Nacon Insolvency: Blood Bowl IP Heads to Warhammer 40K Gladius Publisher
Nacon, long seen as a familiar presence in the AA publishing space, has filed for insolvency. To deal with its significant debts, the company is moving to sell its intellectual property rights to other publishers.
As part of the insolvency process, Greedfall developer Spiders—previously owned entirely by Nacon—was shut down. By contrast, Cyanide Studios, the team behind the Blood Bowl franchise, appears to have a safer path forward: Slitherine Software has taken over the publishing rights for the sports parody series.
Slitherine Steps In to Publish Blood Bowl
Slitherine is a long-running publisher with an established track record in the Warhammer ecosystem. It has brought titles like Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector and Warhammer 40,000: Gladius to players, among other releases tied to Games Workshop’s grimdark sci-fi setting.
In a statement, Slitherine publishing director Marco Minoli said the company has “enormous respect” for what Cyanide has built over the years, adding that it’s “excited to continue working closely with the team” to support and grow the series alongside its dedicated community.
For players, that wording strongly suggests Cyanide’s roadmap is likely to continue. The studio previously promised to update Blood Bowl 3 so its rules match the tabletop version more closely. That effort may also come with a branding adjustment, with the series potentially renamed to Warhammer: Blood Bowl to clarify the connection to the broader Warhammer brand.
It’s worth noting that Blood Bowl isn’t actually tied to Warhammer 40,000. Instead, it is rooted in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. If that sounds familiar, it’s the same fantasy backdrop players may recognize from Fatshark’s Warhammer: Vermintide series.
Why the Move Matters for Blood Bowl 3 Players
Cyanide’s CEO Patrick Pligersdoffer said the studio is “delighted to partner with Slitherine” to secure the future of Blood Bowl video games. He also pointed to Slitherine’s history with publishing strategy titles, calling it a strong fit.
Blood Bowl 3 still has a clear uphill climb, even with ongoing support. The game launched with notable issues, with players criticizing it for being buggy and incomplete. One of the biggest points of contention was that key components needed to run private leagues did not carry over from Blood Bowl 2, sparking heavy community backlash. Cyanide eventually addressed the problem, but not until nearly a year after release.
Even so, the studio has continued to provide regular updates since launch. While the game’s concurrent player counts aren’t extremely high, its core community remains engaged and passionate.
