Independent studio Cyanide and publisher Focus Home Interactive are developing a real-time strategy game and a roleplaying game based on A Song of Ice and Fire, the ongoing series of fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin.
A joint press release only included details on
A Game of Thrones: Genesis, the strategy game, but an unnamed roleplaying game is also briefly mentioned on Cyanide's
official site, suggesting that the RTS may be the first of the titles to be released.
A Game of Thrones: Genesis is named for the first book in Martin's series, released in 1996, but Cyanide says the game is based on the series as a whole. So far, four of seven planned novels have been released.
Cyanide is headquartered in Paris, with subsidiary studios in Montreal and Chengdu, China. It is known for games that combine sports and strategy, including the management sims
Horse Racing Manager and
Pro Rugby Manager, and most recently a video game adaptation of Games Workshop's violent fantasy football game
Blood Bowl.
The company says
A Game of Thrones: Genesis will not focus entirely on military conquest, like most RTS games. Rather, it says the game will "provide players with numerous paths to success," including military, economic, and diplomatic conditions, a dynamic that has been used to great effect in the
Sid Meier's Civilization series.
No release dates or platforms were announced, but Cyanide has traditionally focused heavily on PC.
While likely unrelated from a licensing standpoint, the game may benefit from public awareness generated by HBO's dramatic television series Game of Thrones, which is expected to premiere next year.
