Game Of Thrones Fans Unite Around New Open World RPG

Game of Thrones fans have been largely disappointed by the various video game adaptations of George RR Martin’s beloved universe, with several attempts at RPGs over the years that have more or less fallen flat. While there’s much debate over the reason games like Kingsroad didn’t land, fans of the original books almost unanimously agree on one key issue.

According to fans on Reddit in a discussion about a new Game of Thrones open-world RPG, they’d much rather see a video game adaptation of the original A Song of Ice and Fire novels as opposed to games based on the HBO television series.

GoT Fans Agree On New Open-World RPG

While it’s up for debate whether the Game of Thrones television show attempted to follow the events in the books to its creators’ best abilities, the ASOIF books have far more depth in terms of world-building, characters, etc., and fans don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface in terms of possible open-world RPG adaptations.

Lawdeeep describes where GoT games are getting it wrong: “The political depth, the morally grey characters, the lesser-known houses, the complex dynamics in places like Dorne, the Reach, or the Free Cities. There is so much material [in the books] that barely gets touched because everything keeps defaulting to the show version.”

Other players have far simpler hopes, with Reyne-TheAbyss saying they just “want to ride a dragon and burn armies,” while Yarus43 wants to “be a knight traveling around Westeros or Essos signing up for lords and ladies.” No matter the scale or setting of the game, it’s clear that there is demand for a faithful RPG adaptation of Martin’s work.

Will It Ever Happen?

It’s hard to say whether an open-world RPG that allows players to explore the entirety of Martin’s seven kingdoms and beyond is even possible. For starters, whatever studio took on the project would have a massive undertaking on their hands, and it’s unclear whether Martin would even be open to licensing the ASOIF texts outside whatever current deal exists with HBO/WB.

The reason we have only seen video games tied to the Game of Thrones television show as opposed to completely new adaptations based on ASOIF is largely because WB Games can only license GoT-based content. Anything delving into new material from the books would require a separate license approved by Martin, and as such, it’s unlikely a large-scale open-world RPG will ever happen unless he signs off.

That said, fans will likely hold on to hope for a Witcher 3 or Kingdom Come: Deliverance-level RPG based on the A Song of Ice and Fire IP, and one that isn’t beholden to the Game of Thrones television series.