[UPDATE] It looks like the source was confused and was actually referring to the previously announced Game of Thrones mobile MMO in development at Netmarble. There is no separate game in development at NEXON.
[ORIGINAL STORY] A long time ago, an MMORPG called Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdoms was in development at Bigpoint and Artplant, who previously made Battlestar Galactica Online. Announced in 2012, it would have been a browser game focused mostly on Player versus Player combat, where players could form their own small houses (guilds, essentially) and align themselves with the Stark, Baratheon, or Lannister great houses. However, the game never saw the light of day.
According to a new report, though, those yearning for a Game of Thrones MMO can rejoice, as NEXON is said to be making one. The news comes from Redanian Intelligence, a fan website created to deliver news about The Witcher's Netflix show but later expanded to cover other major fantasy shows, such as Lord of the Rings and, of course, Game of Thrones/House of Dragons.
According to the report, this Game of Thrones MMO is set around the fourth and fifth season of the acclaimed HBO show, with Roose Bolton already Warden of the North there and Jon Snow still on The Wall with Sam Tarly. The North will be represented for sure, and other kingdoms are possible as well.
Despite being an online game, there will be a story campaign, though that's not really surprising given the story focus of MMOs like Elder Scrolls Online, Final Fantasy XIV, or Guild Wars 2. Players won't be stepping into the shoes of a major character; instead, they'll choose their own male or female protagonist, but they will encounter the most renowned characters throughout the story. However, don't expect the original Game of Thrones voice cast to be featured in the game.
I spoke with the news reporter from Redanian Intelligence and the source appears genuine. However, there's still much we don't know, like any actual MMO mechanics (on which the source is very fuzzy at best) or even which platforms are being targeted. NEXON already has many games in development, such as The First Descendant, OVERKILL, The First Berserker: Khazan, Vindictus: Defying Fate, not to mention Wakerunners and Nakwon: Last Paradise from Mintrocket and ARC Raiders plus the live service of The Finals from Embark.
Furthermore, NEXON always makes a point in its investor presentations to remark a focus on leveraging owned IPs. Of course, they could be making an exception for something as big as Game of Thrones. Either way, it's been far too long since we got a decent gaming adaptation of G.R.R. Martin's masterpiece. There were only 2012's action RPG by Cyanide and then 2014-15's episodic adventure game by Telltale.
Stay tuned for more on this unannounced Game of Thrones project.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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