Author Brandon Sanderson has confirmed he is working on a video game project. Sanderson says he's under a non-disclosure agreement and can't say more about the nature of the project other than the developer is reasonably-sized.
What do we know about Brandon Sanderson's upcoming game?
At present, not much at all. This news comes to us from a live panel in which Sanderson participated. During the panel, Sanderson tells host Travis Gafford that he's currently working on a gaming project with a "fairly large developer". Sanderson isn't doing the bulk of the writing; rather, he's providing lore and allowing the writers to "actually write" the game.
While working on the project, Sanderson says he's also getting to "sit in the meetings" and discover more about the process of making video games. Previously, Sanderson expressed an interest in the storytelling mechanisms of video games. During a San Francisco book signing, he said he "[plays] a lot of games" and "would like to try [his] hand" at game development at some point.
What history does Brandon Sanderson have with gaming?
This won't be Sanderson's first rodeo when it comes to gaming. He worked with APB Reloaded publisher Little Orbit on trying to get a game based on his Mistborn fantasy novels off the ground, but the project never materialized. Mistborn: Birthright, according to Sanderson, "just didn't come together" because video gaming is "such a hard world". There's also the brief VR experience The Way of Kings: Escape the Shattered Plains, which is an interactive narrative game based on Sanderson's The Way of Kings. Lest we forget, Sanderson also worked on the novelizations of the Infinity Blade series.
Sanderson's enthusiasm for gaming is clear, but we don't have many details about his upcoming project. It's not likely it will be based on any of his IPs; if he's not personally involved in the writing process, it's likely to be an original IP created for the purposes of the game. As ever, we'll have more details for you on this as soon as we get them. In the meantime, if you're a Sanderson fan, it's safe to start getting cautiously excited.
Quick Take
Sanderson's Mistborn series is an influential, popular set of fantasy novels that could make an excellent game. It's a shame this project almost certainly isn't Mistborn-related, but maybe it will pave the way for an adaptation of Sanderson's novels some way down the line. Here's hoping this work yields more fruit than other author-developer collaborations; specifically, the dismally mediocre Kingdoms of Amalur and the tragically absent Elden Ring.
What would you like to see from Brandon Sanderson's involvement in a game? Let us know in the comments below!
