Despite a conclusion that many fans found disappointing, Game of Thrones is still very much a pop-culture titan. The series captivated audiences for numerous years, and many of the show's characters still frequently come up in conversations long after they were killed off somewhere in the show's bloody timeline. With multiple new Game of Thrones shows in production at HBO, it seems very likely that the series will stay relevant for many more years to come, which raises the question of what else the property could produce.
The series will obviously get multiple new shows, comics, and, hopefully, some new books eventually. However, the universe of Game of Thrones is also perfect for video games, especially a massive game with the scale of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Of course, the series creator George R. R. Martin recently worked on the upcoming Elden Ring, so it does seem plausible that Martin would want to pursue video games for his own original series more seriously, especially now that the series' popularity could undoubtedly get the game a sizable budget to work with.
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However, Game of Thrones has dipped its toes in the games industry before. There were a couple of browser-based games that were featured on the book series' website, but the series did eventually get more traditional game releases as well. One of the most successful video games the series led to was Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series.
The series by Telltale Games built on the success of its The Walking Dead game and featured a similar episodic narrative structure that revolved around a player's choices. The game revolved around a house in the book series that didn't show up in the television series and even took place during the events of the show. However, the game's second season was put on hold before Telltale Games eventually closed its doors.
Game of Thrones' other most notable game was 2012's Game of Thrones. The game was the closest the series has come to a Skyrim-scale video game, but it lacked the funding to make it as big as it had the potential to be. However, the game did have a lot of elements that made it stand out to series fans, including a focus on diplomacy and player choice. Game of Thrones has also popped up in a multitude of mobile games and mods for games like Mount and Blade 2, but it has never gotten a real chance at being the open-world RPG that it seems perfect for.
One of the parts of Game of Thrones that many fans fell in love with was its incredibly detailed world. The world of Westeros is wonderfully realized with many different cities and regions that all have their own history and cultures. This would make the game a joy for players to explore and experience with more detail than the show or books can provide.
Players being able to walk the market at King's Landing or shiver in the cold halls of Winterfell would be great for fans while also being varied enough to attract gamers who have never watched the show. The game could also help Game of Thrones win back many of the fans its final series scared away, which would be great for the series and fans alike.
Fans of the series also love it for its deep characters, interesting plot lines, high stakes, and how the show subverts tropes of the genre. These aspects would also add a lot to a Skyrim-scale video game and would let players learn the characters in a meaningful way as they play through the game's story. Martin has written multiple other games before Elden Ring, and the games that he has written have been largely praised for their stories and writing.
This means that a new Game of Thrones game would likely benefit from Martin's writing to have stories throughout it that would be morally complicated, nuanced, and that could really stand out from other open-world RPGs across the industry. The series also has a very unique low-fantasy setting that would also help it stand out from games like Skyrim or Avowed that have magic much more commonplace, while the series' legacy of blending fantasy with a political thriller could lead to the game blending strategy game elements into its RPG mechanics as well.
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There are a lot of great shapes that a new open-world Game of Thrones game could plausibly take. Of course, the game would not struggle to find an interesting time period in Westeros' history to be set, especially with how many spin-offs Game of Thrones is getting. However, the game would likely be better to not be set during the time period featured in the book and television series. This would allow players to make their very own characters as well as giving the developers the freedom to allow the player's choices to really impact the game's stories while ensuring players are not too familiar with the game's world or characters before starting the game.
The game could also feature a wide variety of gameplay. With how tense combat is in Game of Thrones it would make sense for the game to feature a more realistic and difficult combat system, similar to something like the realistic combat in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It would also make sense for the player to come across magic here and there, but for it to be exceptionally rare in the game and to be very expensive whenever it is used.
The game could also blend in strategy elements by allowing the player to come to lead one of the series' houses or even the Night's Watch. This would let the game really set itself apart from its competition, while also mixing up the gameplay quite a lot as players try to navigate alliances, political decisions, and resource management. Of course, this could turn some players away, but it would be great to see come to fruition in a way similar to Mount and Blade 2. Hopefully, Game of Thrones fans will get some news on what's next for the series soon.
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