Bloodgrounds, the roguelite gladiator simulation from Zagreb-based developer Exordium Games and publisher Daedalic Entertainment, leaves Early Access and launches in version 1.0 on Steam on March 12. Built around tactical grid combat, squad management, and permanent death, the game puts players in control of a stable of gladiators fighting through blood-soaked arenas where every loss is final. Version 1.0 follows major updates like Masters of the Arena and Trials of the Gladiator, adding new enemies and bosses, item crafting, additional systems, and extensive balancing improvements.
Combat plays out in turn-based battles on a grid, with units acting in initiative order. Players assemble teams from physical, ranged, and magical classes before each fight, then spend action points moving gladiators, attacking, positioning, unleashing weapon or class abilities, using consumables like potions and magical scrolls, or laying traps to catch opponents off guard. Powerful Deity abilities can swing a fight from above, while shady deals with a local crime lord let players sabotage enemies before the battle even starts. The crowd matters too. Fulfilling the audience's bloodthirsty wishes earns rewards after each battle, turning spectacle into currency. Permadeath runs through all of it. When a gladiator falls, they and their equipment are gone permanently, meaning every tactical decision carries weight that compounds over time. Surviving gladiators earn loot and experience, feeding a progression loop where the fighters you keep alive grow meaningfully stronger while the ones you lose leave gaps that reshape your entire approach.
Recruitment itself becomes a choice with consequences. New gladiators can be bought with gold, challenged to a duel, or shown mercy in the arena. Once recruited, fighters level up, gain new abilities, and need their traumas and negative statuses addressed before they're battle-ready. Equipping them with weapons, armor, and consumables rounds out the preparation, but the real management challenge is balancing a roster where any member could die in the next fight. Class combinations matter, and building a squad that can absorb losses without collapsing requires thinking several fights ahead.
The game frames all of this through a revenge story. You play as a once-enslaved gladiator who clawed their way to wealth and now operates as a patron and trainer, plotting against the tyrannical Emperor who murdered your father and stole your freedom. Each tournament victory pushes you closer to the grand Capitol where the Emperor waits on his throne, lost in madness. The path there runs through treacherous politics, deception, and the ranked tournament structure that gates your progress region by region.
Between fights, the city of Marevento serves as your base. You've inherited an estate overlooking this desolate coastal city, and its future depends on how you spend your gold. Buildings can be constructed and upgraded to unlock new tools and services: an infirmary for recovering gladiators, a market for trading items, even a monument to honor the fallen. Defeating each region's Arena Champion advances the age, opening access to more powerful buildings and items. The city grows alongside your ambitions, its development tied directly to how far you've pushed through the arenas. Marevento's dark fantasy setting, rendered in gritty pixel-art, gives the whole experience a tone that leans into its own harshness. During Early Access, the developers at Exordium Games found that the game worked best when it didn't soften its edges, and that philosophy carries through to how bonds form with fighters whose deaths are permanent and whose victories feel earned.
Bloodgrounds is available on Steam, with a Supporter Pack offering the original soundtrack, a digital artbook, and cosmetic options including armor and weapon skins, estate banners, and gladiator appearance choices.