Goodbye Black Industries

I sent the following letter to Tom Kirby and Mark Wells at Games Workshop

Dear Sirs,

I am writing to express my strong disappointment at your recent decision to close the doors on Black Industries and your role playing games division. When I read the news on RPG.net and on the Black Industries press release my first response was shock, then anger and now just disappointment.

I have been a loyal customer of Games Workshop for many years, starting with the Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader book. I have since owned a great number of Games Workshop games and miniatures, including all editions of Warhammer 40,000, the last three editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, every edition of Warhammer Fantasy Role Playing, board games, specialist games and others. I currently own five different Warhammer Fantasy Armies, three Warhammer 40,000 armies in addition to numerous other Games Workshop models like Necromunda gangs and various models that see use in various role playing games. I eventually left the Warhammer 40,000 universe in favor of the, in my opinion, stronger rule set of Wahammer Fantasy Battles.

However, since that first Rogue Trader book, I have been awaiting a Warhammer 40,000 role playing game, and mere days after what appeared to be a very successful launch of a beautiful product Black Industries announced they are closing their doors. My heart sank upon hearing this news.

 

I had purchased and have been reading Eisenhorn, and I had plans to read other novels set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe in preparation for Dark Heresy. I was also buying all the Warhammer 40,000 miniatures game printed materials in order to have yet more source material for an RPG. I understand I am only one person but the Role playing game was bringing me back into purchasing Warhammer 40,000 products from all divisions of your company.  I am also sure there are others like me who would have taken advantage of the vast and exciting Warhammer 40,000 line of products to enhance their role playing experience.

       

I hope this is merely a temporary closing or a restructuring as you bring the role playing games division under the games workshop label. If that is not the case I hope you will consider granting someone a reasonably priced license to continue to produce material for what I thought could have been one of the greatest science fiction role playing games ever produced. Green Ronin Publishing would be the most logical choice from my perspective as you already have a relationship with them and they have done work on both the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 role playing games for Black Industries and Games Workshop.

           

 Again, I express my extreme disappointment with your decision to close the Black Industries division and hope you can reconsider or find some way to keep the role playing games alive.