Blood Bowl 3 Release Date Delayed, Physical Edition & Cross-Platform Concerns

During a recent press preview event for Blood Bowl 3, several members of the press had the opportunity to pitch questions directly to Clement Nicolin (Product Manager) and Hama Doucoure (PR & Communication Specialist) of Nacon, where much of the uncertainties surrounding Blood Bowl 3’s launch were addressed. It’s a mix of really exciting news and some, well, not so exciting news.

First and foremost, the release date has changed. With COVID causing havoc across most industries in 2024 and 2024, the video-game industry suffered a delayed reaction in a lot of ways. Most of the games that were ready and planned to launch during the stricter months of lockdown have been and gone but the real issue was for those still in development. Blood Bowl 3 seems to be one of those victims, suffering several delays already this year with the original release expected to arrive not too long after Blood Bowl Second Season’s release in November.

The release was then delayed to be later this year but has since received another blow, with the expected Blood Bowl 3 release date now February 2024. While this is surely a disappointment for a lot of fans, you won’t have to wait that long to get in on the action. A beta event is planned to take place from June 3rd through to June 13th, featuring a brief glimpse of what the final game has to offer.

The beta event will be free to access, simply by requesting a key through the official website. Content will be limited to three teams, Imperial Nobility, Black Orcs, and Elven Union, each roughly representing several of the games various archetypes. No player customization options will be available, although limited team customization choices will be present. Furthermore, none of the competitive aspects of the game will be available, such as Leagues and Tournaments. Local play and online matchmaking will be available.

Following the beta event, Early Access for Blood Bowl 3 is expected to launch on PC in September of this year, although we’re unsure of what content will be available in that release. Cross-platform play is also looking increasingly unlikely. After originally announcing cross-platform in August of last year, developers Cyanide quickly recanted and have not said much since. During the press preview event, the question was pitched to Clement Nicolin, but he was unable to either confirm or deny cross-platform support. It’s a huge selling point for a niche game that looks to launch across multiple platforms, with competitive play vital to the games natural growth. Limiting that audience to single platforms works, but it’s not the best environment. It also likely means the Nintendo Switch version could struggle very early on.

In other news, they confirmed that there are no plans to include Deathzone or Blood Bowl 7’s rules in the game, additional optional rules that were released not long after Blood Bowl Second Season for tabletop.

If you want to know more, be sure to check out our full Blood Bowl 3 Hands-On Preview.

Summary

• Blood Bowl 3 release delayed to February 2024
• Beta event will run from June 3rd to June 13th
• Early Access launches sometime in September