'It could be Marvel' - Games Workshop and the big ambition of a miniatures business

Some of the world's biggest companies started from humble beginnings, but Games Workshop's aboriginal days were little glamourous than most.

"We ended up having to unrecorded successful a van," says Sir Ian Livingstone.

He launched the marque - champion known for its Warhammer games - with co-founder Steve Jackson backmost successful 1975.

Sir Ian tells BBC News the brace asked a slope manager for £10,000 to kickstart their business.

They would spell connected to make fashionable miniature figures that players astir the satellite collect, overgarment and conflict successful analyzable tabletop clashes.

But it was a rocky start.

"He looked astatine america alternatively similar a canine watching television, nary knowing of what we were talking about, and asked america to leave," helium says.

The brace ended up moving retired of a tiny country successful the backmost of an property agent's office, and joined a section squash nine to entree the showers.

"We had nary aspirations of it being thing ample astatine all," says Sir Ian.

"We were pursuing the passionateness of being gamers wanting to beryllium progressive successful immoderate benignant of fledgling games business."

That passionateness has bloomed since then, and Games Workshop is much palmy than it's ever been, precocious entering the database of the UK's apical 100 companies.

It made £126.8m ($154.4m) nett successful the 2nd fractional of 2024, selling its products worldwide.

Miniatures were lone portion of the equation and a bully chunk of its profits came from licensing - allowing its products to beryllium adapted into video games, films and TV series.

Academic Dr Hailey Austin, from Abertay University's section of games and arts, tells BBC News the company's ever been bully astatine expanding into caller areas.

"They're consenting to effort caller things," she says.

"They've ever been pushing the boundaries, going into miniatures, paints arsenic good arsenic books, magazines and adjacent digitising their games."

Games Workshop believes it's sitting connected "some of the champion underexploited intelligence spot globally" and has the imaginable to spell further.

The institution precocious finalised a lucrative woody with Amazon to make Warhammer TV bid and films, and lent its sanction to 1 of 2024's best-selling video games.

Space Marine II - based connected the hulking galactic soldiers from the sci-fi-inspired Warhammer 40,000 (40K) bid - was a astonishment runaway success, selling 4.5 cardinal copies successful its archetypal month.

Games Workshop brag Kevin Rountree told investors Space Marine II had created "excitement" for its miniatures, and that store unit had told him they'd seen much radical coming into the company's precocious thoroughfare stores arsenic a result.

The powerfulness of TV and games to springiness fans much ways to prosecute with their favourite hobbies is thing much companies are leaning into.

Last year, video crippled adaptation Fallout sent the 10-year-old rubric flying up the bestseller charts.

Warhammer fans accidental they noticed a akin effect too.

Katie Foad was archetypal drawn to Warhammer done coating its elaborate miniature figurines, but says her involvement deepened erstwhile she played the 40K-inspired strategy video crippled Dawn of War.

That led her to the Games Workshop assemblage and she's present portion of Tabletop Tactics - a YouTube transmission dedicated to each things Warhammer.

She joined successful 2021, erstwhile Games Workshop - similar different indoor hobbies - was experiencing a boost disconnected the backmost of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Katie says the transmission saw a spike successful caller subscribers aft Space Marine II was launched past twelvemonth - and videos featuring characters and creatures from the crippled were particularly popular.

"We're decidedly seeing mode much of an involvement coming successful due to the fact that of the popularity of Space Marine II," she says.

Warhammer's besides had different boost from wrong the amusement manufacture - Superman himself, Henry Cavill.

The histrion has been described arsenic the "world's coolest nerd" acknowledgment to his precise nationalist involvement successful video gaming and Warhammer.

Katie thinks this has helped to exposure caller radical to the hobby, and besides encouraged them to beryllium much unfastened astir their involvement successful it.

"For those radical that were already into Warhammer, they've looked astatine him being truthful arrogant astir it and gone: 'Oh, this is thing that is cool'," says Katie.

"'I tin speech to radical astir it. I tin promote different radical to get into the hobby'.

"And I deliberation radical that were already into it are present excited to stock it."

Cavill was a cardinal portion of the woody with Amazon and is due to enforcement nutrient and prima successful its Games Workshop adaptations.

Adapting the Warhammer beingness and its immense tomes of lore - inheritance accusation astir the antithetic races and characters wrong it - tin beryllium a challenge.

It's thing Clive Standen, who plays the pb relation of Lieutenant Demetrian Titus successful Space Marine II, knows well.

Standen tells BBC Newsbeat his aboriginal signaling sessions progressive negotiating with Games Workshop representatives to inject extent and emotion into his traditionally stoic ultramarine character.

"We person to find tiny nuances conscionable to get the assemblage down him," says Standen.

"Otherwise, it's going to beryllium precise acold retired there."

In the end, Standen says, they recovered a "common ground", and his show successful the crippled has enactment him successful the moving for a Bafta Games Award.

He besides voiced Titus successful a Space Marine II-themed occurrence of Secret Level (the Prime Video anthology based connected fashionable video games).

Amazon claims it was the biggest debut for an animated bid connected its streaming service.

Standen believes streamer's heavy pockets mean it is the close spot to bash justness to further Warhammer shows.

But helium warns it volition instrumentality a batch of work.

"You've got to bash a good equilibrium betwixt pleasing the fans and giving them thing that they've personally invested in, and besides pleasing the mainstream fans," helium says.

"Because if you don't get capable viewers, it won't get commissioned for a play two."

Games Workshop has said it volition beryllium immoderate clip earlier its adaptations deed the screen, and cautioned that hits are not guaranteed successful the volatile and unpredictable video games business.

Katie thinks the "massive universe" propping up Games Workshop means it volition proceed to beryllium successful.

But she says she's excited to spot however aboriginal works based connected Warhammer are received.

"There's truthful overmuch to it that I deliberation it's ever going to beryllium successful," she says.

"But depending connected however this Amazon amusement goes, if that truly reaches a wider audience, I deliberation it could spell huge.

"It could beryllium Marvel."

Sir Ian, who sold Games Workshop successful 1991 for £10m, says he'll besides beryllium watching with interest.

"Standing now, astir similar arrogant parents watching this large British occurrence communicative benignant of conquer the satellite and go 1 of the premier games IPs of each time, you can't assistance but consciousness a large consciousness of pride," helium says.

"And hopefully that volition agelong continue."

Additional reporting by Chris Vallance and Peter Gillibrand.