Warhammer co creator Bryan Ansell has died

Bryan Ansell, the renowned miniatures game designer and founder of Citadel, the miniatures division of Games Workshop, passed away at his home surrounded by family on December 30, 2023. He was 68 years old, as announced by an Instagram post from the account shared by him and his wife Diane. Ansell was instrumental in establishing Citadel in 1978, during a period when Games Workshop was primarily involved in the distribution and promotion of roleplaying games in Europe, and also documented these games in their publication called White Dwarf. Following the establishment of Citadel, Ansell designed the Warhammer Fantasy Battle, a wargame created to optimally utilize Citadel's line of miniatures. The immense success of Warhammer resulted in Ansell transforming into the managing director of Games Workshop, subsequently steering the company to focus entirely on the hobby of tabletop wargaming, a category they continue to lead today. Ansell was credited with designing the 1980 sci-fi wargame Laserburn, an early version of Warhammer 40,000 and for co-creating Warhammer Fantasy Battle. He also had a significant role in developing the Realm of Chaos supplements of Warhammer, which outlined the Chaos gods of the setting and established a distinctive heavy metal horror fantasy tone that would permeate future iterations. Despite his remarkable achievements, Ansell also had some drawbacks. As Games Workshop's managing director, he was held accountable for the closure of its London office and transferring operations to Nottingham, where Citadel was headquartered. This move sparked resentment within the editorial team of White Dwarf magazine, who were based in London at that time, leading them to critique Ansell indirectly in issue 77. Ansell parted ways with Games Workshop in 1991 after a period of major growth. In the following years, he managed a smaller historical miniatures manufacturing firm, Wargames Foundry, which he initially developed as a retirement project for his father. Ansell officially retired in 2005 and the Wargames Foundry is now managed by his family.