Netmarble presented its new cross-platform role-playing game Game of Thrones: Kingsroad at G-Star 2024. Visitors were able to view a demo, and representatives of the gaming media attended the developers’ press conference. We tried to accumulate information from different game portals into one article.
Let’s start with the fact that Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is based on the events of the series, and not a series of books. The game is being developed by the studio Netmarble Neo, whose background includes the MMORPG Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds and the action game Solo Leveling: ARISE. Many technical innovations were taken from the latest project, and a list of content was created that arouses interest among users.
The first user testing will take place before the end of 2024, and at the beginning of 2025 there will be tests in different regions of the world. The release is planned for the first half of 2025, and the exact timing will become known after tests. Currently, the project is more than 70% complete.
The project is aimed at Western players, so it will first be released in North America and Europe. This is due to the fact that the Game of Thrones series is popular among Western audiences. First of all, the English version of localization is prepared, and after its approval with partners, translation into other languages is carried out. In North America, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad will be rated 17 years and up due to bloody combat, violent moments and sexual content.
The game will be released in Asia a little later, when the Western version is in a stable state and there is more content in the game. It is believed that users from the Asian region are more active in acquiring gaming content. Therefore, it is necessary to add more starter content to the game for this region.
The project is positioned as an action RPG, so all versions of the game will have completely manual character control. There will be no auto combat on PC or mobile platforms. The developers put a lot of effort into character control, target selection, and camera behavior.
HBO, the company responsible for creating the Game of Thrones series, is actively monitoring the development progress. There have been instances where some graphical elements or game mechanics have been removed or reworked to remain within the series’ setting. You will also find references and content related to the House of the Dragon series.
The plot of the game will not contradict the plot of the series in any way. The events of the game start during the second half of the fourth season. Players will meet several key and minor characters, and all communication and interaction with them will fit into known events.
We will play as a character who has not previously appeared in history and who will have his own path in Westeros. He is the bastard of one of the lords, and after the events of the Red Wedding, he became the only legal claimant to his father’s inheritance. However, this will not be easy, because the neighboring lords are not averse to taking over our land and do not have any respect for the main character. In addition, a wide variety of events take place in the world of the game: from internecine wars to the invasion of the White Walkers.
The main events will unfold in the open world, where players will be able to explore almost the entire continent of Westeros: King’s Landing, Castle Black, Highgarden, the icy Wall in the north and many other regions.
Meeting with other players will be possible in four types of content:
- Special areas where communication between players is possible.
- Altar of Memories will feature group dungeons for up to four characters to travel back in time and battle a variety of enemies.
- Dragon battles are designed for a group of 12 players. The peculiarity is that dragons cannot be killed, but can only be driven away for a certain time.
- “Expedition Beyond the Wall” will offer a roguelike mode.
All classes have their own basic skills, and over time the character will learn new ones. The developers are confident that if you give players everything at once, they will lose interest in exploring the world and developing their character. Therefore, access to the character’s capabilities will open gradually as you master the game. As for the unique mechanics, it will be possible to sneak up on some enemies from behind and kill them with one blow.
The demo featured three character classes: Knight, Mercenary and Assassin. Each of them reflects a social group and differs in gameplay. For example, “The Assassin” is based on a secret society of assassins called “The Faceless Ones” and is armed with two daggers. New character classes will appear in the game before release.
The project is created on Unreal Engine 5 and produces a good image for cross-platform play. According to the developers, the game will have well-developed models of characters and monsters, as well as a high-quality environment.
