Development studio Stoic has confirmed that its highly successful tactical role-playing game "The Banner Saga" will arrive for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in January 12, 2016. In addition, the company noted that a sequel for the game is scheduled to come out in the same year.
"The Banner Saga" first arrived for the Microsoft Windows, iOS and Android platforms in 2014. The game, which features Viking characters, utilizes a turn-based type of combat system.
According to Engadget, the upcoming game for the console systems is not just be a simple port of its original mobile and PC versions. Instead, it has been optimized and improved for the technical capabilities of the next-gen consoles. Despite the modifications, Stoic assured fans of the original game that "The Banner Saga" for the consoles still carries the same story and gameplay experience.
Although the arrival of the game for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 systems may be considered as good news by most gamers, some might be disappointed to know that the planned PlayStation Vita version of "The Banner Saga" has been shelved. Stoic cited the lack of manpower, development costs and other technical difficulties it encountered while making the console versions of the game as the main reasons that forced the company to put the project on hold.
"The side effect of this is that we have had to put the PlayStation Vita port on the back burner," John Watson, founder and technical director of Stoic wrote in the company's forum site. "I have been excited about the Vita port since day one, and I would love to see 'The Burner Saga' running on my own vita."
"The realities, however, of a very small team and a limited budget, put an immutable check on the speed of our progress," he added.
Aside from the PlayStation Vita port, the development issues encountered by the studio also affected the release of "The Banner Saga 2." Although the game is already currently in development, it will come out sometime in 2016 instead of this year. According to PC Mag, the sequel will be released for the PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, iOS and Android platforms.
Join the Conversation