Stop the presses, they are 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:final𒉰ly 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 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Gotham Knights might not fill you with confidence, I hope 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: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-servౠice a few years back. And, like most companies who went all in on live-service a few years bacꦿk, 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, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Warner Bros. called time on 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:MultiVersus. The once brief cult hit alienated fans after scurrying off with their money for a year, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:only to come back greedier, while 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Suꦏicide 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 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mortal Kombat 1 has also 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: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 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Harry Potter may be the cause. In 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the legendary year of 2023, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Hogwarts Legacy was the biggest seller, despite major cont🥂roversiesꦕ around the opinions of its creator. Yet the immediate Harry Potter follow up, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Quidditch Champions, was yet another live-service flop. Even Gryfꦑfindor undies can’t save you fro🦹m a wedgie.
By Warner Bros. own estimation, its fourꦡ key franchises are Batman, Harr༺y 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 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: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. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Telltale’s middling effort 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:did not scratch the itch, but in truth, I doubt 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Kingsroad will either. That’s why part of me also hopes it’s meh at best - I don’t necessarily 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:thไink no live-servic🍃e game should exist, but seeing so many made so recklessly makes me 168澳洲幸运5𓆏开奖网:✨yearn for a time when we are passed this trend. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Son🦄y finally seems to have gotten there. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:EA still hasn’t got the memo.
The 2012 Game of Thrones ga♛me 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 Icꦛe and Fire remains perfect for video games, and with GoT’s legacy enduring 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:despite its ending, and the popularity of the (admittedly not as good) 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: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, anythi𓃲ng in Dorne, something pre-Robert Baratheon, something (shi👍vers) 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 wel🌠l, 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.
