I’m sure many people are familiar with Game of Thrones, whether it's the HBO TV series or the epic book series written by George R.R. Martin. Now, whether those people have positive or negative feelings about these two representations—whether due to the TV show's controversial ending or the never-ending wait for The Winds of Winter (it's been over a decade, after all)—is another story. But that’s not what I want to focus on today. The impact A Song of Ice and Fire world has had on the entertainment industry and the fact that it’s given rise to several spin-offs, including House of the Dragon, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and more to come as it seems, though I’m cautiously optimistic about these, I don’t expect too much until they actually arrive.There’s also the unfinished graphic novel series, which only covers events up until the second book, but I love it. As a book reader myself, I think it does a good job of capturing the essence of the novels in a more concise, graphic format.
That said, as much as I wish for The Winds of Winter to arrive soon or for TV shows to return to the level of quality seen in the early seasons of Game of Thrones, what I really wanted was a more personal experience in the breathtaking world George created. That’s where I started hoping—perhaps wishfully—for an open-world RPG set in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe.
Unfortunately, that dream has yet to come true. However, if you check the List of Song of Ice and Fire Video Games on Wikipedia, you’ll find a list of games, just like I did. But, for some reason, the only two games I can bring myself to play are the ones I enjoyed nearly a decade ago:
- Game of Thrones (2012)
- Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014)
It seems like Game of Thrones just couldn’t manage to make a lasting impact on the video game industry the way it did in television and literature. This is likely due to issues around intellectual property (IP) rights and perhaps a lack of expected audience appeal. But I’m no expert on the gaming industry—I’m just someone who wants to escape real-world problems for a while and immerse myself in the problems of a fantastical world. And I’m sure there are others like me, which is why I’m writing this article—to share how I scratched my A Song of Ice and Fire itch with some games to immerse myself in.
Game of Thrones (2012 Video Game)
It’s been a long time since I played this game back in 2013, but I still have fond memories of it. I played it on my old, low-spec PC and loved it. By then, I hadn’t read the books, but I was watching the TV show, so the game was a fun way to dive into the world of Westeros. The gameplay follows a third-person perspective, switching between two new characters created specifically for the game, with solid backing from the A Song of Ice and Fire lore. The story takes place during the events of season one, and it has some great twists. Without spoiling too much, I sometimes wonder if the game's endings were crafted with a certain character’s journey to Storm's End in mind, but that's for another discussion.
The game may be criticized for its graphics, but I couldn’t care less about that—if the story is good, I’m in. Even with repetitive combat, I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you find it on sale on Steam, I’d recommend picking it up for a few hours of fun and a hopeful longing for a sequel that will never come.
Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014 Video Game)
This game, on the other hand, made me both happy and sad. Happy because it told a fantastic, tragic story, and sad because of what happened to Telltale Games. This was the first Telltale game I played, and after this, I went on to enjoy their Walking Dead series as well. As someone who loves text and v novels, Telltale’s narrative-driven style was a real treat.
The game follows an episodic format, where the choices you make influence later events. Although I wished for more impactful choices (understandably, branching narratives are a headache to create), the story focuses on House Forrester of Ironrath, a family mentioned in the books, and their struggle to survive after siding with the wrong faction during the War of the Five Kings.
One of the best things about this game is that it features voice acting by the original TV cast—Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon, Cersei, Margaery—voiced by their respective actors and actresses. This gave the game a real sense of authenticity, and I was excited for the sequel... until Telltale’s restructuring put the series on indefinite hold. Thankfully, Telltale Games has been revived, and with upcoming titles like The Expanse and The Wolf Among Us 2, I still hold out hope that we may someday see more adventures in Westeros.
And What About the Others?
Well, there are a few official strategy games out there, along with some mobile games, but I can’t speak to those since I haven’t played them. However, there are two more games I want to mention, and I’ve saved them for last because, in a way, the entire point of this article is to shine a light on these two titles. These games aren't official A Song of Ice and Fire titles, nor were they initially related to the Game of Thrones universe, but they were crafted by a group of dedicated modders who recognized the potential and decided to mold existing games to fit the world of Westeros and Essos. A huge thanks to these passionate modders who created incredible content for fans like me.
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Total Conversion Mod—Realm of Thrones
- Mount & Blade: Warband Total Conversion Mod – A World of Ice and Fire
The Mount & Blade series has always been one of my favorites, and I spent countless hours in Calradia, with Swadian cavalry and couch lancing enemy lords back in 2014. But it wasn’t until 2018 that I discovered the Warband mod, A World of Ice and Fire, and it absolutely blew my mind. Sure, I loved the base game, but the idea of exploring A Song of Ice and Fire through the mechanics of Mount & Blade was irresistible. I spent countless hours exploring Westeros, joining factions, and collecting Valyrian steel swords. swords I only moved on when Bannerlord Total Conversion Mod – Realm of Thrones came out and it got DRAGONS!!! and ESSOS full map of half essos!!!
While the gameplay is similar to the base game, with the main changes being assets, reskins, and new world graphics, the enjoyment of RPGs lies in creating your own narrative and playing through it. I played as the made-up son of Ned Stark, recruited Gendry and Aurane Waters, and avenged my family. Another time, I played as a deserter from the Night’s Watch, united the wildlings, and conquered Westeros. Another campaign saw me as Young Griff, coming for the throne with dragons. These mods let you create your own scenarios and enjoy the hell out of them. While they don't offer a linear storyline, they provide an immersive experience that truly lets you live in the A Song of Ice and Fire world.
Crusader Kings II: AGOT & Crusader Kings III: AGOT Conversion Mods
I first played Crusader Kings II back in 2013, and it was one of those games that seemed a bit intimidating at first—so many icons, so many tabs. But after a bit of trial and error, I got the hang of it, and it became a much more engaging experience. That said, I didn’t play much of it because my gaming time was limited by my parents' rules back then. I mostly played Mount & Blade and other games instead.
Fast forward to the pandemic, when I had more time to game, and I finally gave CK2 another chance, and after playing one campaign as Alfred the great and uniting England after watching “The Last Kingdom” tv show (also a 10/10 show), I decided to pick AGOT conversion mod and sure it didn’t had all the engagement as a third person gameplay which I love and the combat but grand strategy is a different beast on its own and the time you will spend micromanaging and gunning for the Iron throne is fun as it gets. The experience you can get by engaging in a gameplay for the sheer amount of events and mechanics in the game you could find yourself in complete advantage and then suddenly you fall of your horse and crack your head and die leaving your realm in shatters and your children inheriting each part and soon enough everything is chaos……….but such is life in Westeros I guess...
While some argue that CK2 AGOT is better than CK3 AGOT, Crusader Kings III has seen significant updates, and as of 2024, it's likely the best A Song of Ice and Fire experience in a game you can get in terms of sheer events, mechanics, and the possibility of chaos. So far I played only 2 campaigns in CK3 AGOT one played as a lone survivor of House Duskendale and joined Robert on his campaign and somehow ended up on the Iron throne myself…? It just turn out like that but it was fun nonetheless and the second campaign I tried so hard micromanaging to pull off House of Dragon’s dance of the dragons situation and well I had to cheat a bit using debug mode but I pulled off a full scale war with nearly 10 dragons on each side and me who played as a bastard child of Meagor the cruel unleashed Balerion who was still alive then and defeated both parties and took the iron throne for myself I spend a whole weekend enjoying it and I guess micromanaging is the fun part.
There are some performance issues with the CK3 mod, due to the sheer volume of content and as 100 years are passing there will be crashing and huge laggings, but there are communities on Reddit and Discord where you can get some advices about how to deal with them if you encounter issues.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it: my roundup of the best games set in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe. I only recently decided to write about the things that inspire my daydreams and fantasies, and what better way to start than with two of my favorite things—A Song of Ice and Fire and PC games. I hope that one day we’ll get an official open-world RPG set in this universe—something like Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. But until then, we’ve got to make do with what we have. I hope that, at least for a few people, this article will help scratch that itch to immerse yourself in the world of Game of Thrones.
