Slitherine Acquires Blood Bowl Video Game Rights From NACON

• Slitherine has acquired the Blood Bowl video game publishing rights and back catalog from NACON, with Cyanide Studio continuing development of the next title.
• The upcoming Warhammer Blood Bowl will build on Blood Bowl 3 with updated tabletop rules, 26 launch factions, seasonal content, and the new fast-paced Rumble mode.
• The publishing transition comes as NACON restructures its games business, while Slitherine expands its portfolio of Warhammer strategy games.

Slitherine (Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance, Panzer Corps 2) has acquired the license, publishing rights, and back catalog for the Blood Bowl video game franchise from NACON, marking a significant expansion of the publisher’s portfolio of Warhammer strategy games.

The agreement also confirms that Slitherine will continue development of the next Blood Bowl game previously announced by NACON, while maintaining its partnership with long-time series developer Cyanide Studio. The studio has been responsible for every major Blood Bowl video game adaptation to date.

“Blood Bowl is one of the most iconic and distinctive strategy franchises in videogames, and we’re genuinely honored to help shape its future alongside Cyanide and Warhammer,” said Marco Minoli, director of publishing at Slitherine. “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 Takes Over The Blood Bowl Franchise

Originally created by Games Workshop during the 1980s, Blood Bowl combines turn-based tactical gameplay with fantasy American football, pitting Warhammer’s factions against one another in violent, often unpredictable matches. Cyanide Studio has developed the series for more than a decade, with successive entries adapting the tabletop rules while expanding online multiplayer, league systems, and seasonal content.

Earlier this year, NACON and Cyanide announced Warhammer Blood Bowl, a new adaptation based on the latest tabletop rules that was planned to launch in spring. The game is said to introduce updated rulesets, 26 playable factions at launch, new tournaments, refreshed tutorials, and the new 30-minute Rumble mode, which was made available in a limited Steam demo back in March. Existing Blood Bowl 3 players were also promised a free upgrade, carrying over their accounts and previously unlocked content.

Slitherine promised more news is coming soon. In a recent post on its website, the company said “Join us on July 22 during the Slitherine Next livestream on the Slitherine Twitch channel at 18:00 CEST. The showcase will feature updates across some of Slitherine’s major upcoming projects and franchises, including Blood Bowl, along with other announcements from our development lineup.”

“We’ll be taking a closer look at the future of Blood Bowl, sharing major updates, exciting announcements, and giving you a first glimpse of what’s ahead.”

The Future of the Gridiron

The publishing rights transfer comes during a period of restructuring for NACON, which has recently scaled back parts of its publishing portfolio following project cancellations and studio closures. Under the new agreement, Slitherine will take over publishing responsibilities for the Blood Bowl catalog while continuing development of the upcoming title alongside Cyanide Studio.

Patrick Pligersdorffer, CEO of Cyanide Studio, said: “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.”

The acquisition further expands Slitherine’s catalogue of Games Workshop adaptations. The publisher already works with the Warhammer license across titles including Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War, Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector, Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach, and Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon.