In the grim darkness of the far future, there is no AI. In Games Workshop's earnings call, CEO Kevin Rountree explained that Warhammer will incorporate no AI art and will not allow the usage. Also, the company posted record revenues in H2 2025, even with a middling video game release slate.
In the recent half year report posted yesterday by UK tabletop and licensing giant Games Workshop, the company posted a record win. Revenue was up to 332.1 million pounds in the second half of 2025, up from 229.5 million pound in the second half of 2024. Operating profit was 140.1 million pound, up from 126.1 million pound.
Notably, this includes a decrease in licensing revenue, which was 16.0 million pounds in the 2025 timeframe but 30.1 million pounds in the last six months of 2024, likely because of big digital releases such as Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 that came out in 2024. The big revenue jump comes from the core business of game figurines, making up 316.1 million pounds revenue H2 2025, up from 269.4 million pounds in H2 2024. The second half of 2025 only saw the video game releases of Dawn of War - Definitive Edition and Space Marine - Master Crafted Edition, both re-releases of existing games. It had, however, several new announcements for highly anticipated Warhammer games with Mechanicus 2, Warhammer Survivors, Dawn of War IV and Total War: Warhammer 40,000, positioning the licensing business for bigger results in the coming period.
“We have again remained focused on delivering our strategic goal - to make the best fantasy miniatures in the world, to engage and inspire our customers, and to sell our products globally at a profit. We intend to do this forever. Our decisions are focused on long-term success, not short-term gains”, says Kevin Rountree, CEO of Games Workshop, in the interim report.
Rountree also notes that profits have been hit by the tariffs in the US, with those likely having cost the company around 6.0 million pounds in profits.
The CEO also commented on the usage of AI at Games Workshop, or, more precisely, the lack thereof. “A very broad topic and to be honest I’m not an expert on it. We do have a few senior managers that are: none are that excited about it yet. We have agreed an internal policy to guide us all, which is currently very cautious e.g. we do not allow AI generated content or AI to be used in our design processes or its unauthorised use outside of GW including in any of our competitions. We also have to monitor and protect ourselves from a data compliance, security and governance perspective, the AI or machine learning engines seem to be automatically included on our phones or laptops whether we like it or not.
We are allowing those few senior managers to continue to be inquisitive about the technology. We have also agreed we will be maintaining a strong commitment to protect our intellectual property and respect our human creators. In the period reported, we continued to invest in our Warhammer Studio - hiring more creatives in multiple disciplines from concepting and art to writing and sculpting. Talented and passionate individuals that make Warhammer the rich, evocative IP that our hobbyists and we all love."
