Costa Concordia (Sorry, Dreadfleet)

News overnight on Dakka, confirmed by GW Voxcaster on Twitter that Games Workshop are withdrawing “Dreadfleet” from the webstore. The story on Dakka suggests that it is wider than that and the books are going from the shops as well.

Amusingly, Voxcaster says:

“Some Games Workshop Hobby Centres may still have a few copies left in stock, but you’ll have to be quick to get your hands on them.”

Obviously Voxcaster has a different definition of “few” than I, or it appears most commentators, have. I expect that a lot of Hobby Centre Managers will be very happy to get back the shelf space in their stores and on their demo tables.

It does raise the question? Where are all these boxes to go? I know the game is about the ship’s graveyard but I didn’t suspect it was a landfill outside Lenton.

On a serious note I think this release was fraught with difficulties from the outset. While the miniatures were beautiful $220 was just too much to drop on a self-contained game. GW were very clear that it was stand-alone and that there would be no expansions. On this basis it was hard to see sustained repeat playability.

It lacked the crossover appeal of Space Hulk where you could use your models to play GW's main seller. I'm sure that SH spurred at least some sales of Tyranids, Blood Angels and Deathwing armies.

I hope that Dreadfleet has not scuppered (see what I did there) the rumoured release of "Bloodbowl" in 2013. That game has enormous ongoing playability and I could see being a huge success.