Career
Johnson joined Games Workshop as a Trade Sales Assistant in 1982. In 1986, he began writing rules for the company's own games, writing the first edition of Blood Bowl in his spare time. He was a playtester for Rogue Trader, the first version of Warhammer 40,000. In 1988 Johnson co-created Games Workshop's first 6mm miniature game, Adeptus Titanicus and its spinoff Space Marine - the beginnings of the Epic 40,000 system. In 1989 he developed Advanced Heroquest, a new version of Milton Bradley's HeroQuest board game.
In the 1990s, Johnson helped develop Advanced Space Crusade, and was one of the Games Workshop staff who designed games for the first iteration of The Crystal Maze. He began working on Warhammer Fantasy Battles in 1992, as a developer for the 4th edition rules, and began writing army books for the game's various factions. In 1993 he did the same for Warhammer, 40,000's 2nd edition. Johnson continued to work on Blood Bowl in addition to his new responsibilities, and the third edition of the game won the 1994 Origins Award for Best Miniatures Rules. In 1995 he also co-created Necromunda with Andy Chambers.
In 1995, Johnson organised Games Workshop's first worldwide community campaign, the Battle for Ichar IV, as well as hosting the first International Warhammer Tournament at Nottingham University. In 1996 he began his first column in Games Workshop's magazine White Dwarf, 'The J Files'. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s he continued to write for White Dwarf, as well as working on Epic 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000. By 2003 he was the head of Games Workshop's Specialist Games studio, overseeing the development of new version of Necromunda and Space Hulk. In 2006, 'The J Files' was replaced by his new column 'Standard Bearer', which was in turn replaced with a semi-regular column in 2012.
Johnson was a key developer of Age of Sigmar, the replacement for Warhammer Fantasy Battles, the first edition of which was released in 2015. He continued to design specialist games, including 2017's Shadows Over Hammerhal and 2018's Blackstone Fortress, as well as designing new editions of Age of Sigmar.
In July 2021, Johnson announced his retirement from Games Workshop after more than 38 years.
