Blood Bowl franchise saved as Slitherine acquires licence from collapsed Nacon

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Blood Bowl is saved! The video game adaptation of Games Workshop’s Warhammer fantasy football tabletop game is now in the hands of Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector publisher Slitherine, which obtained the licence, publishing rights, and back catalog from the collapsing Nacon. Better yet, Slitherine said it will move forward with the next Warhammer Blood Bowl game previously announced by Nacon, and that it will work with long-time series developer Cyanide Studio to produce it.

Back in February, AA publisher and developer Nacon filed for insolvency , raising questions over the future of games such as GreedFall 2, Hell is Us, RoboCop, and Test Drive Unlimited. Nacon, which was home to 16 development studios as well as a publishing arm at the time, said it was forced into the decision after its majority shareholder, Bigben Interactive, failed to make a loan repayment.

Blood Bowl 3 has a 'mixed' user review rating on Steam, and it's fair to say the game failed to meet fan expecations when it launched in 2023. IGN's Blood Bowl 3 review returned a 5/10. We said: "Blood Bowl 3 is a sloppy, muddy, buggy rehash of a better game." But I'm a big fan of Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector, so hopefully some of the good work Slitherine has done there will rub off on the next Blood Bowl game.

Here’s the official blurb on Blood Bowl from Slitherine:

Originally created by Games Workshop in the 1980s, Blood Bowl has become one of the most recognizable and enduring fantasy sports strategy franchises in gaming, combining turn-based tactical gameplay, brutal on-pitch violence, and the unmistakable dark humour of the Warhammer universe.

Marco Minoli, Director of Publishing at Slitherine, commented: “Blood Bowl is one of the most iconic and distinctive strategy franchises in videogames, and we’re genuinely honoured to help shape its future alongside Cyanide and Warhammer.

“We have enormous respect for what Cyanide has built over the years, and we’re excited to continue working closely with the team to support and grow the series together with its passionate community.”

Slitherine also confirmed its intention to continue actively supporting and expanding the Blood Bowl video game with "a strong focus on community feedback, long-term development, and ongoing player engagement."

Patrick Pligersdorffer, CEO of Cyanide, added: “We are delighted to partner with Slitherine to ensure the future of the Blood Bowl video games. Slitherine has proven its expertise, publishing high-quality strategy games. We believe it is a perfect match”.

Expect more information on the next Warhammer Blood Bowl during the Slitherine Next Event on July 22.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.