The History of DreadBall: All-Stars

DreadBall is back, reimagined by Jervis Johnson, the creator of Blood Bowl. Coach a team of all-star players in explosive matches, packed with tactics, chaos, and glory. Get notified for the launch on Kickstarter, March 17th.

The Beginning

The true history of DreadBall is a hotly debated subject, and one that is unlikely to ever be known unequivocally. This may seem a little strange given its universal popularity and acclaim – how can such a public and popular sport be a mystery? The answer, of course, is money. Corporations fall over each other to sponsor new teams and ever more splendid new arenas, knowing that their investments will return many times over. Teams pay huge sums for new players, hiring exotic aliens and even former enemies to liven the spectacle and amuse the fans.

From its humble beginnings in grimy hangars to the vid screens of every home in the central planets, it has been a whirlwind ride. It all began in the mind of now-retired Senior Flank Commander Jesus Ortiz. In his own words, “it was something to keep the troopers happy, fighting fit and hungry for blood. I had no idea it would grow to be so popular”. But grow it has.

There was just one problem: the off-season.

In between tournaments, leagues, and championships, teams would need to rest and recuperate or add new players to their roster, which meant that fans were no longer being fed DreadBall content round the clock. More worryingly for the DreadBall Governing Body (DGB), it meant they were missing an opportunity for potential profits. Not only for them but for the corporations involved with DreadBall.

DreadBall: All-Stars is Born

After hours locked in a boardroom at DGB’s glitzy HQ, the marketing team finally came up with a solution. At the end of the season, the greatest players - or even popular celebrities if it would help with ratings - would be invited to take part in a special league featuring the best of the best! Corporations would sponsor each small team of MVPs, and they would fight to be crowned the greatest DreadBall players of the season.

Even better, the DGB created a giant stadium-sized spaceship that could travel between planets and ensure that fans across the galaxy could see their favourite players up close and personal… for a price, of course. Planetary systems had to bid to have the stadium appear in their sector, and most tickets cost more than the average worker would earn in a lifetime. Typically, mega corporations would snap up VIP tickets and hospitality packages to entertain potential clients.

Thus, DreadBall All-Stars was born! Initially, it started with exhibition matches at the end of a normal DreadBall season, but they proved so wildly popular (and lucrative) that the DGB quickly introduced an increasing number of All-Star match-ups. The All-Stars Challenge matches began taking place throughout a standard season, with the stadium travelling between planets, while the All-Stars Championships became the thrilling highlight of the off-season.

Of course, there is much more to this story than this one story can share, like the All-Star teams, arenas and rumours of cloning in the sport, but we'll leave that for another day. Until then, welcome to the greatest sport in the galaxy!

DreadBall is back, reimagined by Jervis Johnson, the creator of Blood Bowl. Coach a team of all-star players in explosive matches, packed with tactics, chaos, and glory. Get notified for the launch on Kickstarter, March 17th.

Want to learn more about the history of DreadBall? Check out this amazing deep dive video from community member Arvandus!