A Switch 2 version of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition has been announced and simultaneously released by Nintendo, with a $4.99 upgrade fee for existing Switch owners.

This upgraded edition of the Nintendo role-player adds 4K/60fps support in TV mode, or 1080p/60fps action when playing on Switch 2 in handheld. It doesn't look like any other changes have been made.

If you don't own the game already, digital copies of the Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition — Switch 2 Edition are available to buy now separately from the eShop. Alternatively, a physical release is coming on April 16.

The sprawling alien world of planet Mira, now enhanced on #NintendoSwitch2 with improved frame rates and up to 4K resolution in TV mode!

Join the fight for survival in #XenobladeChroniclesX: Definitive Edition – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, available now! pic.twitter.com/raA1XhIimC

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 19, 2026

Originally released for Wii U back in 2015, Xenoblade Chronicles X was one of the many games from Nintendo's failed former console to get a new lease of life on Switch, with additional story content and character. Now, this Switch version has made the jump forward to a further console generation, although other than a visual polish, everything else sounds similar.

"The year is 2054 and Earth has been destroyed," reads a blurb for the game. "A colony ship of human survivors — including your customisable main character — has narrowly escaped the devastation and crashes on the mysterious planet Mira. Trek across a massive, dangerous world and fight for humanity’s future in this sci-fi RPG. Immerse yourself in an action-packed battle system with a variety of special attacks and skills to employ, enemies of all shapes and sizes to take down and more. You can even pilot a Skell that can fly, transform into a vehicle and wield immense strength in combat – if you can prove yourself to the BLADE organisation, first."

If you've not played a Xenoblade Chronicles game, X is a pretty standalone entry into Monolith Soft's RPG series — and also pretty well received. "Xenoblade Chronicles X was already one of the Wii U’s best games, and this Definitive Edition does more than enough to justify another trip to planet Mira," IGN wrote in our review of the game's Switch port, awarding it 9/10.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

The world of Keanu Reeves' BRZRKR continues to expand in 2026. IGN can exclusively reveal that Reeves is reuniting with author China Miéville for a new spinoff comic called BRZRKR: Light Draws Breath #1.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at BRZRKR: Light Draws Breath #1, including uncolored interior pages and character designs:

Miéville previously penned the 2024 spinoff novel The Story of Elsewhere, but this will mark the first time he's co-written a BRZRKR comic, or any comic outside of DC. Reeves and Miéville are collaborating with artist Alessio Avalone. Esad Ribic provides the main cover to this one-shot issue, while Ronald Wimberly, David Lafuente, Dillon Snook, and Sweeny Boo will handle variant covers.

Like the other BRZRKR spinoff comics, Light Draws Breath is set earlier in the life of immortal warrior B. Set in the Bronze Age, this issue explores what happens when B temporarily dies and part of his protoplasmic body is harvested by rogue scientists. The resulting creation will have to learn who it is and what its place in the world is meant to be.

BRZRKR: Light Draws Breath #1 will be released on May 20, 2026. You can preorder a copy at your local comic shop.

In other comic book news, find out which series was selected as IGN's best comic book of 2025, and see which comics we're most excited for in 2026.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

Spoilers follow for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 7, “Ko'Zeine,” which is available on Paramount Plus now.

After last week’s adventure – and tragedy – on the USS Miyazaki, Starfleet Academy slows down for what we once would’ve called a “bottle episode.” Of course, these days the digital “volume” AR wall that allows for the creation of virtually any setting or backdrop means that even a bottle episode can take place on some crazy alien landscape, even if the whole idea of such an episode is to save money and production time (often to make up for a bigger, costlier segment like last week’s “Come, Let's Away”).

So in “Ko'Zeine” the focus is on two of the friendships among our main cast: that of Genesis (Bella Shepard) and Caleb (Sandro Rosta), and Darem (George Hawkins) and Jay-Den (Karim Diané). It’s the kind of story that is classic bottle episode, and the result is a nice if slight hour that plays off of some well-worn Trek tropes but also serves to further solidify how engaging this cast of young actors can be.

Spoilers follow for Paradise through the end of Season 1. Paradise Season 2 will debut on February 23.

Paradise, the wildest post-apocalypse series on TV, is back on Hulu for a second season this week. Starring Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, and James Marsden, the Dan Fogelman-created series was a huge hit in Season 1, and it looks like it won’t let up in the second season either. But even with a short-for-streaming gap between seasons (a year instead of the now default two- to three-year hiatus), you might be a little confused about the timeline as you jump into Season 2…

…And that’s because the timeline is confusing. Like other flashback shows such as Lost – or more to the point of the whole Fogelman of it all, This Is Us – while there’s plenty of action happening in the “present,” there’s also a lot of jumping back into different points in the past. So with that in mind, particularly given some plot points coming up in Season 2 (no spoilers here), you’re probably going to want to check and recheck the timeline of Paradise to make sure you know who was where, when.

While we won’t hit every single plot point from the first season, we are going to break down major events – and some seemingly minor ones that may have ramifications as the series moves forward. So let’s get into it, starting back in… the ’90s?

The Paradise Timeline

1997

Actually, before we even explain why we’re in 1997, aka the year Titanic took over the box office, it’s also important to note that this timeline is gonna ditch the dates pretty soon. The reason for that? Most of Paradise takes place in the “present day,” all centered around the before and after of a future (for us, the viewers) event that’s referred to as “The Day.” Again, we’ll get there in a second, but for the moment we’re starting with a real year, when Bill Clinton started his second term as President.

We got this specific year in Season 1, Episode 5, "In the Palaces of Crowned Kings," when future President Cal Bradford (Marsden) told his dad that he wants to be a teacher. Instead, the overpowering father Kane (Gerald McRaney) forces him into politics, kicking off a series of events that leads to Cal’s murder at the beginning of Season 1.

The legendary voice behind God of War's recent iteration of Kratos, Christopher Judge, has teased that we'll likely get more news about the franchise in "late summer."

According to a recording from streamer and YouTuber Fuzhpuzy at Canada's Fan Expo, Judge, who may not have known he was being recorded at the time, confirmed that while he would not be "playing in the remake" — that role is for Kratos' original voice actor, TC Carson — "you'll be hearing about what we're doing probably late summer."

The suggestion here is that Judge is back working with Sony Santa Monica on a separate God of War project unrelated to the studio's early work beginning to remake the franchise's original trilogy (and the new side-scrolling spin-off Sons of Sparta, which was largely made elsewhere).

Interestingly, Judge also explained that the recently announcement remake starring TC Carson will boast "all the new technology in it, add more stuff, a new fighting system."

It's our biggest clue yet that an all-new Sony Santa Monica God of War game is on the way. It's been pretty quiet ever since 2022's God of War: Ragnarök in which Kratos and Atreus set out on a mythic journey for answers before Ragnarök arrives, visiting each of the Nine Realms in the brutal and epic sequel.

There had been a live-service multiplayer game in the works, but at the beginning of 2025, Sony canceled two unannounced live-service projects that had been in development at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, with the latter thought to be a multiplayer God of War game. Then, towards the end of the year, details and images of the canceled game leaked online, confirming the rumors had been true.

As for Amazon's upcoming adaptation of Sony Santa Monica's God of War series? The live-action Prime Video TV series based on the popular ancient mythology-themed video game is picking up speed. Ryan Hurst will play Kratos, Callum Vinson will play Kratos’ son, Atreus, and Teresa Palmer, Max Parker, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Alastair Duncan, and Mandy Patinkin join as Sif, Heimdall, Thor, Mimir, and Odin, respectively.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Invincible creators Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker are reuniting for a new story set in this popular superhero universe. The two are working to tell the origin story of Ella Mental, a new character making her debut in the fighting game Invincible VS.

This origin story will be published as a recurring backup feature in the pages of Capes, a Skybound series also set in the Invincible Universe. Currently, Skybound is republishing the original six issues of Kirkman and Mark Englehert's Capes as a remastered series. Beginning in Capes #7, co-writer Benito Cereno will join the series as it begins exploring new storylines, and Kirkman and Walker will kick off their Ella Mental backup story.

Hershel Wilk awakes in a small, dirty apartment in the city of Portofiro. Why she’s here, she does not know. Her mission objectives were supposed to be provided by her partner, codename “Pseudopod”, but he’s unresponsive – he just sits there in his underwear, staring at nothing, his senses on lockdown. In his pockets are an invoice for socks and a lipstick-printed business card that simply reads “All you need is miracle.”

It’s not just Hershel who needs a miracle. Developer ZA/UM needs one, too. Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is an espionage RPG that follows the playbook of the studio’s previous game, Disco Elysium, incredibly closely, right down to opening on a confused protagonist in a run-down room. It’s another high-concept, combatless, dialogue-driven game about following threads and investigating leads. But capturing lightning twice is no easy feat, and simply repeating Disco Elysium’s triumphs is no guaranteed road to success. Thankfully, there are fresh ideas here that expand and evolve ZA/UM’s formula, making for what appears to be, on the surface, a more traditionally accomplished video game, but potentially at the cost of crafting a less interesting artistic creation.

I recently spent around six hours with Zero Parades, playing through the entire upcoming Steam Next Fest demo, plus a significant amount beyond it. That meant exploring a wide section of Portofiro, a vibrant hub of criss-crossing cultures, painted in shades of Central America and Southern Europe. It’s made up of six districts, stretching from docklands, through a central marketplace and winding back alleys, and up to a hillside housing project. While perhaps small by traditional RPG standards, this is a much larger playspace than we saw in Disco Elysium, and that’s not just reflected in your step count.

The city is alive. Rather than a decaying echo of times gone by like Revachol was, Portofiro is active. Every street is home to an oddball with their own strange perspective and, often, their own weird problem in need of solving. In the “Bootleg Bazaar” you’ll find two children transfixed by Sixty-Six Wolves, a cartoon that seems suspiciously like foreign propaganda. A few stalls down there’s Petre, a “Format Fetishist” obsessed with a type of vinyl record that wipes itself clean after a single play. Further up the road, you’ll bump into Kurt, a man so consumed by the need to follow imported fashion trends that he’s landed himself in crippling debt. Each is a window into a place where personal obsessions are the tools through which sinister powers manipulate the world.

I will, of course, need to play Zero Parades to completion to judge if its writing around this and other topics can match the unbelievably lofty heights of its celebrated predecessor. And I understand if you’re skeptical – ZA/UM’s controversial firing of key Disco Elysium creatives in 2022 has left many fans wary of both the studio’s management and the current team’s ability to craft something as meaningful. Based on my experience of this demo, though, I feel positive about the writing’s quality, with the odd caveat.

The skills, for instance, which once again form the pieces of your fractured psyche and comment on your choices and the world around you, lack defined voices and feel largely interchangeable (with the exception of Statehood, which bellows your home country’s party line in all-caps). But when it comes to the city’s collection of strangers, it appears the current writing team has successfully penned a cast possessed of a similar blend of literary prose, otherworldly Lynchian vibes, and off-kilter political humour. And, as I cross-referenced their tales with those of others, I began to paint a picture of this deeply troubled world, where techno-fascist superpowers, communist republics, and investment banks battle for power, using secret police forces as knives and pop culture as rifles.

Finding my place among all that initially felt overwhelming. As a spy, it’s my job to be a disruptor, to exploit those tensions for the gain of my home state. But, as previously mentioned, Hershel has no idea what her mission is. You simply need to talk and talk and talk until you find the threads relevant to your objectives, and there is no shortage of people to pull them from. But soon I began to see the connections. A representative of EMTERR, the world’s super bank, could be the starting point for solving Kurt the fashionista’s financial woes. A group of grizzled veterans impatiently waiting for their turn to dial into the “Miracle” sex line suddenly makes that business card I discovered make sense. And the suicidal Dr. Gonza’s medical know-how could diagnose Pseudopod’s condition… but first I’ll have to bring him the teeth of a medical board “narc” to halt his hanging attempt. As you collect these leads, Portofiro begins to feel like a Venn diagram of multiple overlapping quests, much like the cities of Baldur’s Gate and Athkatla did in BioWare’s seminal Infinity Engine RPGs.

While Disco Elysium certainly shared some DNA with the classics, it held many traditional RPG ideas at arm’s length. Zero Parades is less shy about being a video game. That feeling starts with the increased size and scope of its city, but is cemented in its more wholehearted embrace of regular skill checks and, importantly, building a gameplay system around failing them. You have a trio of pseudo health bars – Fatigue, Anxiety, and Delirium – which fill when you stumble through conversations and interactions in their respective field. For example, elongating an early phone call by asking all of the wrong questions will cause your anxiety levels to soar. Fail too often, or keep digging down into a dark memory hole that you shouldn’t, and you’ll take a permanent penalty to one of your stats.

There are interesting mechanical wrinkles to this system. Skill checks typically involve rolling two dice, but you can choose to "exert" yourself, adding an extra die to increase your chances at the cost of damaging one of those pressure bars. It’s vital to learn how to manage your stressors, then, to keep the bars balanced. Smoking, for instance, will reduce your anxiety, which in turn gives you another opportunity to exert yourself.

Another example of this more crunchy, systemic approach can be found in “Dramatic Encounters”, which turn moments of peril into a series of turn-based decisions, creating a sense of life-or-death drama in a game devoid of combat. It’s essentially Disco Elysium’s late-game tribunal sequence transformed into a defined mechanic. The example in my demo saw me attempt to evade an enemy agent through a busy marketplace, and the branching decisions offered classic spy fiction options: Do I pause to analyse, or act on gut feeling? Try to flee, or hide in plain sight? A skill check on my “Nerve” stat – a test of how cool I can stay under pressure – succeeds, and I walk straight past my hunter, confidently blending into the crowd.

While this example is fairly low stakes, at every junction I nonetheless held my breath as I picked my next move, anxiously waiting to see if my choice paid off. I’m very interested to see how this approach will be applied to other spycraft staples – perhaps tailing, deploying bugs, or even straight-up assassination – as success here will likely be the thing that helps Zero Parades feel distinct from its predecessor and truly cement it as an espionage RPG, rather than Disco Elysium with a 00 license in its wallet.

Zero Parade’s most interesting push into more traditional video game territory, though, is how it uses the city’s physical space to structure its branching quests. My final few hours were spent completing tasks that await beyond the Steam Next Fest demo, and the majority of that time saw me searching for a hidden jail, inside of which awaited a prisoner with vital information. The way you find this jail is determined by a number of different factors; there’s your personal method of investigation, of course, but your character’s stat build and your own ability to interpret the world’s clues also come into play. From what I can tell, this results in at least two completely different routes to the jail: breaking into a subterranean tunnel, or via poetry. Yes, poetry.

It was that second, more artistic path that I took. After quizzing a reluctant boatman who clearly knew about the jail but refused to talk, I was able to use my “Blueprints” skill to track his involuntary eye movements and approximate the prison’s location. Poking around the region he kept gazing at led me to the offices of a poetry magazine, the Noscorrentes Review, which featured a suspicious locked gate that only contributing writers were permitted to pass through. So, how do you convince a pretentious editor that you’re a genuine, publish-worthy poet? Well, dumpster diving through the publication’s trash will secure you a poem, but it’s in the garbage for a reason. And so the only option is to literally write a verse yourself, digging deep into your own soul to increase the chance modifiers on your “Poetics” skill check. The task provides an insight into Hershel’s painful past, but also – most importantly – creates a composition worthy of the magazine’s pages. The editor lets me past the locked gate, and there, in the basement of the Noscorrentes Review, is the secret jail. It’s real. And it’s a path to even more trouble… but I won’t spoil that here.

This branching path, effectively creating two entirely separate questlines that take place in entirely separate locations, reminds me more of RPGs like The Witcher and Baldur’s Gate than it does the almost immersive theatre approach of Disco Elysium. That’s not to say that Zero Parades is a traditional role-playing game. Far from it. But it’s clear that ZA/UM’s attempt to build on its established formula has taken it down a path that makes this project more recognisably a video game than the parameter-defying art experiment that was Disco Elysium. It’s a feeling only reinforced by the espionage genre and the more global approach to its story. There are factions, and one of them is an evil empire! That’s video game stuff.

Although on the surface they run the risk of appearing as less experimental design decisions, I don’t think these are poor choices. In fact, they are what I think make Zero Parades interesting. I left the studio feeling as if I’d just played a fascinating RPG with a strongly defined, richly realised setting, spearheaded by a protagonist who could navigate that world’s obstacles in a myriad of compelling ways. And yet, despite this, Zero Parades still feels beholden to Disco Elysium, as if its ambitions are caged by the reluctance, or refusal, to stray too far from the safety of beloved ideas. Elements like the sentient skills feel like they are template, rather than tradition. In many ways, it feels willing to risk being an imitation in the hope of capturing lightning twice. I doubt that was a risk worth taking, and yet I still think the odd chimera of old and new that ZA/UM has produced may prove to have merit in its own right.

Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.

Director Steven Soderbergh has branded Disney's decision to scrap plans for his Star Wars movie The Hunt for Ben Solo as "insane", after more than two years of "free work" from himself and actor Adam Driver.

The revelation that Lucasfilm had been developing a Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sequel starring Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was first discussed last year by Driver, to excitement but then immediate dismay from fans who couldn't believe the idea had been abandoned. It is the only completed script to date that Disney has turned down for a Lucasfilm project.

Last month, the outgoing Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy also aired her frustrations with the project's demise, and said the movie's script had been "great." In a comment that some took as a swipe at Disney management's hesitation, Kennedy also said: "Anything's a possibility if somebody's willing to take a risk."

Now, Soderbergh — the director of Ocean's Eleven and Contagion — has commented further on the project's cancellation, and told BKMag that "it was no surprise that she [Kennedy] was frustrated."

"We were all frustrated," Soderbergh said. "You know, that was two and a half years of free work for me and Adam and [screenwriter] Rebecca Blunt. When Adam and I discussed him talking about it publicly, I said, 'Look, do not editorialize or speculate about the why. Just say what happened, because all we know is what happened.'

"The stated reason was 'We don't think Ben Solo could be alive,'" he continued. "And that was all we were told. And so there's nothing to do about it, you know, except move on.

"And as I posted, I'd kind of made the movie in my head, and just felt bad that nobody else was going to get to see it. I thought the conversation was strictly going to be a practical one — where they go, what is this going to cost? And I had a really good answer for that. But it never even got to that point. It's insane. We're all very disappointed."

Ever since the project's death has been made public, superfans of the Star Wars sequels have come out in full force, desperate to see the story of Han and Leia's son come to life, even going as far as to fly "Save The Hunt for Ben Solo" banners over Walt Disney Studios in California.

Driver played Ben Solo/Kylo Ren throughout Lucasfilm’s Sequel Trilogy, with his final appearance in 2019's divisive The Rise of Skywalker. "I always was interested in doing another Star Wars," Driver said previously. "I always said: with a great director and a great story, I'd be there in a second. I loved that character and loved playing him."

But while Lucasfilm "loved the idea," according to Driver, and "totally understood our angle and why we were doing it," it's believed that both Disney CEO Bob Iger and co-chairman Alan Bergman were against the pitch moving forward. Still, with Iger now following Kennedy out the door, perhaps there's a new hope in fresh leadership?

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

The next major Destiny 2 update, Shadow and Order, has been delayed by three months, until June 2026.

In a series of messages posted to Bluesky, developer Bungie admitted the expansion was "undergoing large revisions," and "will be delayed" from its original March release.

"This update is being changed and expanded to include sizable quality-of-life updates and as a result, will also be renamed. This update will now launch on June 9, 2026," the studio said. "We will provide exact details closer to release covering previously announced Weapon Tier Upgrading, but also additions like expanding Tiered Gear to all Raid and Dungeon activities, Pantheon 2.0, Tier 5 stats for Exotic Armors, and more."

The studio is, of course, preoccupied getting Marathon out of the door after last week's State of Play reaffirmed its March 5 release date. Nonetheless, the delay intimates the studio may be struggling to juggle everything on its plate, particularly as it alludes to "sizeable quality-of-life updates."

"Through June, we will continue to have routine bug fixes and stability improvements, continued portal modifiers, Guardian Games (March), and the return of a more frequent Iron Banner cadence (April)," Bungie added. "In terms of communications, we will be focusing on providing you with updates about our live game content, community activations, and general upkeep through the TWID and our Destiny social channels."

The statement closed on thanking players for their "continued patience and support," and said there'll be more information on the next major update and future plans for Destiny 2 "closer to launch."

"Raids and dungeons getting tiers and pantheon 2.0 is great, but will there even be anyone left playing by then?" asked one player on the Destiny 2 subreddit. "I still log on every week and play a little bit, but nobody can deny that renegades was not meant to last six months."

"Not to be a total downer, but that really gives me age of triumph 'final update' style vibes of making all the endgame viable," added another fan. "Not to mention this is just a major update in the end. It isn’t gonna have expansion level content, but its now releasing right around when the next expansion was supposed to, which I assume is also delayed at least three months. Even with way more content in this update, renegades being the expansion for nine months at least now is very bad."

"Until June is rough. The population is going to be absolutely dire by then…," one player commented, to which someone replied: "Dire[?] It's dire right now. Falling off a cliff."

At the time of writing (when, admittedly, much of the U.S. is asleep), there are 10,463 players online right now on Steam. Once Human, eFootball, and single-player Hollow Knight: Silksong all have higher concurrent counts.

It’s undoubtedly a tough time for Bungie and Destiny 2, with parent company Sony recently saying the studio has failed to meet its sales and user engagement expectations. In its latest financial report, Sony said it had recorded a 31.5 billion yen (approx. $204.2 million) impairment charge as a result of Destiny 2’s underperformance. That was significant enough to drag down profits at Sony’s Game & Network Services Segment, which includes Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Following the launch of The Edge of Fate expansion in July, Destiny 2 saw a slump in player activity, and Bungie's team is feeling the pressure. "For years now, Destiny has been on this steady hardening of the core [audience],” game director Tyson Green told IGN back in November. “More and more core players are staying and playing the game, but relatively few [new] people come into the game. There's a tightening and contraction, and this presents problems for a game that you're trying to maintain as a live service, especially when you want to keep serving those core players with great, compelling expansions."

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

A new Game of Thrones prequel is set to dramatize the events of Robert's Rebellion, and debut on the UK stage this summer.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is a new collaboration between franchise creator George R.R. Martin and the UK's Royal Shakespeare Company, written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke. Tickets are set to go on sale in April.

The play will tell the story of a crucial period in Westeros history, around 15 years before the original Game of Thrones book and TV series, when King Aerys II Targaryen was overthrown and Robert Baratheon took over, backed by the Starks and Lannisters.

The events of Robert's Rebellion will be familiar to A Song of Ice and Fire fans, as the brief civil war is frequently referenced, and indeed acts as essentially the catalyst for the events of the main Game of Thrones narrative.

Key participants include Robert and Stannis Baratheon, Ned Stark and Tywin Lannister, who take arms against King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. It is of course Jaime Lannister who eventually kills Aerys, earning himself the nickname of Kingslayer. Notably, the time period ends with the birth of both Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow — the latter of whom has his true parentage hidden.

"A long winter thaws in Harrenhal, and spring is promised," reads an official blurb. "At a lavish banquet on the eve of a jousting tournament, lovers meet and revelers speculate about who will contend. But in the shadows, amid growing unease at the bloodthirsty actions of the realm’s merciless Mad King, dissenters from his inner circle anxiously advance a treasonous plot. Far away, the drums of battle sound.

"Family bonds, ancient prophecies, and the sacred line of succession will be tested in a dangerous campaign for power. Who will survive? Who will rise? 'Wars aren’t won by those with most cause, but whose story’s best told.'"

The announcement of a Game of Thrones prequel stage show — with events and characters that will also be familiar to existing fans — follows the successful launch of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which offers a similar concept. That is now playing in both London and New York, and includes a handful of extra plot details that TV viewers will likely find interesting. A filmed version for Netflix is also on the way.

"When I first wrote Game of Thrones, I never imagined that it would be anything other than a book," George R.R. Martin said in an accompanying statement. "It was a place for my imagination to exist without limits. To my great surprise, it was adapted for a series and viewers have been able to enter the world of my imagination through the medium of television. For my work to now be adapted for the stage is something I did not expect but welcome with great enthusiasm and excitement. Theater offers something unique. A place for mine and the audience’s imagination to meet and hopefully create something magical."

While the main Game of Thrones TV series has now long since ended, its wider franchise is continuing on with gusto. The very well received prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is wrapping up the end of its first season with a second already confirmed. Meanwhile, HBO has begun teasing the upcoming third season of its other prequel series House of the Dragon.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social