Bryan Ansell, one of many chief architects of the Warhammer franchise alongside Richard Halliwell and Rick Priestley, has died. He was 68.
Ansell’s loss of life was introduced on Instagram on December 30 with the message, “With nice unhappiness, we announce that Bryan handed away peacefully at residence this morning surrounded by his household, thirtieth December 2023.”
It included a traditional photograph of Ansell sitting in entrance of a Warhammer military with the outline, “Mighty, Darkish-Winged, Avenging Lord of Chaos, Bryan Ansell, and his Mighty Avenging Chaos Military.”
Warhammer based Cidatel Miniatures in partnership with Steven Jackson’s Video games Workshop in 1978. His initially offered 25mm historic and fantasy miniatures and video games, but it surely was 1983’s Warhammer Fantasy Battle that will turn out to be the corporate’s breakout hit. Ansell purchased out Video games Workshop alongside Tom Kirby, and the corporate was ultimately refocused round Warhammer and Warhammer 40K. Ansell in the end left Video games Workshop to give attention to Wargames Foundry.
Warhammer, in fact, stays immensely well-liked to this present day, as evidenced by the massive vary of licensed video video games and different media which have come out of the property. The tabletop recreation likewise stays extremely popular, fostering a passionate neighborhood devoted to portray miniatures amongst different actions.
Video games Workshop alumni paid tribute to Ansell, with Video games Workshop co-founder Ian Livingstone writing, “Very unhappy information Bryan Ansell handed away. Bryan, Steve Jackson and I arrange Citadel Miniatures in 1978 as a part of Video games Workshop. He was a craftsman and dynamic entrepreneur who drove the expansion of GW to the following stage. With out Bryan, Warhammer wouldn’t have launched.”
Treatment designer Tuomas Pirinen, who beforehand labored at Video games Workshop, wrote, “Bryan Ansell, the person behind the expansion of Video games Worshop and the patron of Warhammer and #40K as we all know it at this time has died. Not many #Warhammer followers understand it at this time, however with out him, there would nearly definitely be no Warhammer passion at all at this time. Laborious, man, however I am going to drink to you.”
Video games Workshop didn’t present an announcement on any of its official channels.
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