Will Tencent’s Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming head westward?

By , on April 23, 2019
Last modified 4 years, 8 months ago

The final season of Game of Thrones might have started, but the big question isn’t who’ll still have their head once all is said and done, but rather when – if at all – Tencent’s mobile spinoff Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming will become available for mobiles in the west.

Strangely, Winter is Coming recently released over here as a browser game, despite seemingly starting life as a mobile title developed by the Shanghai-based Yoozoo and produced by the goliath Tencent. From what I can gather, the game merges city building with RTS battle sequences and fan-favourite characters from the show, including Jon Snow and that creepy fire lady.

Looking at footage of the browser version, it’s clear you’ll be doing a lot of collecting, chatting to the fire lady, building, waiting, collecting, building, waiting some more, chatting to the fire lady again, then maybe you’ll eventually fight some bad guys. So far so mobile game, but what could make this one stand out is the IP itself.

Now, I’m not expecting rich storytelling from a mobile spinoff of a show whose best years are well behind it, but the constant barrage of references to characters and events peripheral to the game’s story could be fun/funny. The world as these characters know it is on the brink of total collapse, and yet our favourite fire lady is chiefly concerned with the opening of the city’s third lumberyard.

At the very least, it’s quite a looker – with impressive recreations of iconic GOT locales to ogle and a wonderfully detailed city to develop. It seems totally functional as a fairly standard city-builder, though given that the Game of Thrones name has been slapped on it, I’d have hoped for something a little more interesting – preferably with even more Dinklage and dragons.