The Warp Storm

There are no goodies in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

None.

Especially not the Imperium of Man.

Its numberless legions of soldiers and zealots bludgeon their way across the galaxy, delivering death to anyone and anything that doesn’t adhere to their blinkered view of purity. Almost every man and woman toils in misery either on the battlefield – where survival is measured in hours – or in the countless manufactorums and hive slums that fuel the Imperial war machine. All of this in slavish servitude to the living corpse of a God-Emperor whose commandments are at best only half-remembered, twisted by time and the fallibility of Humanity.

Warhammer 40,000 isn’t just grimdark. It’s the grimmest, darkest.

The Imperium of Man stands as a cautionary tale of what could happen should the very worst of Humanity’s lust for power and extreme, unyielding xenophobia set in. Like so many aspects of Warhammer 40,000, the Imperium of Man is satirical.

For clarity: satire is the use of humour, irony, or exaggeration, displaying people’s vices or a system’s flaws for scorn, derision, and ridicule. Something doesn’t have to be wacky or laugh-out-loud funny to be satire. The derision is in the setting’s amplification of a tyrannical, genocidal regime, turned up to 11. The Imperium is not an aspirational state, outside of the in-universe perspectives of those who are slaves to its systems. It’s a monstrous civilisation, and its monstrousness is plain for all to see.

That said, certain real-world hate groups – and adherents of historical ideologies better left in the past – sometimes seek to claim intellectual properties for their own enjoyment, and to co-opt them for their own agendas.

We’ve said it before, but a reminder about what we believe in:

“We believe in and support a community united by shared values of mutual kindness and respect. Our fantasy settings are grim and dark, but that is not a reflection of who we are or how we feel the real world should be. We will never accept nor condone any form of prejudice, hatred, or abuse in our company, or in the Warhammer hobby.”

If you come to a Games Workshop event or store and behave to the contrary, including wearing the symbols of real-world hate groups, you will be asked to leave. We won’t let you participate. We don’t want your money. We don’t want you in the Warhammer community.

For those heroes out there running their own Warhammer events, we’d love for you to join us in this stance.

Over the years, we’ve been fortunate enough to support events like AdeptiCon, the Las Vegas Open, Blood & Glory, and many, many more with terrain, prizes, and goody bags. We’ve also provided staff to help with organisation and rules queries, and to judge painting competitions and run seminars.

If you need help running an event, including creating a safe and rewarding experience for your attendees, we’re here to help. Just drop our Events Team an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you, and we’re ready to offer any support we can.

And if you’re an educator, youth worker or leader of a young persons’ group, then we can support you too!

We’ve already contributed millions of pounds to our Warhammer Alliance network, and are committed to continuing to provide free miniatures and resources to schools, Scouts,* and similar youth groups. It’s our hope that the Warhammer Alliance can continue to provide a creative and educational outlet, building a community of shared belonging and respect between young people from all walks of life. If you are interested in Warhammer Alliance, please visit warhammer-alliance.com.

Good to see them reiterating the message!