Slitherine Software Acquires Blood Bowl Publishing Rights

The long-term future of the Blood Bowl video game series has been secured. Following the insolvency of Nacon—a staple of the AA publishing scene that recently shuttered its wholly-owned developer, Spiders—Slitherine Software has stepped in to acquire the publishing rights for the sports parody franchise.

Slitherine is a veteran in the strategy space and is already well-acquainted with the Games Workshop ecosystem. The publisher has previously handled titles such as Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector and Warhammer 40,000: Gladius. This acquisition marks a pivot for Blood Bowl as it moves from its previous publisher into the hands of a team with a heavy focus on high-quality strategy titles.

What This Means for Blood Bowl 3

For players currently engaged with Blood Bowl 3 the transition appears to be a stable one. Cyanide Studios CEO Patrick Pligersdoffer confirmed the partnership, stating, “Slitherine has proven its expertise, publishing high-quality strategy games. We believe it is a perfect match.”

Marco Minoli, Slitherine's director of publishing, echoed this sentiment: “We have enormous respect for what Cyanide has built over the years. We're excited to continue working closely with the team to support and grow the series together with its passionate community.”

The move is expected to keep development on track. Cyanide is currently working on updates intended to bring Blood Bowl 3’s ruleset fully in line with the tabletop version of the game. Industry observers also anticipate a potential rebranding to Warhammer: Blood Bowl to better align the video game with the broader Warhammer Fantasy brand, similar to how players may recognize the setting from the Warhammer: Vermintide series.

A Path Forward After a Rocky Launch

Blood Bowl 3 faced a difficult arrival when it launched on February 23, 2023. At the time, the title was criticized for being buggy and missing key features, specifically those required for managing private leagues that had been present in its predecessor, Blood Bowl 2. While these issues were eventually addressed through ongoing patches—albeit nearly a year after the initial release—the game has maintained a dedicated, if modest, core community.

With the publishing rights now consolidated under Slitherine, the studio is positioned to focus on continued support for the game across its available platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.