Summary
Among fantasy’s literary properties,The Wheel of Timefranchise stands tall as one of the most seminal and enduring ones. Perhaps rivaled only byGame of Thrones, Robert Jordan’s epic series spans over twenty years and across more than a dozen novels and other supplementary material.The Wheel of Timehas stood the test of time, remaining a popular name inhigh fantasyfor its rich world building, intricate lore, and diverse cast of characters that both embrace and subvert many of the genre’s usual tropes.
Fans recently received some promising news, as it was announced that anew video game based onThe Wheel of Timeis in the works. The title is still in early development and few details beyond the fact that it has been officially unveiled have been released so far. But givenThe Wheel of Time’s impressive history, place in the fantasy canon, and its legions of devoted fans, the upcoming project has a lot riding on it to deliver an experience worthy of its source work.
Robert Jordan passed away in 2007, with the last three mainWheel of Timebooks being completed by fellow fantasy novelist, Brandon Sanderson, based on Jordan’s surviving notes.
The Wheel of Time’s Upcoming Video Game Adaptation Will Need to Aspire to Stand Out
The Wheel of Time Was Long Overdue for Another Video Game Version
With a whopping fourteen total novels in the series published between 1990 and 2013,The Wheel of Timehas a huge amount of established ground to cover. There was actually a previousWheel of Timevideo game, an FPS by developer GT Interactive, released in 1999. Though it sold poorly, it was generally well-liked and reviewed at the time, and in 2022, Night Dive Studios published the title on GOG.
A live-action series premiered on Amazon Prime TV in 2021, withThe Wheel of Timeshow having recently wrapped up its third season. It does seem like an opportune time, then, for the franchise to dip back into gaming and take advantage of both this and the latest technology and design to bring its world and characters to life for fans in the medium.
The Wheel of Time Video Game Adaptation Is Set Up for Success, So Long as it Sticks the Landing
The upcoming game will be handled by a newly formed division ofThe Wheel of Time’s IP holder, iwot Studios (formerly Red Eagle Entertainment), under the direction of Craig Alexander. Alexander was formerly the lead at Turbine, the original studio that worked onLord of the Rings Online, withLOTRitself clearly a work that inspiredTWOT. The new title is promised to be anopen-world AAA RPG, and the developer said that it is currently set to take around three years to develop. CEO Rick Selvage has also been quoted as stating that the project will encompass “everything that is covered in the books, as well as all the backstory elements.”
Nearly every aspect ofThe Wheel of Timewould translate extremely well into a game adaptationof this nature, provided it gets the fundamentals and other details right. The challenge, of course, lies in nailing down a satisfying experience that indeed honors the source, as there have been a few unfortunate missteps in such attempts, like 2023’s infamousThe Lord of the Rings: Gollum.As such,there are some notable titlesThe Wheel of Timecan look at to ensure its forthcoming entry is up to par:
These and a few others could provide a good blueprint for how iwot can create a high-qualityThe Wheel of Timegame that draws from its ample material to live up to its legacy, and hopefully give fans a memorable game worthy of the brand.
