A Song of Ice and Fire RPG Confirmed

Fantasy author George R.R. Martin has penned a new entry to his blog that confirms that Cyanide Studios is developing an RPG based on his A Song of Ice and Fire series. In fact, they’re developing two games, though the other is an RTS:

For years now fans of my epic fantasy series A Song of Ice & Fire have been writing and emailing me to suggest… ask… beg for the books to be made into a videogame. I’m thrilled to be able to announce that, at long last, those requests are being answered. Cyanide Studios, an independent videogame developer based in Nanterre, France, has acquired an exclusive option to develop Ice & Fire as both an RTS (Real Time Strategy) and RPG videogame for next generation consoles and PC.

Cyanide will begin development immediately, with an eye toward rolling out the games for release in the summer of 2011. “We are all huge fans of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, so it is a true honour for our teams to be entrusted with creating the first video games inspired by this masterpiece” said Patrick Pligersdorffer, Managing Director of Cyanide. “The twists and turns of the plot will allow us to deliver an experience which can be enjoyed by both long-time fans as well as gamers new to the series. Its rich web of characters, set in a universe where nothing is just black and white, make it an ideal background for both an RTS and an RPG.”

Cyanide first approached me about videogame rights five years ago. No agreement was reached at that time, but Patrick and his colleague Joe Ryan have maintained their interest in the series over the years, impressing me with their doggedness and determination. Since that first contact, Cyanide has opened a studio in Montreal and more than doubled its headcount, and now have the resources to produce both RTS and RPG games that will, we hope, satisfy all my fans and readers, and gamers unfamiliar with the books as well. I am pleased to be in business with the Cyanide, and look forward to working with them on the games.

Cyanide was founded in 2000, and has developed and produced games in numerous genres, including sports management, real time strategy, fantasy, and action RPGs. More information is available through the company website at www.cyanide-studio.com

We didn’t post the press release back on May 12th (since there was no mention of a role-playing game), so I thought I’d add it here for reference:

Cyanide Acquires Interactive Rights for George R. R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series

CYANIDE, A FRENCH VIDEO GAME STUDIO, SECURES INTERACTIVE RIGHTS TO GEORGE R. R. MARTIN’S BESTSELLING ‘˜A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE’ SERIES

First-Ever ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ Video Games to Bring Classic Fantasy Series to Life

Nanterre, France 12th May 2009

Cyanide, an independent video game studio, and George R. R. Martin today announced their partnership to create the first-ever video games inspired by the author’s award-winning, international bestselling ‘˜A Song of Ice and Fire’ fantasy series. Under the terms of the agreement, Cyanide has obtained the exclusive rights to develop ‘˜A Song of Ice and Fire’ video games for next-generation consoles and PC, and in collaboration with George R.R Martin, development has begun.

«We are all huge fans of ‘˜A Song of Ice and Fire’, so it is a true honour for our teams to be entrusted with creating the first video games inspired by this masterpiece» stated Patrick Pligersdorffer, Managing Director of Cyanide. «The twists and turns of the plot will allow us to deliver an experience which can be enjoyed by both long-time fans as well as gamers new to the series.»

Published most notably by Bantam Books in North America and Voyager Books in the United Kingdom, the ‘˜A Song of Ice and Fire’ novels have been translated into more than twenty languages (including Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian) and have been nominated for numerous prizes. Set in a world where nothing is simply black and white, the rich web of characters makes it an ideal background for numerous genres of video games.

‘˜A Song of Ice and Fire’ has already been adapted into a card game and a board game. More recently, HBO acquired the rights with the intent of turning the novels into a television series.

About George R. R. Martin

George R.R. Martin is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He started writing in the early 1970s and his first novel ‘˜Dying of the Light’ was published in 1977. More information on the author is available through his website –www.georgerrmartin.com

Regarding Cyanide Studio

Cyanide is a private French video game development studio founded in 2000. Based in Paris, France and in Montreal, Canada, 70 employees are working on the two continents. Well-known for its sports sim such as the popular Cycling Manager® Series or Pro Rugby Manager® Series, Cyanide is also responsible for the famous Chaos League®, and the recent Hack’n’Slash Loki® released in end-year 2007. In 2009, Cyanide will release Blood Bowl®, an adaptation of the famous Games Workshop’s board game, already awaited as a potential great hit, the annual edition of Pro Cycling Manager Tour de France 2009®, and finally its first online free-to-play fast action MMOG, Dungeon Party®!