Games Workshop (games-workshop.com) has a 1.4 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 101 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Hobbies & Crafts and its reputation is poor. 85% of reviews are 1 star, a relatively high share; The business has not yet replied to negative reviews; 12 of them were added in the last 12 months. Last updated 2026-09-04.
I don’t know where to begin with how far Games Workshop have fallen in the last few years. A good British company that has completely lost it’s way. The last 4 orders I have made have not been fulfilled for one reason or another. They constantly advertise products for sale that they don’t have in stock. They take your money and then tell you a week or two later that they can’t fulfil your order and offer you a whole or partial refund. They advise that the items you want are out of stock in one warehouse and not another but because your whole order needs to come from the one warehouse they can’t proceed. This is explanation comes with no apology and they customer service advisers feel like this is a perfectly reasonable excuse as to why they have taken your money and refuse to fulfil your order - “All of your order has to come from one warehouse, we can either cancel your order or give you a partial refund and send out part of your order”. It’s always MESBG as well. They couldn’t care less about that game now by the way. It used to be that GW had people passionate about the hobby that wanted high standards. Now you are lucky if you get what you paid for. I think it’s only a matter of time now until they fold. They have relied far too long on a loyal customer-base that they continue to alienate with unreasonable pricing and poor customer service. Now independent producers create more affordable minis using their own 3D printers. If that’s the case it’s a shame but they are hardly going down with a fight. No festive voucher this year based on your spend either. Think it’s only a matter of time.
Placing an order online should be an easy process. It's really hard to mess it up. That said I can confidently say I have had the worst ordering experience from the warhammer Web store.
Frustration 1:
There was no indication that the delivery time for an order was anything shocking when I placed the order. Turns out it's 6 working days!
Frustration 2:
After the 6 working days passed my order still hadn't even been picked! I contact customer service and they're quoting 9 working days!
Frustration 3:
After 9 working days it's STILL not been delivered!
I appreciate that in the days of amazon expectations are higher than maybe reasonable for delivery times. However this is a joke.
Rubbish online customer service.
I was placing an order online using a voucher on my account and repeatedly getting an error message about authorisation failure. Phoned and emailed customer support, apparently they don't have access to the ordering system so couldn't place the order for me, nor tell me why it wasn't working!
Eventually the order went through, but as I'd reduced the order just to test (they asked for a screenshot of the error message with no clear reason), I didn't order everything I needed.
No apology, repeated refusal to cover postage costs on the second order to get the other bits I needed, different people responding to emails who clearly hadn't read previous messages and provided highly irritating, nonsensical responses.
I'm out of pocket because their ordering system didn't work.
I won't be ordering directly from GW again, awful experience. Pity really.
Online orders take forever, if they arrive at all.
Hate to have to right this but the last few experiences ordering online have been really poor. They just don't ship for ages. I waited a week, canceled, ordered elsewhere and got it from the alternative provider the next day. I'll not order from GW again.
Games Workshop, ensuring shareholders are happy while customer service worsens
The GW stores and staff are generally fantastic but avoid having any involvement with the Internet side. I have had months of issues with my warhammer account, and was told they needed ever more information about my previous purchases to resolve the issue. I went into my local store and one of the staff phoned a colleague in Nottingham (head office) and the issue was fixed. What was frustrating was that it was a simple fix and could have been completed with my first request.
I then started to use my local independent store for my GW fix, but have had every order delivered late. After talking to the retailer, it has become obvious that GW treat their independant sellers as badly as they treat their Internet customers. I appreciate that they have share holders to keep happy, but they appear to have jumped up the dividends by reducing customer service on line.
Although they still seem to make great models and have fantastic stores, the Internet side of the business is seriously failing (try to use the new Web site !!???!!!!??!).
My suggestion would be to put the customer first, rather than the share holders. GW has experienced positive growth for years, largely due to strong products, customer service and committed hobbyists. However, as it appears that the accountants rather than the gamers are running the show, it now feels like a 'race to the bottom' to ensure that dividend payouts remain high.
Shops and shop staff are great, that’s where it ends, the “new” website is terrible to navigate, you can’t find anything, they have dispatched with the useful stiff on both old websites such as colour charts and rotatable models and left us with an dumbed down guide. To top it off they have lost orders and part orders with alarming regularity, four to date for me, and killed off forge world entirely, for a big company GW know how to screw up big time
I gave up. Tried to find a product: a Hill and some ruins. Tried for 10 mins, First I had to wait 10 mins to get access to The webshop, then agter another 10 minutes of frustrated search, I was redirected back and was told to wait another 10 minutes. Really?
Went in to London shop near Tottenham Court Road. In store staff very friendly and helpful. Ordered a single miniature for delivery and was estimated 8-10 days.
Emailed support after a few days as couldn’t see the order on my account, provided both the purchase date (31/10) and order reference in original email.
Was replied to the following day with a nonsensical email advising orders before 20/10 will appear in order history and can I provide my order ref, which was already provided as well as purchase date which was clearly ignored.
Had to then chase 3 additional times over 4 days for a response - was finally told on Thursday my order was stuck in pending and hadn’t been processed. Refused to upgrade my delivery for the inconvenience.
Absolutely terrible customer service experience which has completely ruined the positive in store experience. Will not ever order anything online from games workshop again.
Edit: after speaking with Hiran in customer services over the phone, issues seem resolved and order should be dispatched in a few days. Gave me a voucher for the sum of my order as an apology so changing review from 1 to 3 stars. God bless that man.
I just want to say, it really sucks that when I used to preorder models they would ship them out early so I got them the day of release. Now they ship after and I'm supposed to get the model the next week. Thats awful. And their prices are rediculous and they wonder why people print instead of buy.
GW is a failure
They deliberately mismanage stock so random things are regularly out of stock and take months to restock, and then those run out quickly as the fresh stock were only small numbers
Plus they occasionally use the out of stock periods as an excuse to raise prices knowing the down time will make customers needy enough to pay it just to get anything
And icing on the cake is they intentionally refuse to communicate with their own customer service team so when anyone contacts gw for answers, literally none are available as service staff know as little as the customers
What I like-
Immersive worlds. The world's best tabletop hobby. I have been into Warhammer 40,000 for 26 years. The good times I have had through this hobby and the memories I hold will stay with me for the rest of my life. I cannot remember a time where I DIDN'T have a collection from Games workshop. I am a very accomplished painter and modeller through my collections over the years.
What I dislike-
Games Workshop has lost the soul that made it special. I just don't feel it any more. In particular, the 'plug and play' 10th edition 40k has absolutely ruined the entire hobby for me. I have recently sold my entire current 40k collection on eBay because it is simply too bad a game now.
My currently collection consists of a collectible, nostalgic small force for the 2nd Edition (c.1993), and a handful of gangs for Necromunda (A specialist game which is still niche), as well as Talisman.
I sadly cannot connect with Games Workshop in 2023. They were BETTER in the early 2000's and 1990's. I can't really point my finger at an exact cause, but with each new release I just see more tropes and value-less additions to the setting. By that I am 100% referring to Primaris. As time goes on I am less and less likely to buy directly and more likely to seek second hand rarities and collectibles form eBay and other sources.
27/11/23:
Shame there's no zero stars option!
Took 2 emails before GW customer service (one email from the store where my missing order was delivered, and then another a week later from myself) acknowledged my order which was delivered to store and disappeared.
Asked them if I could just have a refund instead of being resent the order as I'd already now sourced a replacement from a functional retailer (my fault for not just shopping at Wayland or Element Games in the first place).
Completely ignored what I asked and raised another order for the same product to be re-delivered to the same store. The staff there (who are actually really good!) emailed customer services after the replacement was delivered to say I no longer needed the product, that I would not be collecting it, and could they process the refund instead. 2 or 3 weeks later still haven't heard anything.
Seems they either really, really need the money, or that they're just fine with ignoring both the customer and their own store staff.
Update as of 9/11/23:
Changed to a 1-star review: of my last 5 orders across GW and Forgeworld, 3 have had issues.
My FW order item took 3 weeks to arrive because it was actually out of stock when I ordered it, which at no point was mentioned until I enquired a week after placing the order. One of my GW orders - the one which prompted me to leave this review - took 21 days to despatch (even though it was in-stock the entire time), and another order for the commemorative Warhammer Day model was apparently available to collect from my local store from 28th October, though vanished into thin air.
Great hobby let down by sheer incompetence and a pervasive contemptuous attitude towards customers, from Games NotWorkingShop
Ordering system is all over the place and barely functions at the best of times, so will be interesting to see how GW manages the Christmas period (they won't).
I like the product, but the company is absolutely useless operationally and is a disaster waiting to happen.
I don't mind waiting a while for despatch but there is never any communication, and you're always fobbed off with some nonsense, cookie-cutter response.
There have been multiple times over the last year where I've bought something, heard nothing for weeks, then, only after asking, finding out the product was actually not in stock and they have no time frame of when it will be.
Additionally, when I've requested to cancel a product (I don't make a habit of this, but after waiting 10d for a product that is still showing as in-stock, I decided to take my money elsewhere), I've been told it isn't possible, and that my item should be despatching shortly, though again they cannot say when this will happen.
Really happy to take your money and hold it hostage while they wait for all the planets to be aligned so that they can maybe think about sending you what you've already paid for months ago.
Maybe they're using the funds to pay the mice who run on the treadmills, which keep the company going each day? Either that or its just badly managed, and surely that can't be the case...
as an Ex-GW Retailer, Staff are incapable of doing their job but are very fond of telling you how to do yours, My rep was one ignorant so & so. 6 weeks to get an address updated for a new larger store and still hasn't been done, excuse after excuse, great products even if overpriced but i for one am unwilling to work with my particular rep again.. BTW most of the other reps i have had have been fantastic.. Remember GW if you read this you came to me to sell your products i didn't come to you
i made an account just to review games workshop. i ordered a patrol from them which said it would take 9 days to arrive, upon further inspection i realised it was 9 working days and i would not be here fore 2 weeks so i couldnt recieve the parcel. i sent an email to customer support to cancel my order like the ask you to. the email was sent no more than 10 mins after the order was made. the next day they tell me it is too late to cancel the order as their system wont let them. so they explain to me that it is somehow easier to sent it to me and for me to send it back than for them to just not sent it in the first place. for a multi million pound company to struggle this badly with simply cancellations is an absolute joke.
If you are going to buy anything warhammer related then NEVER buy from the GW site itself and always make sure to buy from other sites like amazon where it will be sent to you faster, for cheaper and it will have better cancellations and returns.
Unhelpful customer service and a joke of a company.
GW have a fantastic product, with a broad network of independent LGS’s…. but they are so unreliable with product availability, negatively impacting play experience. As someone who simply wants to buy a GW figure that is within the current rules, I’m forced to buy from China via 3D home printing. Not great.
Abysmal company. Really gone down hill this last few years. All my recent orders have been weeks to months late. Most recently lost orders. To which a replacement has been ordered. Its still not been shipped.... I try to deal with indy stockists as much as possible. I always dread it when it comes to dealing direct with GW. One order I was told I couldnt cancel it and had to wait for a refund until it arrived weeks later.
All they care about is greed and appeasing fat cats in suits. Damn the customers because they know they have the monopoly. Highly recommend you try find products from indy stockists.
Garbage not what it used to be at all!
Im sorry but its a great shame this company is now a laughing stock when it comes to prices and there ability to fail at ever level when it comes to pre orders and getting orders out on time.
Shocking
12/9/23 - It's all been said. The firm have a great IP and as long as their stock holders are happy, their fan base can be damned.
It's got so bad I've cancelled a pre-order with them and in advance of release. They have not delivered the order (or those of any of my 3 local independent stockists) and they have still to process the cancellation (despite requesting confirmation on two occassions now).
Section 75 claim now being filed with bank under Consumer Credit Act.
Operations and logistics has gone rapidly down hill buying direct or 3rd parties who rely on GW fulfilling orders to them. It’s been delay after delay after error after another excuse. On top of this they poorly
communicate with everyone and never admit to a problem. Something needs to change Games Workshop and they need to be more open when they get things wrong.
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