At the end of last year, we shared the exciting news that we’re in the process of opening our first ever Warlord Games store outside of Nottingham. We said we’d be back with more news – and here we are. All the paperwork is signed and sealed, and work has already begun. Now with keys in hand, Kris Sherriff – the man behind the project – is here to give you a rather important bit of information: where the store will be, and how we arrived at that decision!
When we began planning Warlord Games’ first standalone retail store, the goal was never simply to find a space and open the doors as quickly as possible.
From the outset, the aim was to create something that could sit comfortably between several roles. A proper retail environment for new players. A welcoming hobby space for learning and discovery. A community hub that could support demos, leagues, and events without becoming closed off or intimidating.
That balance mattered. A store that leaned too far toward club space risked losing approachability. A store focused purely on retail would miss the opportunity to build long term engagement around the games themselves. The right answer had to live somewhere in between.
Just as importantly, this store needed to be independent enough to test new ideas while remaining close enough to Warlord HQ to learn from those experiments and apply them elsewhere. This was never about replacing what already exists. It was about creating a space where we could grow the hobby in a deliberate and sustainable way.
Those principles shaped every decision that followed.
Looking at the Bigger Picture
With that framework in place, the focus widened to finding the perfect region.
The North West of England stood out quickly. With a population of over seven million people spread across a network of towns and cities, it offers one of the largest and most diverse catchment areas in the UK outside of London. Rather than relying on a single city centre, the region supports multiple local communities, each with their own identity and existing hobby scenes.
That matters for a project like this. A store designed to recruit new players and support existing ones needs to feel accessible, not distant or exclusive. A broad regional base allows the store to grow organically, supported by many communities rather than competing with them.
Transport links were another key factor. Strong rail connections and road access across the region make it possible to visit casually or plan ahead without the friction that often comes with larger city centres.
The Importance of Connectivity
As the search continued, connectivity became increasingly important.
Locations with straightforward access to the M6 motorway corridor offered a clear advantage. The M6 acts as a spine through the North West, linking Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and beyond. Combined with nearby links to the M62 and M56, it allows a store to function as a regional hub rather than a local outpost.
This also supported another important goal. Being close enough to Warlord HQ for practical support and collaboration, without sitting directly in its shadow. The store needed space to develop its own identity and audience, while still benefiting from proximity when it mattered.
With those criteria in mind, the field narrowed naturally.
Wigan – Where It All Came Together
Wigan brought those strands together. A historic market town shaped by movement and industry, positioned between Manchester and Liverpool, it sits within a high population catchment supported by strong surrounding towns and excellent local and national transport links.
The town centre itself is undergoing significant regeneration, with investment focused on retail, leisure, and mixed use spaces. That kind of environment matters. It allows the store to be a place where people already want to spend time, not somewhere they feel they have to make a special effort to visit.
There were also important commercial considerations. Wigan offered premises that allowed us to prioritise what players experience inside the store. Stock depth, in-store armies, terrain, events, and staff time. Choosing a sustainable location means more of our investment goes back into the hobby space itself rather than into overheads.
One guiding principle throughout the process was that convenience alone could not be a deciding factor. Every location had to justify itself against the same criteria. In Wigan’s case, the more rigorously it was tested against what the store actually needed to be, the more clearly it aligned with the project’s goals.
What Comes Next
With the location now secured, the focus shifts to delivery. The all-important preparatory work is underway. We are developing the retail layout, preparing in-store armies and terrain, and establishing a clear opening timeline. As we move through this process, we’ll keep you up to date with milestones, and start counting down to our grand opening!
This store represents more than a retail space. It is a place to learn how best to support our existing communities, and we are hugely excited to build a new one alongside them.
