World Championship VIII

World Championship VIII
Network	TBD
Presented by	Chris Rose Kenny Florian
Champion	TBD
Runner-up	TBD
Premiere Date	TBD
Episodes	TBD
Defending Champion	SawBlaze
Filming Dates	Early 2025
Location	Las Vegas, NV
Preceded by	BattleBots: Champions II
Succeeded by	TBD

World Championship VIII (also known as Season 8 and the 2025 Season) will be the upcoming eighth season of BattleBots since its return to television in 2015. If renewed by the network, it would be the sixth season since Discovery picked the show up from ABC.

In January 2023, BattleBots initially confirmed on their official website that they planned to film World Championship VIII in the summer of 2023 after the first wave of BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon live shows. However, filming has since been delayed as the season has not yet been green-lit by Discovery as of October 10, 2024.

The Fight Night format and Top 32 Giant Nut bracket are both expected to return for World Championship VIII. Tickets are not yet available for the competition, and it is not yet known when applications will be formally accepted. It was confirmed that the previous season's Giant Nut winner SawBlaze will receive a banner in addition to other former champions.

Co-hosts Chris Rose, Kenny Florian, ring announcer Faruq Tauheed, judges Derek Young, Lisa Winter and Fon Davis, referees John Remar, David Sanfilippo and Kathryn Godfrey, and Match Steward Mike Jeffries are all expected to return for World Championship VIII. Adam Wrigley is also expected to participate World Championship VIII not only as a competitor, but also as C.R.A.B. (Combat Robotics Association of BattleBots) president.

It is currently unknown whether a third season of BattleBots: Champions will be filmed concurrently with World Championship VIII.

The logo for World Championship VIII.

Delays to Filming

In Episode 52 of the Outside of the Box podcast, co-creator and producer Greg Munson originally stated that attention would begin gearing towards filming for World Championship VIII around May 2023. Trey Roski stated in a Skorpios Builder Blog episode that plans were to film in October. However, filming will take place later than the previous season due to the need for Koval Lane, the street on which Caesars Palace is located, to be reworked ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix race on November 16-18, 2023. At the Open Sauce event in July 2023, BattleBots co-founder Greg Munson stated that World Championship VIII would begin filming in early 2024. The BattleBots website was then updated to reflect this. Trey Roski set an estimated date of April 2024 for World Championship VIII filming in a November 2023 Skorpios Builder Blog episode, though this did not come to fruition either as the season has not yet been green-lit by Discovery. With Formula 1 returning to Las Vegas in November 2024, the filming, editing, advertising and broadcasting of the season would not take place in 2024.

An update confirming discussions with Discovery to green light World Championship VIII was issued via email on December 27, 2023. Although it did not confirm filming dates, the statement explained several of the pushbacks and stated intention to update with further news in 2024.

"Needless to say, the BattleBots TV show was stymied in 2023 by an unprecedented number of factors: The WGA and SAG strikes, the Discovery/Warner merger, and F1 taking over Las Vegas. The good news is most of these obstacles are no longer, and we are now into network discussions for World Championship VIII! Once we have actionable news/dates we'll let everyone know."

— A statement from BattleBots concerning World Championship VIII

Trey Roski later spoke on a March 2024 episode of the Outside of the Box podcast and said plans for the upcoming season were "looking really good" and he was "very, very happy with where things are going", but believed ongoing discussions regarding WGA and SAG strike action was the reason for many Discovery-owned shows - not just BattleBots - to be delayed in being green-lit for another season.

An August 2024 YouTube video by Destruct-A-Thon crew member Kaz Church confirmed that producers were "trying to find a different TV network", thus contributing to further delays. Later in the month, BattleBots confirmed their intention to film World Championship VIII in "early 2025", but did not confirm dates or whether it would be aired on Discovery or another TV network. As such, this is not considered official confirmation that the season has officially been green-lit. Greg Munson mentioned the possibility of future seasons being split between several networks if they do not reach a new deal with Discovery, akin to how other sports are distributed.

Proving Ground Qualifiers

It was confirmed that some of the spots in World Championship VIII will be reserved for Proving Ground competitors based on a ranking system. It is currently unknown how many spots will be reserved, although Slammo! captain Craig Danby believed this to be six. It is also not known if this includes returning robots or is exclusive to brand new robots.

The Fall 2024 competition BattleBots FaceOffs has been billed as a "pre-qualifier" for World Championship VIII. However, there is no automatic qualification at stake in this tournament, as confirmed by Greg Munson. It is instead being treated as an opportunity for returning teams to showcase improvements since the previous season, and for new robots to demonstrate their functionality.

Rule Changes

Code of Conduct

Though not yet confirmed, Greg Munson revealed in a March 2023 RoboCast episode that the idea of penalties to punish teams thought to be showcasing poor sportsmanship has been considered. He also stated that an official Code of Conduct was being written as a collaboration between Match Steward Mike Jeffries and C.R.A.B. (Combat Robotics Association of BattleBots) president Adam Wrigley. It will serve as a 'pledge' for competing teams to abide by ahead of the World Championship season.

BattleBots crew welding the floor.

Changes to the BattleBox

In September 2023, Munson stated changes to the BattleBox would solely concern safety and maintenance ahead of the season, and the arena would receive no new or removed hazards. This includes the Upper Deck, which has had mixed receptions since its introduction in 2021.

The BattleBox floor has been welded across its seams in an attempt to remove as many catch points as possible. This change began in mid-November 2023, as seen in Facebook post by BattleBots and was in effect for the December 2023 BattleBots Proving Ground fights between Magnitude and HyperShock.

In addition to this, a Skorpios Builder Blog episode revealed plans to potentially introduce a brand new hazard. This idea was originally teased during the June 21, 2023 edition of the Rick Rubin podcast with Greg Munson and Trey Roski, which consisted of teams adding weaponry to the existing pulverizer hammers, and was reiterated in greater detail in a November 2023 Skorpios Builder Blog episode.

Meltybrain Designs

BattleBots producers have liaised with Team LiftOff, who entered Daedalus and Icarus into World Championship VII, over stipulations for allowing meltybrain designs into a regular season. According to Greg Munson, the team plan to bring a heavyweight meltybrain multibot into BattleBots Proving Ground called Red and Blue. Rookie applicant Atomic Chile also promises meltybrain functionality, though this would not be their primary means of traversing the arena.

Applicants

Please note that the following lists are subject to change as new information is revealed. All edits to the lists below must be sourced in the appropriate column:

Accepted Applicants

Robots and teams who have been informally 'accepted' for World Championship VIII.

Robot	Team	Image	Source	Notes
Manta	Team Tanto Robotics		Behind the Bots podcast	RoboGames 2023 and 2024 champion. 2-0 record at Proving Ground in June 2023.
Orbitron	Team Orbitron		Outside of the Box podcast	Uses AI software to attack autonomously. 2-2 record at Proving Ground.

Confirmed Applicants

Robots and teams which have confirmed their submissions and applications to World Championship VIII, and are awaiting acceptance or rejection.

Robot	Team	Image	Source	Notes
Atomic Chile	Team Atomic Chile		Team website	Brand new team with a full body drum/full body spinner hybrid design.
Copperhead	Caustic Creations		Reddit	Reigning BattleBots semi-finalist. Newest entry will be a full rebuild.
Disarray	Wildcat Robotics		EI Inde article Application video	3-5 record at Proving Ground.
Maharana	Team XENON		Instagram	Team from India.
Max Q	North Street Labs		Application Video	New entry from the Hot Pizza team.
Monsoon	Team Monsoon		Reddit	Made Top 16 last season.
Ogrekill	Team All-Star		Facebook	Multibot designed and built by a UK super team. Single heavyweight version fought at Extreme Robots in July 2024.
Petunia	Team P.C.P.		Reddit	Last competed at BattleBots in 2019.
Roundhouse	RoboGym Robotics		Facebook	From the Deadlift team. 2-0 record at Proving Ground in August 2023.
Samurai	Bowltech Robotics		Reddit	Brazilian undercutter.
SHREDDIT BRO!	Team Shreddit		Evan Arias on Reddit	Reached the Golden Bolt tournament in BattleBots: Champions II.
Skorpios	Bot Bash Party Crew		Skorpios Builder Blog	Made Top 32 last season. Former Bounty Hunter. WCVIII version will be a brand new build.
Spartacus	Sinclair Robotics		Reddit	Previously competed in Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors.
Sucker Punch	Heidenhain Robotics		Reddit	Second application as King Crunch was rejected. Was registered for RoboGames 2024 but withdrew.
Switchback	Team Midnight Invention		Greg Needel on Discord	Made Top 32 for the first time last season. 1-1 record against Swamp Thing and Hellfire at Proving Ground.
Subatomic	Bots 'n' Stuff Robotics		Application Video	From the Bloodsport and Retrograde team. Withdrawn to focus on Fireball and Bloodsport.
Terrortops	Team Terrortops		Ben Burton on Discord	RoboGames 2023 semi-finalist. 2-0 in last season's alternate fights.
The Twins	Seems Reasonable Robotics		Outside of the Box Ep.78	Multibot entry from former Giant Nut winners. 0-1 record at Proving Ground. Design not finalised.

Rumored Applicants

Robots and teams whose intention to compete in World Championship VIII has been either stated or heavily inferred in the way of design developments or comments from team members.

Robot	Team	Image	Source	Notes
Apex	Team Danby		Discord	0-3 record at Proving Ground.
Banshee	Team Small Robots		Reddit AMA	5-1 record at Proving Ground.
Big Dill	Team Food Fight		Reddit AMA	Narrowly missed out on Top 32 last season despite a 1-3 record.
Black Dragon	Team Uai!rrior		Instagram and YouTube	Made Top 16 last season. Former Desperado Tournament champion.
Blacksmith	Team Half Fast Astronaut		Facebook	Slugfest finalist in BattleBots: Champions I.
Bloodsport	Bots 'n' Stuff Robotics		Facebook Post	Made Top 32 last season. 1-1 record at Proving Ground.
Captain Shrederator	Team LOGICOM		Nick Nave on Reddit	First complete redesign in 20 years.
Claw Viper	Team Bad Ideas		Reddit AMA	Made Top 32 for the first time last season. 1-1 record at Proving Ground in April 2024.
Cobalt	Robotic Death Company		Reddit AMA	Made Top 32 last season.
DeathRoll	Team DeathRoll		Reddit AMA	Made Top 32 last season.
Defender	Team Fast Electric Robots		Reddit AMA	Competed in RoboGames 2023 under the name King Crab.
Emulsifier	Bots FC		Reddit AMA	Second entry from the team behind Shatter!. 30lb version became NHRL World Championship in November 2023.
Fireball	Bots 'n' Stuff Robotics		NHRL Discord server	Features dual flamethrowers. 1-1 record at Proving Ground.
Fusion	Team Whyachi		YouTube Livestream	Made Top 32 last season. 2024 version features an eggbeater drum spinner.
Gigabyte	Robotic Death Company		Reddit AMA	2-0 record at Proving Ground.
Glitch	Combat Robotics at Berkeley		Reddit AMA	2021 co-Rookie of the Year.
Gruff	Team Gruff		Reddit AMA	Seeking to improve reliability ahead of a potential fifth season. Applied for RoboGames 2024 but withdrew.
HiJinx	Offbeat Robotics		Facebook	Rebuilt ahead of BattleBots FaceOffs.
Horizon	Team Horizon		Dylan McKenzie on Discord	1-1 record at Proving Ground.
HUGE	Team HUGE		Reddit AMA	Reigning BattleBots runner-up.
Hydra	Team Whyachi		YouTube Livestream	Reigning BattleBots quarter-finalist.
JackPot	Vegas Combat Robotics		Reddit AMA	Made Top 32 last season. 3-2 record at Proving Ground in July, September and October 2023. Sin City Slugfest IV winner.
Kraken	CE Robots		Reddit AMA	Potential second season for Matt Spurk's redesigned Kraken.
Lucky	TKO Robotics		Reddit AMA and Facebook	Made Top 32 last season. Competed in RoboGames 2023 and 2024 under the name Ziggy Jr.. 0-2 record at Proving Ground in April 2024.
MadCatter	Team Bad Kitty		Discord	Redesign from the ground up.
Magnitude	Team Wazio		Discord	2-2 record at Proving Ground.
Malice	Team Malice		Instagram	Made Top 16 for the first time last season.
Minotaur	Team RioBotz		Reddit AMA	Reigning BattleBots quarter-finalist. 2018 season BattleBots runner-up. 3-1 record at Proving Ground in April 2024.
Ominous	Team Ominous		Reddit AMA	Only Dutch competitor last season.
Orion	Team MAD		Facebook and Reddit	Former Robot Wars and King of Bots champions.
Railgun MAX	Team Atom		Instagram	China's most successful BattleBots competitor.
Ribbot	Team Ribbot		Facebook	World Championship VII semi-finalist. To be captained by Nick Sorensen with David Jin leaving the team.
RIPperoni	Omega Team		Reddit AMA	Only rookie robot to make it to the Top 32 last season. Sin City Slugfest V winner.
ROTATOR	Team Revolution		Facebook	Former Most Destructive Award winner and Bounty Hunter.
SawBlaze	Team SawBlaze		Reddit AMA	Reigning BattleBots champion and Golden Bolt runner-up.
Shatter!	Bots FC		Reddit AMA	Made Top 32 last season.
Slammo!	Team Danby		Instagram	5-2 record at Proving Ground.
Starchild	Omega Team		Reddit AMA	Second entry by the team behind RIPperoni.
Tombstone	Hardcore Robotics		Reddit	2016 season BattleBots champion.
Traves T.	Team 2x4		Kurt Krueger at BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon	3-2 record at Proving Ground.
Triton	Team Overboard		Reddit AMA	0-2 record at Proving Ground in June 2023.
Valkyrie	Team VALKYRIE		Instagram	Potential return for former captain Leanne Cushing.
Witch Doctor	Team Witch Doctor		Reddit AMA	Reigning BattleBots quarter-finalist. 2019 and 2021 season BattleBots runner-up.
Whiplash	Team Fast Electric Robots		Reddit AMA and Instagram	Made Top 16 last season. 2020 season BattleBots runner-up. Sin City Slugfest II winner.

Rejected Applicants

Robots and teams whose intention to compete in World Championship VIII has been explicitly rejected.

Robot	Team	Image	Source	Notes
King Crunch	Heidenhain Robotics		Reddit	Team captain's father competed with Strange Brew in Seasons 4.0 and 5.0 of the Comedy Central show.

See Also

• World Championship VIII FAQ on Reddit

Trivia

• An eighth reboot season of BattleBots would mark the longest stint of a robot combat show in the sport's history, eclipsing the original five televised Comedy Central BattleBots seasons, as well as the seven main series of the original UK Robot Wars before their respective cancelations.
  • Although there was no 2017 BattleBots season, the production team remained the same between 2016 and 2018, with Discovery simply adopting the show from ABC in the same year it was dropped.
  • If picked up again by Discovery rather than another network, World Championship VIII would be the sixth BattleBots season in a row to air on the same network, surpassing the number of seasons aired during the original Comedy Central run.
• World Championship VIII will become the second reboot BattleBots season to not be filmed the very next year after the previous season. The first time was World Championship III when it was filmed in 2018 instead of 2017 after the 2016 season.