Games Workshop said in a Friday (Dec. 16) press release that it has reached an agreement in principle with Amazon Content Services to let the Amazon subsidiary develop films, television shows and merchandise around the game creator’s intellectual property.
While contracts have not yet been signed, Amazon is beginning development activities, and it is expected that the first rights to be granted will cover Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe, according to the release.
Founded in 1975, Games Workshop now manufactures millions of fantasy miniatures each year and sells them in 5,000 retail stores around the world, according to the company’s website.
The deal comes at a time when the debut of another fantasy-based series from Amazon — The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — recently drew 25 million viewers from around the world, CNBC reported Friday.
Actor Henry Cavill, who has portrayed Superman, and more recently the Witcher on Netflix, will star in Warhammer 40,000, according to the report.
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For Games Workshop, the development of films and TV content — and the involvement of Henry Cavill, who is a long-time fan of the game — could further expand its fan base, Reuters reported Friday.
Early in the pandemic, Cavill posted on social media a photo of himself painting a Games Workshop miniature, according to the report.
As of Friday morning, Games Workshop shares on the London Stock Exchange had spiked about 15.7% over the day before.
This news comes about two weeks after HBO Max returned to Amazon Prime, following a 15-month absence, as it sought access to the scale of audience that the platform offers.
As PYMNTS reported Dec. 6, the audience for Amazon Prime includes about 64% of the adult U.S. population, an estimated 166 million people.
Streaming services have remained a sole bright spot in the retail subscription space at a time when many consumers are rethinking their spending.
Streaming media subscriptions were up 6.5% year on year, while the average number of total subscriptions has fallen to its lowest level since early 2021, according to the “Subscription Commerce Conversion Index: Subscribers Seek Affordability and Convenience,” a PYMNTS and sticky.io collaboration.
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