Well I just heard the news today, Walther has introduced a new low budget 9mm handgun called the “Creed”. The pistol appears to be essentially a rebadged PPX with a new name and revamped external contours to match the company’s PPQ and CCP pistols. The Shooting Wire reports on the reworked handgun:

(FORT SMITH, Ark.) – Walther Arms, Inc. is proud to announce the new Creed pistol. A Creed is a set of fundamental beliefs. For Walther, those beliefs are superior ergonomics, excellence in trigger design, and unparalleled accuracy, quality, and reliability. The new Walther Creed makes a statement in modern polymer-frame handguns that all of these features can be achieved with
an economic price-tag. The Creed offers a reinforced polymer frame with signature ergonomics that shooters have come to expect from Walther. The non-slip grip texturing, standard on most Walther pistols, ensures the gun remains firmly in the shooter’s hand during use. The Creed features a pre-cocked double-action trigger system and a bobbed hammer that ensure a no-snag draw from a concealment. This system provides the shooter with a light and smooth trigger pull, consistent from the first shot to the last. All metal components are treated with a corrosion and abrasion resistant TENIFER® coating, providing a matte black hardened surface. With an ambidextrous magazine release, low profile steel 3-dot sights, and front and rear cocking serrations on the slide, Walther refused to compromise on the quality or features of the Creed. Offered in 9mm with a 4-inch barrel and 1/10 twist. The Creed comes with two sixteen round 9mm magazines. The overall length is 7.3 inches and an empty magazine weight of 26.6 ounces.

“The value the Creed offers consumers is almost unbelievable. We are so excited to pack all these features into an amazingly ergonomic pistol with a great trigger.” said Luke Thorkildsen, VP of Marketing & Product Development of Fort Smith-based Walther Arms, Inc.

The MSRP is $399.

For more on the Creed visit www.WaltherArms.com/handguns/creed, and all Walther Arms social media outlets.

In my opinion, this is a smart move on Walther’s part, although I can’t say I endorse their choice of name. The PPX is a very competitively priced pistol that suffers from being extremely ugly looking, with uninteresting, angular lines on the slide that clash with the more organic-looking frame, and a generally bulky appearance.

Pictured: A not very good looking pistol. The takedown lever in particular is a major eyesore. Image source: waltherarms.com

Hopefully (assuming the Creed is in fact a PPX), Walther has made the essential bits of the Creed (magazines, triggers, barrels, etc) backwards-compatible with the PPX, so that what aftermarket there is for the latter pistol isn’t lost with the new model. Unfortunately, just based on the shape, it doesn’t look like holsters will be compatible between the two, although perhaps the Creed will be able to use PPQ holsters.

Will the market accept the new Walther with arms wide open, or will the pistols get all rusted and weathered? Let’s just hope it earns a better reputation than alternative rock music.