Game of Thrones’ author writing video game that could make fans even angrier than the TV show
GEORGE RR MARTIN is working on a video game, and rumours suggest it could be revealed as soon as next month.
In a long blog post reacting to Game of Thrones coming to an end on TV, he confirmed he was currently working on a video game "out of Japan".
According to Japanese gaming industry watchers at , the game is going to be officially revealed at E3 in Los Angeles next month and is codenamed GR.
Described as a "collaboration between Hidetaka Miyazaki [the director of the original Dark Souls game] and George RR Martin" it is apparently an open-world 'Souls-like' game that will feature horse riding.
It's being developed by From Software, known for the brutally difficult Dark Souls games and most recently Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
While those games share medieval-style settings, visceral combat and a lot of death with Game of Thrones, there is no suggestion that the game is going to be set in Westeros or in any way related to the books or TV show.
While they are popular, the difficulty of those games means that even the most ardent fans tend to end up deeply frustrated by them and uttering expletives at their televisions.
that the player will travel around various kingdoms and collect new abilities by slaying their rulers.
The initial rumours suggested that Martin was a lead writer on the game, which has been in development for three years, with a focus on helping build the world the game is set in.
Martin confirmed post that, among other projects he is working on to avoid having to finish writing The Winds of Winter of A Dream of Spring, he had "consulted on a video game out of Japan."
WHAT DOES SOULS-LIKE MEAN?
MARTIN'S new game is reportedly a 'souls-like' - but what exactly does that mean?
2009 PS3 game Dark Souls spawned a whole new genre of 'Souls-like' games which all share one thing in common – they are really, really difficult.
To make progress in the games players generally expect to have to attempt the same sections and fight the same enemies many, many times before being able to get onto the next bit.
This is because the combat is unforgiving, and relies on precise timing and being able to work out or remember exactly what your enemy is going to do next so you can stay one step ahead and keep yourself alive.
This process can be incredibly frustrating for even the most hardcore gamers – but fans say the the feeling of accomplishment you get when you eventually beat it is worth it.
Gematsu's From Software source said the game was going to be published by Bandai Namco, who published all the Dark Souls games.
Since Dark Souls 3, From has released PlayStation-exclusive games Demons' Souls and Bloodborne with Sony and the multiplatform Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice with Activision.
We don't know what platforms this new game is coming to, but if it's being revealed at Microsoft's E3 presentation, we'd expect to see it on Xbox and PC at the very least.
Namco Bandai's games have tended to be cross-platform recently, save for a handful of PS4 exclusives, so we'd hope to see it on PlayStation too.
MOST READ IN GAMING
The big question is whether it is planned for next-generation hardware or not – if it is planned for Xbox 2 then Microsoft could well have flashed the cash with a view to making it exclusive to their platform to help tempt PlayStation 4 owners over to Xbox next time around.
Either way, it could end up going head-to-head with Sucker Punch's PlayStation exclusive Ghost of Tsushima, another open-world action game featuring bloody hand-to-hand combat on either PS4 or PS5.
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