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Black Library’s New Digital Editions – What’s The Point?

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Games Workshop Digital Editions

As of yesterday, Black Library is offering a new line of electronic products titled “Games Workshop Digital Editions“. This new line of e-Publications seems to offer very little (usually between 10 to 15 pages) and very basic information (i.e. what is a Space Marines Dreadnought). For a Black Library / GW Game-Studio collaboration (if that’s what it is), this wastes a great opportunity!

Really, what is the point with these?

Black Library’s New Digital Editions

First off, what’s this about? In a nutshell, it’s a series (or several series) of short eBooks covering specific background topics for Warhammer 40K. So far, three series have been announced:

  1. Index Astartes, which covers most things Space Marines and possibly including content from the popular White Dwarf articles of the same name (?). An example includes the aforementioned book on Space Marine Dreadnoughts.
  2. Warlords of the Dark Millenium, which showcase specific characters in Warhammer 40K. The first entry in this series deals with Azrael, Chapter Master of the Dark Angels.
  3. Munitiorum, which looks at particular pieces of Warhammer 40K equipment. The series kicks off with a book on the Eldar Shuriken Catapults.

What Do You Get?

I am not even certain if these have been written mainly by Black Library or by the GW studio:

  • They are advertised by Black Library, yet include no author (nor do I think their regular Black Library novel-authors wrote any of them).
  • They aren’t stories, only (very) basic background on the Warhammer 40K universe.
  • They are published in the .mobi and .epub format favoured by Black Library, and as iBooks similar to Games Workshop’s range of Codexes and game supplements for the iPad.

In all honesty, they seem to be “Studio”-Publications more than Black Library Publications. The little eBooklet on Azrael includes his game rules (identical to the Codex) and an expanded “Codex-style-entry” for his background, his Chapter Relics, etc… .

It does not include, say, a short story featuring Azrael written by a Black Library author.

Sample Pages from the Azrael Publications

Two sample pages from the 14-page Azrael entry to the Warlords of the Dark Millennium series.

Azreal, Chapter Master of the Dark Angels
Azrael Chapter Relic Lion's Wrath

What’s The Point?

With new releases like this, people are quick to jump to the conclusion of Games Workshop pushing a jaded money-grab.

Worse, IMO, this one in particular seems a wasted opportunity to me. People have long been clamouring for a closer integration of Black Library and the Game Studio.

The decision by Forge World to bring in a variety of Black Library characters into their series of Horus Heresy books has proven to be popular (no surprise there!).

Why aren’t Black Library and the Game Studio doing something similar here? They could have – for example – released an e-Supplement on – say – Dark Angels Chaplain Boreas, instead of re-writing (essentially) the Codex-entry for Azrael. Maybe they could’ve even persuaded Mr. Thorpe to write another ~ 1000 word short-story-scene to go with it.

This would’ve been a far better, far more interesting product than what it is now!

Z.

Zweischneid

Zweischneid

I am Zweischneid. Wargame Addict. Hopeless painter and founder of Pins of War. I hope you enjoyed this article. Don't forget to share your favourite miniature pictures and wargaming videos at www.pinsofwar.net.
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  • orlando the technicoloured

    I think that they are probably an attempt to do three things
    1. provide a primer for those potential BL readers who look at this complex world and think, no it’s too much to understand (at present I’ll bet 90% of the BL readership have been or previously were involved in warhammer)
    not sure how successful that will be
    2. Maybe pull BL readers who no longer (or more rarely never) bought the minis into getting (back) into them
    this might actually work BL readers may well be ex players/collectors who moved away from the minis (and GW’s main revenue stream). Those that will buy these are both really committed to BL and have cash to spend.
    If they were unaware of the current GW mini line up they might just be tempted back
    3. Advertising (yes a dirty word for GW), but having more titles in online stores etc mean more chance of somebody clicking on it by chance.. best sellers are best sellers because they are best sellers as it were
    the weakest reason, but quite possibly one of them

    • http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid

      Interesting. Especially point 2… though the inevitable “visit a GW-store and get a free mini” in the back of all (paper) BL novels has been trying to keep that link since.. well.. a long time.

  • wookieegunner

    It feels to me that these are more a “feel the waters” that are designed to be closer to the painting guides. They have already officially said that they plan to expand this line to include things like the Codices to allow non-iPad users to get digital copies. Honestly, it makes a lot of sense for GW Studios to consolidate its publishing needs with Black Library. Now that Black Library is much more of a household name (thanks to several Best Sellers) they have the ability to attract talent and negotiate better terms with printers and other stuff like that than GW Studios ever will.