‘BattleBots’ Gets 20-Episode Order; New Season Will Premiere on YouTube Before Hitting Broadcast (Exclusive)

BattleBots is coming back.

The robot-fighting series has been given a 20-episode order, which filming scheduled to begin in April in Las Vegas for a June premiere.

This time around, the series will premiere first on YouTube with new episodes debuting on a weekly basis through November, before being distributed to broadcasters internationally in 2027.

The folks behind BattleBots say this will give fans around the world the chance to watch new episodes at the same time.

“Our fans have been begging us to release new content globally, and now, thanks to YouTube and our great new sponsor Bright Data, we’re able to achieve this,” BattleBots co-founder Edward Roski said. “We already have almost 3 million YouTube subscriber, and over 10 million views in the past month. We can’t wait to launch the Pro League season, powered by Bright Data, which will transform the BattleBots brand across the world.”

The news follows the announcement earlier this month of a sponsorship deal with Bright Data, a public web data infrastructure company for artificial intelligence and business intelligence.

The weekly episode premieres will include Bright Data watch parties hosted around the world in tech hubs. Each episode will be accompanied by Bright Data-powered statistics, polling fans and stacking up the competition. 

“We are excited to be part of this transformational year in which fighting bots make a comeback on the screen,” Bright Data CEO Or Lenchner said. “As fans ourselves, we are working to up the experience with watch parties at our global locations and competition dashboards.”

The BattleBots Pro League powered by Bright Data season will feature an exclusive Pro League of 24 of the “biggest, baddest, strongest and fastest next-generation robots” from around the world.  

The competitors in the upcoming BattleBots Pro League powered by Bright Data season include names familiar to fans, including former World Champions Tombstone and New Zealand’s End Game, as well as newcomers, including the world’s first AI-controlled robot, Orbitron, from Canada. Also selected for the league are other fan favorites including Witch Doctor and Hypershock from Florida and Brazilian champion Minotaur as well as bots from Australia, India and the United Kingdom. 

BattleBots regulars Chris Rose, Kenny Florian and Faruq Tauheed will host, but producers say the championship format differs dramatically from previous BattleBots seasons. “The 24 elite robots will battle each other and the hazards of the huge bulletproof BattleBox in a series of ferocious no-holds-barred Group Stage matches, where each win or loss counts to propel the team up or down the league. The ultimate winner of each group will take part in a knockout winner-takes-all competition. It culminates in a final fight to the death to establish the first BattleBots Pro League World Champion. The winner will take home the new BattleBots Bright Data Pro League Trophy.”

Filming will take place at the 1,000-seat BattleBots Arena, which is located next to the Horseshoe Casino, over three weeks starting April 18. For more information, including a full list of teams how to buy tickets for the event, visit battlebots.com.