The Banner Saga: turn-based Viking RPG from indie ex-Bioware team

Stoic are a three man team of indie devs who have formerly worked for the likes of Sony, Ubisoft and, most recently, Bioware. They've left mainstream development to work on a new game in "a tiny shed behind a bar." It's called The Banner Saga, a "role-playing meets turn-based strategy" game about Vikings rendered with lovely, hand-drawn art.

Their tale will be told across a mini-series of adventures and, according to the Banner Saga website , is aimed at players with an appreciation for "art, story and strategy." There will be decisions, conversations and consequences, as you might expect from a team that's worked at Bioware. There will also be multiplayer. Free, multiplayer in fact, carefully deduced from the notice on the official site suggesting that "free multiplayer combat" is "coming soon." A Banner Saga trailer is due to be released soon as well, which will hopefully give us a good look at more of that artwork.

Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.