-known Dark Angels player. His armies have been featured in years past for WD and codices both. His ignorance over Necrons is because he hasn't ever really played them--and he's said as much talking about things. Never struck me as him being "dismissive" of Necron things.

It has to me and a few other people. Obviously he wouldn't do it out of spite, but for every other preview stream its been Eddie Eccles being the guy to actually be the hype man for the new Necron stuff. I only brought this up because I saw/heard a marked difference in Adam's presentation and demeanour for the new Necron stuff compared to previous streams.

Or maybe he just really digs plastic Flayed Ones and that's where it came from.

"However what you need to consider is whether complaining and negativity or backlash on the internet actually hurts the overall health of the game and its profits as a whole."

That's a good point Bosskelot, but I can't help think that GW are getting a little worried about community reaction to the SM avalanche. As you said there's been a bit of self awareness in the recent media, and the animation with Cawl just pressing the primaris button to fix everything was a nice nod. Yes they're a big business and controversy can stoke sales to some degree, but public companies are also pretty anxious about wrong steps leading to loss of share price. I just hope there are voices in the company advocating for a change of approach to information in their games and releases...

I guess my thinking is that - while FFG and Corvus Belli aren't perfect by any means - they are examples of a better model of community interaction, and include their fans in their decision making to a much greater degree, and also don't paywall their rules, allowing them to be more reflexive in their balancing.

Just going to add, FFG's 'we aspire to have product available before you forget it was released' release method is not something to promote either.

One other aspect, linked to what I mentioned earlier about FFG being more open with their releases and processes is the developers get a little more leeway from the community. Having a developer on a stream explaining the decisions behind the mechanics and points costs for different ships and upgrades allows them to be more honest when they screw up.

For example, in 1st edition 2-ship lists were really, really good, mainly because you could stack more upgrades on them but also because some big ships were undercosted. In 2nd edition they erred on the side of caution a little too much and made big ships too expensive across the board. However, by openly admitting they're aware of the issues, stating why they made the decisions they did and gradually working towards improving the relative balance between small and large ships, they don't really suffer from much community backlash.

That respect has to be earned though, and that's one area where I think GW could absolutely improve. Sadly, I suspect one reason they don't is because their designers don't actually think about the game as deeply as devs at other companies.

 JohnnyHell wrote:
Their sales and share price disagree.

Just because you're doing well doesn't mean you can't do better.

 BaconCatBug wrote:
It's almost as if the "fanbase" is reinforcing bad habits by showering them with cash despite their bad behaviour.

Or... maybe realize that the fanbase is not synonymous with the overall market for GW products, and that the people actually buying product obviously like what they see.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 JohnnyHell wrote:
Their sales and share price disagree.

Just because you're doing well doesn't mean you can't do better.

They've been the fastest growing stock in britain for like five years. They have a market cap in the Billions on a few million a year in revenue. By all accounts, they are literally making plastic as fast as they can. I'm not sure what they could be doing better.

I think it would indeed improve the good will IF gw would be more open , atleast ruleswise and rules development wise.

That and an editor. Because come on, their new reveal datasheets allready are full with mistakes.

Also remember there have been 2 factions recently squatted, those players may very well now either sit in the rain and dark with their armies or have a rework coming around in a (somewhat timely manner).
That these players will be angry , comparatively , and are legitimately so, because not even " wait and See" works for them anymore , is an issue for their PR ,aswell as the lack of information.

Polonius wrote:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 JohnnyHell wrote:
Their sales and share price disagree.

Just because you're doing well doesn't mean you can't do better.

They've been the fastest growing stock in britain for like five years. They have a market cap in the Billions on a few million a year in revenue. By all accounts, they are literally making plastic as fast as they can. I'm not sure what they could be doing better.

Dropping the logical choice (making so many Marines ad nauseum, where they literally outnumber entire factions), and going with the more impactful choice of bringing other factions up to par.

The latter will not piss off your fans in the long run due to them making the mistake of daring to shell out their hard earned dosh for an NPC faction for little Timmy.

Is true that GW is spamming space marines non stop. But they are also releasing more models for all other lines, games, and factions than ever before.


The truth is , compared with how things were 15-10 years ago, GW has pumped out their output of new stuff, models, games, etc... trought the roof. That means, we also have a more ton of marines, because if you have 10 marine releases an 4 non marine releases and you double it, you'll end up with 8 non marine releases but with 20 marine ones.

Is true that it can look like you receive nothing if you play a single warhammer 40k faction that isn't one of the big ones like Marines or Chaos. But thats a small sub-set of the player base.

 grouchoben wrote:
Infinity is about to launch a new edition, N4, which is an eagerly awaited revision and polishing of a deep, complex and excellent ruleset. As part of this launch they've been releasing videos where they discuss the new edition, but also their release schedule, plans for new models, and long-term goals for faction revamps. While they're not completely open, they provide enough information for fans of a certain faction to have something to look forward to. So eg 'Shasvaasti', an awesome sneaky alien faction, have been getting a SHEDLOAD of new releases, almost unprecedented in Infinity's history, and this release might have a player of another faction, such as 'Corregidor', a bit miffed because their old models really really need an update. But wait! The company has told me that Corregidor will be getting a major overhaul in 2021, and shown a few images and profiles of a taste of their new stuff. I now, as a Corregidor player, can stomach the endless Shasvaasti love, safe in the knowledge that in 12-18 months time it will be my faction's time in the sun.

Sure. If Infinity had been releasing their update schedule and that 2021 would be Corregidor getting 2 new models and Shasvaasti getting 30 new kits, would the openness about the release schedule make you feel better? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't.
So, you are quite missing the problem with GW...

Actually it depends on the context hybrid.
If one side was a skelleton faction comparatively to the other then it would be a propper increase and make another possible oponent an more interesting experience.

As I'm working for a company which behaves quite similar to GW, I believe the main drive behind all this secrecy revolving around release schedules is that when you release a schedule, people are going to hold you to it. They struggle to release promised FAQ documents on time, I highly doubt GW has the ability to plan far enough ahead to know what they are going to release in 6 months.

Remember how the entire community lost their mind when the spring FAQ was moved back by a month or when orktober was actually pre-orders on the last week of October? No one wants that every other week.

Yeah fair enough Hybrid. But GW seem to be going with faction root & branch renovations rather than one or two models. DG, GSC, CSM and now Crons are the factions to have won the non-SM lottery so far. Players of other factions might feel a whole lot better if they knew that early 2021, late 2021, early 2022, etc were the slots for their faction's revamp. It would restore a lot of faith in the company I think from a lot of players who are wavering a little, that's all.

 Jidmah wrote:
As I'm working for a company which behaves quite similar to GW, I believe the main drive behind all this secrecy revolving around release schedules is that when you release a schedule, people are going to hold you to it. They struggle to release promised FAQ documents on time, I highly doubt GW has the ability to plan far enough ahead to know what they are going to release in 6 months.

Remember how the entire community lost their mind when the spring FAQ was moved back by a month or when orktober was actually pre-orders on the last week of October? No one wants that every other week.

Also this. Work-related speaking, I have been burned for putting dates that became impossible to meet. I absolutely understand why many companies take the "Blizzard" approach.

"It will be released when it is ready"