Technologies

War for Westeros, Coming in 2026, Will Let Fans Make Their Own Game of Thrones Ending

The director of the upcoming strategy game chats about how players can forge a different path from the books and show.

For a moment in time, fantasy fans were split between whether Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies or HBO’s Game of Thrones prestige TV show was the best adaptation of a classic book series. But the Oliphaunt in the room is that the last seasons of the latter plummeted so far in quality that it soured opinions on the show as a whole, especially with its divisive ending. But an upcoming GoT video game adaptation due out in 2026 will give players a chance to set the record straight and make their own new ending to the saga of noble houses, loyalty, betrayal and dragons.

Game of Thrones: War for Westeros, from Australian developer and publisher PlaySide Studios, is a real-time strategy game for PC in which players take on their faction of choice and veer away from the storyline of the books and TV show. Back in June at Summer Game Fest, I descended the stairs below the media lounge into a dimly lit interview spot (the most fantasy dungeon-adjacent spot at the event) to chat with Ryan McMahon, the game’s director.

McMahon explained PlaySide’s vision for the game alongside his own deep affection for the Song of Ice and Fire books and Game of Thrones TV show. In the latter years of the show, he’d hold watch parties with other PlaySide developers to see the latest episodes the night they aired.

PlaySide’s history of RTS games, like its own property Age of Darkness: Final Stand, and work on Warcraft 3: Reforged and Civilization 7 VR, made the strategy genre seem appropriate for its adaptation of the franchise.

«Game of Thrones really felt like a natural fit for that because it’s a show about mass conquest and fighting for territory and leading these armies, as well as the political layers within it,» McMahon said. «There’s a lot of complexity to it that really can shine in a strategy genre.»

That includes representing the warring factions in Game of Thrones as different forces in War for Westeros, each with their own distinct units and strategies. The game will have four playable factions at launch: House Stark with all its minor houses representing the North of the continent of Westeros; House Lannister representing those in the southern half; House Targaryen with the forces she’s collected in the Free Cities, along with her dragons; and finally the Night King with his army of the dead and White Walkers.

While War for Westeros primarily references the Game of Thrones world built in the TV show, PlaySide used lore from the books to fill in the gaps, including among the minor houses and the forces of the Night King, McMahon explained. PlaySide didn’t consult directly with series creator George R.R. Martin, but the studio has consulted the author’s team through rights holder Warner Bros. during development when exploring new territory, McMahon said, «especially when it comes to the White Walkers.»

And while War for Westeros focuses on strategy gameplay over character building and world lore, there are still nods to the source material.

«We definitely are trying to sprinkle as many little Easter eggs and lore mentions where we can to really bring that flavor,» McMahon said. «If you’re a book reader, there will definitely be stuff for you.»

A clash of player-kings

PlaySide is designing War for Westeros’ four factions to be balanced but distinct. In the game, cavalry, siege engines, giants and dragons are among the units unique to each faction, though McMahon declined to elaborate further about how each force will differ from the other, saying PlaySide would share additional details when it was ready to reveal more gameplay.

But even the reveal trailer unveiled during SGF hints at the mechanics and asymmetric units fielded by each faction. The accompanying developer diary showed prealpha gameplay footage that includes columns of foot soldiers arranged to march into battle — some of which were completely incinerated by a massive dragon belching flames.

Though the armies will each have their different units, mechanics, heroes and play styles, PlaySide is striving to keep them balanced against each other — and most importantly, make each side interesting to play.

«We want to make dragons feel powerful, but we want to make sure that the Lannisters, the Starks and the White Walkers all have something that feels like a powerful equivalent that can potentially contest the dragons in some way,» McMahon said.

The developer diary also touches on the political aspect of War for Westeros, though this is less like the systems-heavy diplomacy of strategy games like Civilization 7 and more like the jockeying that happens whenever multiple players are gunning for the win in a tabletop game like Risk or Settlers of Catan. Each playthrough of War for Westeros only ends when one player sits the Iron Throne, so McMahon expects them to naturally form and break alliances at strategic moments — just like in Game of Thrones.

«If I know this person over here [controlling] House Stark is pushing in on the Lannisters, and I’m playing as the Targaryens, that could be my opportunity to push in if they’re ahead,» McMahon said.

Single-player mode will have its own specific layers of political interaction, he added, but the game design’s focus is on how players pit themselves against each other. There will be a game mode where players can set custom modifiers to vary their playthrough and set their own rules. The geography has its own conditions: In the developer diary, there’s footage of an overworld map of Westeros featuring famous locations like Winterfell and King’s Landing. Players won’t be fighting within the iconic castles of the show, but they will clash against enemy armies in handcrafted maps tailored to the various biomes of the continent.

A storm of strategy swords

PlaySide has leaned on its previous strategy experience, making its own RTS, Age of Darkness, and strategy games from other IPs to ensure War for Westeros has a satisfying core gameplay loop. With all that experience, the studio can incorporate layers of complexity while also making it approachable, McMahon said. Given Game of Thrones’ popularity, the game is probably going to be a lot of players’ first RTS (or first in a very long time).

As a game in development, things can always change before War for Westeros comes out in 2026, and McMahon couldn’t say a lot about the game. But I had to ask: What’s the faction McMahon himself likes playing most right now? While his favorite character from the books is Tyrion Lannister, and he really enjoys how the Targaryen hero Daenerys functions, and the faction’s dragons, his sympathies lie with the undead Night King and his White Walkers.

«I’m naturally a very aggressive player in video games, wanting to push forward, take territory, put a lot of pressure on my opponent,» McMahon said. «The White Walkers, as they stand right now, lean heavily into that type of play.»

Much of our conversation centered around the state of the game at launch, with the implication that more could be coming later, though that all depends on how the game is received. Still, McMahon emphasized that the team has a lot of ideas.

«Actually, there’s so much you can do with the world of the Song of Ice and Fire — outside of Westeros, within Westeros — that we can tap into,» McMahon said. «But right now, our focus is on the launch itself. And then, [if] things go well there, there’s a lot we’d love to do.»

Technologies

The Apple Watch Series 11 Brings High Blood Pressure Alerts

Apple’s newest flagship watch can detect possible signs of hypertension.

The Apple Watch Series 11 made its debut at Apple’s «awe dropping» event in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday, vying for a spot on your wrist with a mix of fresh updates including new hypertension notifications, sleep score analysis, 5G connectivity and increased battery life.

With a decade of upgrades and refinements, the Series 11 represents a big move for Apple as it leans further into its health and fitness features across its Apple Watch lineup. Alongside the Series 11, Apple also unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3, along with the new iPhone 17 lineup (including the brand new iPhone Air), and the latest generation of AirPods (Pro 3).

Both the Series 11 and the new Ultra 3 will ship with WatchOS 26, which Apple previewed at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The update brings a cleaner «liquid glass» UI, live translation for text messages, a redesigned Notes app for your wrist and Workout Buddy; Apple’s new AI-powered companion that offers real-time motivation based on your personal metrics during certain workouts.

Pricing and availability

The Apple Watch Series 11 is available for preorder now and will hit stores on September 19. Pricing starts at $399 (£369, AU$679) for the 42mm aluminum Wi-Fi model, while the LTE version of the same watch runs $499. The titanium LTE version of the 42mm model is priced at $699.

New health features

The biggest addition is a feature that can notify you when you’re showing signs of hypertension or high blood pressure. The Apple Watch will send alerts if it notices consistent patterns over a 30-day period that could warrant a follow-up with a doctor, and then allow users to log their blood pressure on the Health app (from a cuff) to confirm.

Another health upgrade is the new Sleep Score, which grades your sleep session on a scale of 1 to 100 or low to excellent. The watch doesn’t just hand you a number with no context; it breaks down your score and shows you factors that may be contributing like bedtime, sleep interruptions and duration, highlighting specific factors that may have impacted your sleep.

Design updates

Visually, the Series 11 looks much like the Series 10, with the same thin profile and edge-to-edge display. But there’s a subtle, practical upgrade: the aluminum model now uses stronger, more scratch-resistant glass, making it more durable for everyday wear.

Connectivity and battery

For the first time, the LTE model of the Series 11 supports 5G connectivity, which Apple says is not only faster but also more efficient at conserving battery life when in use.

Battery life has also received a bump. The Series 11 now promises up to 24 hours on a charge, compared to the 18 hours of the Series 10. Apple tends to be conservative with its battery claims. In real-world use, we may see it stretch beyond the official promise as I’ve consistently been able to stretch out the Series 10 claim to almost 30 hours.

This is a developing story. Follow all of CNET’s 2025 Apple Event coverage for live updates, hands-on impressions, and more announcements as they’re revealed.

Technologies

More Than 4.4 Million Exposed in Credit Bureau TransUnion Breach: What to Know

The breach appears related to a wave of attacks on companies’ Salesforce databases.

Sensitive personal information belonging to 4.4 million customers, including their names and Social Security numbers, was exposed in a data breach on credit bureau TransUnion, in what is believed to be the latest in a string of attacks targeting companies’ Salesforce databases.

The data breach, which occurred on July 28, was identified and contained within hours, a TransUnion spokesperson told CNET. TransUnion is one of three credit bureaus — along with Equifax and Experian — that compile your financial activity into credit reports that are then used to create your credit scores. The credit bureau said it’s notifying people who may have been affected and sharing the actions the company is taking.

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Two separate state filings shed more details on the situation. A court filing in Maine shows that TransUnion acknowledged unauthorized access from a third-party application that stored personal customer data. While the notice to consumers says that no credit information was accessed, «limited personal information» was exposed. However, another filing from Texas states that names of individuals, Social Security numbers and birthdates were exposed in the breach.

The TransUnion spokesperson further clarified that the breach involved a third-party application serving its US consumer support operations but did not include its core credit database or credit reports. The bureau has engaged third-party cybersecurity experts for an independent forensics review.

The breach came after Google reported in June that hackers were using a modified version of a Salesforce-related app to steal vast stores of data, infiltrate other cloud systems and extort compromised companies. The same report named the cybercriminal hacking group ShinyHunters, which it said was linked to extortion demands to employees of the victim organizations.

Several global organizations have already been caught in a wave of Salesforce-linked attacks, according to BleepingComputer, including Google, Farmers Insurance, Allianz Life, Workday, Pandora, Cisco, Chanel and Qantas. Salesforce said social engineering, and not its platform, were to blame for the attacks.

«The Salesforce platform has not been compromised, and this issue is not due to any known vulnerability in our technology,» Salesforce said in a statement in August, adding that customers can mitigate the risk by enabling multi-factor authentication and closley managing connected applications.

Consumer rights law firm Wolf Haldenstein issued an alert on the breach and encouraged those who have received a notice and spot unusual activity on their credit report to reach out.

If you’re not sure if your private data was leaked or you haven’t received any communication from TransUnion, you can check by calling its Fraud Victim Assistance Department at 800-680-7289.

Even if you haven’t received a notice, if you’ve experienced unusual activity on your credit report, you can always freeze your credit for free, enable two-factor authentication or add a security key to your accounts.

Technologies

Will the iPhone 17 Be Able to Run GTA 6?

The new iPhone Air and iPhone Pro promise big performance from Apple’s new A19 Pro chips.

Apple held its big annual iPhone event Tuesday, showing off the upcoming ultrathin iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Series 11, the Apple Watch SE 3 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3. There were a few mentions of video games during the show, but in one sequence showing off the new camera for the iPhone 17, it was hard to ignore that this particular shot looked like something out of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6.

Megan Nash, product manager for iPhone, spoke during the event about the iPhone 17’s new 48-megapixel main camera that Apple calls Dual Fusion, which can take sharp photos at full resolution or take 2x crop-zoomed images at 24 megapixels. Behind her was an iconic backdrop of a strip from Miami that made some GTA fans wonder if maybe Apple was going to announce a deal with Rockstar Games.

A thread on the GTA subreddit titled Did Apple just tease GTA VI on iPhone? appeared shortly after Nash’s sequence in the iPhone event. Most posters on the thread joked and reminded everyone that the fictional Vice City is based on the real Miami. The upcoming GTA 6 takes place in the fictional state of Leonida, a parody of Florida, with one of the cities players can visit being Vice City.

CNET did reach out to Apple and Rockstar Games just in case. Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment.

GTA 6 was slated to come out this year, but Rockstar Games announced in May that it was delayed. The new date is currently set for May 26, 2026. This would mean that if there were an iOS version of the game, it would be playable on an iPhone 17. Even though the new iPhone 17 will come with an A19 chip’s five-core GPU that can improve gaming, it’s unlikely it could run the next GTA game without some modifications.

On the other hand, the iPhone Air, iPhone Pro and Pro Max have A19 Pro chips with a more powerful six-core GPU (at least for the latter two), which Apple said has «MacBook Pro levels of compute … perfect for GPU-intensive AI workloads.» If Apple is comparing the A19 Pro’s performance to that of a MacBook Pro (though which MacBook Pro, specifically, we don’t know), it’s possible GTA 6 could be playable.

GTA 6 is arguably the most anticipated game coming for the current generation of consoles, and there has been speculation that it could be priced at $100. This is much higher than the current price tag of $70 for most games, although Nintendo did start releasing new games for $80 on its Switch 2.

Preorders for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Air will start at 5 a.m. PT on Friday, Sept. 12.