Slitherine acquires Warhammer Blood Bowl licence from troubled French publisher Nacon

Wargame and strategy specialist Slitherine Software has acquired the licence, publishing rights and back catalogue for the Warhammer-derived Blood Bowl franchise from Nacon, following the latter's filing for insolvency. As part of the deal, Slitherine will publish the upcoming Warhammer Blood Bowl.

The game will continue to be made by long-standing developer Cyanide Studio. Slitherine said it would "continue actively supporting and expanding the Blood Bowl video game, with a strong focus on community feedback, long-term development, and ongoing player engagement."

Cyanide filed for insolvency in March alongside three other Nacon-owned studios including Greedfall developer Spiders, which subsequently shut down after failing to find a buyer. Marco Minoli, Director of Publishing at Slitherine, tells GamesIndustry.biz that the deal allows Nacaon to "to maintain their studio structure while giving the franchise the specialized, dedicated publishing support that Slitherine is uniquely positioned to offer."

"We aren't taking an ownership stake in Cyanide," he says, "but we are securing a long term development deal with them. Our singular goal is to guarantee the absolute, long-term continuity of development for the game." He described the deal as "a major, highly significant investment for Slitherine."

"We aren't taking an ownership stake in Cyanide, but we are securing a long term development deal with them."

"As soon as Nacon’s restructuring process began, we saw an opportunity to step up and protect a franchise we love," he says. "We proactively approached Cyanide and presented a definitive case for why Slitherine would be the ideal partner to support the game moving forward.

"From day one, our visions for the future of Blood Bowl were perfectly aligned. We backed that up with a highly competitive commercial proposition that met their financial objectives. There were certainly other players at the table, but we were focused entirely on our own pitch, and we're thrilled that our shared vision won out."

Previous titles in the Blood Bowl series, a turn-based sports game in the Warhammer fantasy setting, have sold almost a million units on Steam, according to GameDiscoverCo data. Slitherine has previously published the Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector and Warhammer 40,000: Gladius games.

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

Slitherine said that the acquisition was part of a "wider expansion across the strategy and tactics space, following a series of recent publishing partnerships and catalog acquisitions announced by the company over the past year."