Following previous delays in the game's proposed timeline, Nacon confirmed the release date for Blood Bowl 3 in a trailer on its YouTube channel. Blood Bowl 3 is the latest in a series of brutal, turn-based fantasy games. The previous game, Blood Bowl 2, was touted on Steam as a clash between Warhammer and American football, “an explosive cocktail of turn-based strategy, humour, and brutality,” and the new trailer seems to promise an equally violent and high-energy follow-up.
The announcement comes following a series of other updates and teaser images, many shown on the game’s Twitter page, @BloodBowl_Game. A cinematic trailer was shown at Gamescom as early as 2020. Earlier updates for Blood Bowl 3 planned for a release in 2021, and developer Cyanide Studio began beta testing that same year. However, the game was delayed, and in July 2022, the company announced on Twitter that the game would hopefully release later in 2022.
Ultimately, that release date came in the form of a new trailer on November 3. Blood Bowl 3 is slated to launch on February 23, 2023. The trailer itself unveiled characteristically violent and fantastic game footage, taken in a variety of arenas. In one, fire and flames set the stage for an exciting battle fit for what Nacon calls “the bloodiest sport in the Old World.” Players move their team across the field's tiles in a battle meant to recreate the rules of Games Workshop board game of the same name.
Fans who have been waiting for an update will be pleased with this new footage, which melds glimpses of the turn-based gameplay with a chance to see more of the playable teams that will be available. According to game's Steam page, Blood Bowl 3 will have 12 races available to play. Just as importantly, as the page reads, “you’re the boss.” Players can recruit and customize a team as they see fit and can even recruit cheerleaders. The game is meant to be "merciless, not brainless," and seems to fit that unique niche exceedingly well. While the strategy aspect is apparent in the number of playable options that players will have to work with, there's also the unavoidable aspect that this is a game about crushing opponents with overwhelming force (sometimes in an arena flanked by lava).
Based on the Blood Bowl 3 footage that's been released so far, it looks to be shaping up into a promising game. Despite the delay in release, the current top comment on the trailer’s video praises that it “keeps looking better and better,” and they are glad that the developers gave the game the time that it needed.
Blood Bowl 3 is out on February 23, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.