- Primary Subject: War for Westeros RTS Game
- Key Update: Hands-on preview of the Game of Thrones RTS, highlighting Skirmish mode and faction variety.
- Status: Preview
- Last Verified: 2026-08-26
- Quick Answer: Check out our preview of the upcoming Game of Thrones real-time strategy game, War for Westeros, focusing on its gameplay mechanics and playable factions.
It’s crazy to think that, despite its massive reach, we don’t have a Game of Thrones game that truly capitalizes on the popularity of George R.R. Martin’s work. After playing a preview build of War for Westeros, I truly believe PlaySide Studios might have something special on their hands.
If you tuned in to Gamescom 2026, you likely saw the gameplay reveal of the upcoming Game of Thrones RTS, War for Westeros. It promises a robust single-player experience that will let you alter the course of the story you know and love (or hate, depending on who you ask), as well as gameplay mechanics that really leverage the world of Westeros, its multiple armies, and its iconic characters.
For the past couple of weeks, the devs let me play a demo version of the game that showcases one of the core modes: Skirmish, a PvP mode that can be played against AI or real humans. It’s a glimpse into what War for Westeros will offer when it launches, and it has already gotten me hooked.
The thing PlaySide needed to nail the most before we even started discussing mechanics was the feel of each army. In the demo, I had access to two of the four confirmed ones: House Stark and House Lannister (the Targaryens and White Walkers are the other two). They really did a good job of making sure both play differently and get access to unique tools based on each House's idiosyncrasies and alliances.
Let me talk gameplay. The general loop will be very familiar if you’ve played an RTS before: create workers and buildings to farm resources and meticulously start amassing an army with different sorts of units to take down your opponents.
The key resources in War for Westeros are Gold and Influence. The former can be used to craft basic buildings and units, while the latter has more specific uses, like training Heroes—powerful iconic units such as Jon Snow, Robb Stark, or Jaime Lannister—as well as leveling up your main base or building more powerful units.
In Skirmish, the rate at which you gain Influence is heavily tied to how much of the map you control, as it can only be farmed by crafting a specific building on an Influence node. These nodes are limited per area; each player starts with two, while more are available in neutral zones you’ll need to seize to start utilizing them.
Speaking of Skirmish itself, it’s a very fast-paced mode that will likely be the go-to if you want a quick fix of RTS goodness. Maps, as mentioned, are divided into various areas: your main hub of operations, neutral zones that can be claimed, and your enemies' bases. The game can be played with up to four players, although for this demo I was limited to 1v1 battles.
There are two ways of claiming victory: Annihilation and Domination. The former is achieved by destroying your opponent's main base, while the latter is done by controlling every outpost on the map for three minutes.
The way the maps I played were designed made for a very fun tug-of-war loop that kept me constantly making active decisions. Should I try to rush my opponent's main base, or slowly take control of outposts at the risk of letting the Lannisters build toward a massive army that could wipe me out? There were times when I managed to control an outpost and the AI smartly blitzed toward one I had left unattended, pushing back even harder. Even on normal, the AI was no pushover, bringing a refreshing sense of challenge that kept me engaged, even if it felt a tad unfair at times with how efficient it was at resource management.
Playing as the Starks was definitely a highlight for me in this demo, as you get to see a much more complete vision of what PlaySide Studios wants for each army in War for Westeros.
As you level up the Stark Keep, you gain access to different alliances, like having the Night’s Watch and the Free Folk fight alongside you. The metagame when it comes to units plays a huge role as well, as different types of combat units are stronger against specific counters. Crafting a varied army adds to the constant feeling of having to keep track of everything at all times, making sure even the downtime before and after a battle is interesting as you check what your enemy is weak against and what you need to fortify.
All that being said, seeing a Giant with a massive bow plow through a dozen Lannister foot soldiers was a major highlight. Then there are the Heroes—extremely powerful units that level up after defeating enemies, bringing unique perks to your army. The Starks in particular had access to plenty during the demo, including Jon Snow, Robb Stark, and even the direwolves Ghost and Grey Wind.
On top of passive buffs, Heroes have combat abilities you need to trigger individually. Each time a Hero levels up, more become available. It reminded me of the pace you see in a MOBA, as you need to be careful not to overextend and lose your leveled-up Jon Snow by being careless.
Overall, while it was just a glimpse into what War for Westeros will offer, I’m extremely excited to see what else PlaySide Studios is hiding under the hood, particularly when it comes to single-player content and getting to experience what it’s like to play on larger maps.
Game of Thrones: War for Westeros will be released in early 2027 for PC.
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