Game of Thrones: Kingsroad makes adjustments ahead of release later this year

Game of Thrones: Kingsroad will take players all over Westeros, including to the Stormlands, which have "a dark and oppressive feel and atmosphere."
[Game of Thrones: Kingsroad] Message from the Devs
[Game of Thrones: Kingsroad] Message from the Devs | Game of Thrones: Kingsroad

Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is a new video game from Netmarble. It looks like the most ambitious Game of Thrones game yet made; players will take the role of the leader of House Tyre from the North, and play out an original story set during the fourth season of the TV show. They'll select from multiple fighting styles, interact with familiar characters, and explore an open world modeled after the Seven Kingdoms. Game director Hyunil Jang and his team are going pretty hard on this one.

Jang gave fans an update in a new video you can watch above. Also on hand was the game's narrative designer, whom the video identifies only as "Richard." I guess he's a mononym, like Cher. Here's some of the updates they gave as they adjust the game after getting feedback from players in early access:

  • Although there's a full story mode to the game, there's also a mode where players can band together to defeat huge monsters like dragons. But apparently monsters like Drogon were spawning too often, to the point where it was hard for players to find each other and fight him. They're pulling back on that, so monster encounters will be fewer and farther between, but more special.
  • They're working on expanding the number of languages you can play the game in. The game will support Portugeuse and Turkish at launch.
  • They're currently working on modeling the Stormlands, which they say are ruled over by Stannis Baratheon. I know I'm being a quibbling nerd here, but I think Stannis had actually lost control of the Stormlands by season 4 and was mostly holed up on Dragonstone, hatching a new plan to travel north and help out the Night's Watch defeat the wildlings, but whatever. The Stormlands will have "a dark and oppressive feel and atmosphere," with people there dealing with the state-mandated shift in religion from the Faith of the Seven to the Lord of Light.

Jang and Richard also talk a bit about the in-game purchases in Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, which are one of the aspects that are making me wary of the game. It looks robust, but it's designed to be played on mobile devices (although it will be available on PC), which suggests there will be lots of microtransactions and things of that nature.

As for a release date, we're only told that it's getting "closer and closer." The plan is to release Game of Thrones: Kingsroad this year, but the details remain elusive.

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