New Game Of Thrones Open-World RPG Officially Announced

Published Aug 30, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. Game of Thrones fans have desperately been hoping for a proper open-world RPG set in the world of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire for years now. While there are several games available under the IP and even an exciting new RTS coming up with War for Westeros in 2027, there hasn't really been a proper open-world game that faithfully adapted the fantasy universe and its lore in a way that keeps players captivated as you'd see with something like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or Kingdom Come: Deliverance. There is, however, one open-world RPG that did an excellent job at recreating Westeros but never managed to take off. Longtime fans of the franchise will of course remember Game of Thrones: Kingsroad's somewhat disastrous launch, which suffered significantly due to the game's focus aggressive monetization, with excessive microtransactions, premium currencies, battle passes, and pay-to-win progression. However, many players may not realize that developer Netmarble has been quietly overhauling Kingsroad with an entirely new build in the Asian-Pacific region, and according to a recent update on Steam, Western markets are likely to see this new build before the year is out. This relaunch will essentially be Kingsroad 2.0, and with the substantial changes likely on the way, it may as well be considered a brand-new open-world Game of Thrones RPG. A New Open-World Game Of Thrones RPG Experience Is On The Way While Kingsroad has already been out for well over a year now, the APAC build is an entirely different beast of an experience that could breathe new life into the RPG if and when it launches in Wester markets. For starters, Kingsroad was never criticized for its open-world gameplay—quite the opposite in fact, with it being one of the best video game adaptations of Westeros on offer. Instead, most of the criticism was directed at the systems surrounding that world, particularly its aggressive monetization, grind-heavy progression, repetitive combat, and comparatively limited multiplayer offerings. The APAC build directly addresses many of those complaints and then some, removing paid gacha equipment in favor of earning gear through gameplay while also reworking progression to make advancing through the story feel less restrictive. Combat has been overhauled as well, with expanded weapon options and greater variety intended to prevent encounters from becoming as repetitive as they were in the original release. Perhaps even more importantly, the APAC build greatly expands the game's multiplayer and endgame structure. Party dungeons, raids, field bosses, additional open-world activities, and player-to-player trading give Westeros substantially more depth beyond the main questline. Taken together, these aren't the kinds of changes normally associated with a regional rerelease or routine content update. They fundamentally alter how players acquire equipment, progress their characters, engage in combat, and interact with one another. While it may still carry the Kingsroad name, the APAC build is extensive enough that Western players should arguably look at it as something closer to a brand-new game, or at minimum, the Kingsroad 2.0 that the original release always had the potential to become. Kingsroad 2.0 May Arrive Before The Year Is Out Netmarble In a developer update on Steam back in July, NetMarble issued a statement on the future plans for "Global Integration" of the current build that's live in APAC markets: The development team is currently in the final stages of preparing for Global Integration, which will be based on the enhanced systems and service structure currently available in the Asia Build. We are working to complete this process within the third quarter. While the post was made quietly and details were left somewhat vague, information about the Asia build they mentioned are readily available, and the game is currently a massive hit on the other side of the world. The "third quarter" note here suggests we could see a massive new update announcement before the end of September if all goes according to plan, and it could very well equate to a re-launch of Kingsroad that completely addresses the major complaints players had with version 1.0. For all intents and purposes, the upcoming 2.0 release might as well be the brand-new RPG Game of Thrones fans have been waiting for, or at least one of the best we'll get for the foreseeable future. Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Systems Released May 21, 2025 Developer(s) Netmarble Publisher(s) Netmarble, Warner Bros. Interactive Franchise Game of Thrones Early Access Release March 26, 2025 PC Release Date May 21, 2025