Games Workshop revealed new Legio and Adeptus Custodes models during its New Year Preview livestream on Friday, showing for the first time heads that present as female for the Emperor’s personal guard. The move departs from decades of Custodes miniatures that used male-presenting heads and follows earlier 2024 hints in fiction and animation. The company said these new head options are not a fundamental lore rewrite but an expanded modeling choice, and confirmed the figures will be usable in both Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000. The new models are scheduled to reach shops later this year.
Key Takeaways
- Games Workshop unveiled Legio and Adeptus Custodes models with female-presenting heads during its New Year Preview livestream on Friday.
- Historically, Custodes miniatures used male-presenting heads; the Sisters of Silence have been the primary female-linked custodial force since their 2017 Seventh Edition introduction.
- In 2024, Games Workshop published a rulebook short story featuring a woman Custodian, Calladayce Taurovalia Kesh, and an animated episode introduced Tyrith Shiva Kyrus, both preceding this model reveal.
- The livestream noted a Shield Captain model with an unhelmeted head described as having “golden leaf woven into her hair,” presented to reduce ambiguity about presentation.
- Games Workshop stated this is an option rather than a lore rewrite, saying “noble daughters could also have been taken” as one possible in-universe path.
- New Legio Custodes models will be compatible with both Horus Heresy and modern Warhammer 40,000 lists and are due to be released later in the year.
- The reveal prompted visible debate in segments of the community, including reaction from right-leaning groups within the hobby’s online spaces.
Background
The Adeptus Custodes are depicted in Warhammer 40,000 as the Emperor of Mankind’s elite bodyguard and have long been rendered as towering, heavily armored figures with male-presenting physiognomy. For decades, tabletop models and most official imagery followed that template, reinforcing a gendered expectation within the faction’s miniature aesthetic and fiction. The Sisters of Silence — a distinct, female-presenting order introduced to the game in Seventh Edition in 2017 — have been presented as the franchise’s canonical female counterpart but not as Custodes themselves.
Tastes in the hobby have shifted in recent years, with fans requesting more diverse modeling options and Games Workshop experimenting with narrative representation. In 2024 the company published a short story centered on Calladayce Taurovalia Kesh, a named woman Custodian in the rulebook, and the animated series Tithes introduced Tyrith Shiva Kyrus in episode two. Those narrative choices prefaced the modeling change announced in the New Year Preview livestream.
Main Event
During the stream Games Workshop put multiple new Custodes sculpts on display, some fitted with heads that clearly present as female. The company showed Legio-specific variants and Adeptus Custodes sculpts intended for both Horus Heresy and modern 40K play. Presenters highlighted visual details — such as braided hair and decorative gold leaf on an unhelmeted Shield Captain — to ensure the intended presentation read as female on the miniature itself.
Presenters repeatedly framed the change as a modeling option: they emphasized players could field these heads where they wished and stressed the company was not altering established lore mechanics. In-stream commentary included a direct line that “noble daughters could also have been taken,” offered as an existing-in-universe explanation for female Custodes, while noting the Imperium’s long recruitment demands.
The reveal included production and compatibility details: the Legio Custodes models will be released as boxed sets and individual units, and Games Workshop indicated they will be legal for both Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40K play. The company gave a general release window of later this year but did not announce specific ship or pre-order dates on the stream.
Analysis & Implications
On a representational level, the inclusion of female-presenting Custodes heads removes a visible barrier for hobbyists who want to field diverse armies without converting or scratch-building models. That matters in a tabletop culture where kitbashing and personalization are central to long-term engagement and secondary-market activity. Offering official female head sculpts reduces the friction for players who have demanded more inclusive options for years.
From a commercial perspective, the move expands product choice and could boost sales by appealing to collectors and players seeking new aesthetics. Games Workshop routinely benefits when it refreshes core ranges with alternative sculpts; releasing compatible Legio models increases cross-era utility and ups the potential customer base for a single sculpt line. However, the company must balance this with existing players’ expectations around lore continuity.
The community reaction reveals fault lines within the hobby: many players praised the addition as overdue, while a vocal minority — including right-leaning online groups referenced during the rollout — framed it as unnecessary change. That split suggests Games Workshop will continue to face reputation-management and moderation challenges on forums and social platforms, and the company’s explicit framing of the change as an option rather than a rewrite is likely intended to defuse some tensions.
Comparison & Data
| Feature | Pre-2024 Custodes | 2024–2025 Options |
|---|---|---|
| Default head presentation | Male-presenting only | Male- and female-presenting head sculpts |
| Female analogue | Sisters of Silence (introduced 2017) | Official female-presenting Custodes heads (2024 reveal) |
| Playable systems | Warhammer 40K | Warhammer 40K and Horus Heresy compatibility |
The table shows the practical shift from a single aesthetic standard to a choice-driven approach. That change aligns product availability with prior narrative hints from 2024 and makes it easier for players to represent different in-universe backgrounds without forced conversions.
Reactions & Quotes
Games Workshop framed the sculpt changes as both a modeling option and an acknowledgement of narrative flexibility; their phrasing in the stream sought to limit claims that the firm was erasing prior lore.
“[The Shield Captain’s] unhelmeted head has golden leaf woven into her hair,”
Games Workshop (New Year Preview livestream)
The streamer used that detail to clarify presentation and reduce ambiguity about whether the sculpt was intended to read as female. Later the company reiterated that Custodes recruitment might plausibly include noble daughters as well as sons.
“Noble daughters could also have been taken,”
Games Workshop (New Year Preview livestream)
Community reaction has been mixed. Many hobbyists welcomed the official option as long-requested, while other groups raised objections online; the livestream drew both positive commentary from inclusion advocates and critical posts from a segment of the fanbase.
Unconfirmed
- The precise global sales impact of the new head sculpts is not confirmed and will depend on release timing, pricing and marketing.
- The scale and permanence of backlash from specific online groups is unclear and may not reflect the broader player base.
- Details about exact release dates, set configurations and pricing were not specified during the stream and remain to be announced.
Bottom Line
Games Workshop’s New Year Preview marks a notable product and representational shift: official female-presenting Custodes heads give players more options and align miniature availability with earlier narrative hints from 2024. The company framed the change as an optional modeling choice rather than a wholesale lore rewrite, a distinction likely designed to reduce culture-war friction around the hobby.
Practically, the new sculpts broaden cosmetic variety for collectors and gamers and will be usable in both Horus Heresy and modern 40K play. The release is scheduled for later this year; fans and retailers will be watching for concrete pre-order and shipping details to assess commercial impact.