• Interview
• Video

Blaseball devs talk about how it became a phenomenon & what comes next

The Game Band's Sam Rosenthal and Joel Clark spoke to us about how Blaseball took off, what the team learned, and how it applies to its next project.

TJ Denzer

November 10, 2022 3:55 PM

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Blaseball is a fantasy baseball horror game, but that’s a bit reductive as to exactly what kind of power the game had. Blaseball was more like a social experience in which players around the world took part in choosing their favorite teams and players and investing coins into events and votes that could drastically change the outcome of a season. Developers The Game Band have since announced that Blaseball is returning and we got to speak with them about what lessons were learned from the game’s success and how they applying those lessons to what comes next.

For Game Band founder Sam Rosenthal and lead designer Joel Clark, it was mind-blowing to see how much fans took to Blaseball. While they hoped people would like the game, they never expected it to explode and take off the way it did. They were particularly amazed and amused by what kind of things the community made from the game, such as fan art, other projects, and even a musical. It was truly wild to see how the game took on an extension of itself thanks to the community.

In Season 24 of Blaseball, the game came to an end and became unplayable thanks to a weather effect known as “Black Hole.” Now, after that event and in time for Fall Ball, Blaseball is coming back and the team wants to grow the game further. Blaseball will always be a browser game, but The Game Band is also building an app for iPhone and Android that players will be able to take with them on the go. The next version of the game will also include some in-app purchases for the first time. These will be cosmetic only and have no effect on the playout of the game, and The Game Band is looking forward to sharing new information soon.

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TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.