Blood Bowl 2 Kickoff Trailer highlights new graphics engine

Blood Bowl 2 doesn't actually kick off until next year, but the Blood Bowl 2 Kickoff Trailer is here now, symbolizing "the beginning of the last sprint" in the game's development.

Blood Bowl actually began life back in the 80s as a tabletop game that blended Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy setting with football—American football, for those of you living in more soccer-centric parts of the world. There have actually been two videogame adaptations since then, one in 1995, and one in 2009.

This is the sequel to the 2009 edition, and once again teams of Humans, Orcs, Dwarfs, Elves, Skaven, and Beastman will go head-to-head in violent, turn-based contests in which victory can be earned by either scoring points or butchering opposing players. Focus Home Interactive says Blood Bowl 2 is "more ambitious" than its predecessor in every way, and employs a brand new engine providing upgraded graphics, sounds, and animations.

Blood Bowl 2 comes out in the spring of 2015. Find out more at bloodbowl-game.com.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.