Game of Thrones: War for Westeros—the upcoming RTS from PlaySide emerging from the blasted wreckage of HBO’s once-water-cooler-dominating fantasy TV series—would like you to know it still exists and is still coming out. Just, you know, a little later than it originally had planned.
War for Westeros originally broke cover at last year’s Summer Game Fest, promising big RTS battles, tricksy alliance-forging between the many houses of Westeros, and “deeply asymmetric strategies, with signature heroes, armies, and mechanics forged from the brutal legacy of Westeros.” It was very much a game based on the TV show, and not the more well-regarded but less recognisable book series—you could tell because Charles Dance did the narration and there were some uncanny CGI renditions of Kit Harington and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
But it’s been quiet since then. That is, until an update last week informed fans that “development has been progressing well” in that time, and provided a little more insight into what the game might actually feel like to play. You can check out the full post here, but to my eye it all looks like a perfectly cromulent RTS. You’ve got swarms of men in armour and hero units to rally ’em, plus some pretty and sweeping (though not yet distinctively ‘Thrones-y’) maps for them to fight on.
The most interesting part of the update pertains to combat itself. “We are placing a massive emphasis on responsiveness, unit behavior, and physical impact in War for Westeros,” says PlaySide, accompanying which statement is a gif of some—I think Lannister—calvarymen absolutely knocking some archers aside like skittles.
It has a pleasing physicality to it, and PlaySide says it demonstrates that “Tactical counter-play can be crucial to winning an engagement. For example, if you see enemy cavalry charging your lines, amassing basic infantry will not save you. You will instead need to check your opponent’s composition and deploy a unit with the specific anti-cavalry role.”
It’s all a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down—by which I mean the news that the game is no longer due out this year. “We wanted to close with an update to our planned release window. War for Westeros will now launch in early 2027,” say the devs. “We remain unwavering in our mission to deliver a real-time strategy game set in the world of Westeros that meets the expectations of both RTS players and Game of Thrones fans. This decision gives us the time needed to continue building towards that goal and ensure that the game reaches the high level of quality we are aiming for.”
Getting people excited for Game of Thrones again is an uphill battle. Yes, yes, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was great and House of the Dragon is good, but do we still live in a world where people can get enthusiastic about the Night King again? I wonder, and I think the more time PlaySide has to get its take on the series right, the better.
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