Stop the presses, they are finally making a Game of Thrones video game. Who’s they, you ask? Why, Warner Bros. Montreal of course! And while the slightly messy take on the Batman mythos in Gotham Knights might not fill you with confidence, I hope Warner Bros. as a whole has turned a corner now.
Like many gaming companies who love money first and gaming second, Warner Bros. went all in on live-service a few years back. And, like most companies who went all in on live-service a few years back, it has dripping wet hair and major rug burn from being repeatedly swirlied and wedgied. As it hangs from the flagpole, its crush looking up at it and giggling, it seems to have finally contemplated whether there might be a better way.
Warner Bros. Is Finally Learning From Its Mistakes
Just last week, Warner Bros. called time on MultiVersus. The once brief cult hit alienated fans after scurrying off with their money for a year, only to come back greedier, while Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was finally put out of its misery the month before after a year of slowly dying. Gotham Knights itself was not a true live-service, but bore the telltale signs of percentile upgrades that made fans wary, while the money grubbery of Mortal Kombat 1 has also proven unpopular with players.
However, despite none of these being new developments in the last 12 months (MV and SSKTJL were heading for this inevitable demise even if they hadn’t reached it), Warner Bros. was bullish last year about continuing with live-service endeavours. In the minds of executives, they only needed one to be a Fortnite-sized hit to pay for all the failures.
But in the months since, the tides have changed, and Harry Potter may be the cause. In the legendary year of 2023, Hogwarts Legacy was the biggest seller, despite major controversies around the opinions of its creator. Yet the immediate Harry Potter follow up, Quidditch Champions, was yet another live-service flop. Even Gryffindor undies can’t save you from a wedgie.
By Warner Bros. own estimation, its four key franchises are Batman, Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, and Game of Thrones. It’s a little harsh to call MK1 a ‘failure’, but the first three all have live-service blots in their copybook. These franchises have not been given the A-list treatment WB believes they deserve. With mobile MMO Kingsroad, Game of Thrones could soon be joining them.
Game Of Thrones Deserves A Better Game
Part of me hopes Kingsroad is good, because I have wanted a Game of Thrones video game for a long time. Telltale’s middling effort did not scratch the itch, but in truth, I doubt Kingsroad will either. That’s why part of me also hopes it’s meh at best – I don’t necessarily think no live-service game should exist, but seeing so many made so recklessly makes me yearn for a time when we are passed this trend. Sony finally seems to have gotten there. EA still hasn’t got the memo.
The 2012 Game of Thrones game is barely worth mentioning.
So this brings me to WB Montreal’s Game of Thrones game. I’ve already written many times about why I believe A Song of Ice and Fire remains perfect for video games, and with GoT’s legacy enduring despite its ending, and the popularity of the (admittedly not as good) House of the Dragon, this has not changed. I could list here the various ways a Game of Thrones game could work: Robb’s rebellion and its inevitable conclusion, Lady Stoneheart, a Baeric Dondarrian-esque figure, anything in Dorne, something pre-Robert Baratheon, something (shivers) post-Bran the Broken… the list is endless.
But, crucially, the game should not be endless. It should have a beginning, middle, and end, all available at launch in a single, contained experience. Though the show’s ending disproves this to an extent, I think it’s difficult to get Game of Thrones all that wrong. Don’t stuff it with cameos and try to pretend you’re part of the main story while being a separate entity, as Telltale did, and that’s about it.
Between the deep lore, the grimdark storytelling, the political intrigue, the violence, and the colourful cast of characters, Game of Thrones is the perfect foundation for a Witcher-style RPG. There are many ways this could go well, but one unavoidable way it could all go wrong. Please, let Warner Bros. Montreal make a real Game of Thrones game, with no live-service rubbish in sight.
