Last year the Tales From The Borderlands developer, TellTale Games, announced it was developing an episodic game based on The Expanse. Now an official release date for episode 1 of The Expanse: A Telltale Series has an official release date. The first episode releases on July 27th for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC.
TellTale is no stranger to episodic games. The Walking Dead: A TelllTale Series, The Wolf Among Us and Tales From the Borderlands are all interactive narrative titles broken down into various episodes. In the past, fans of TellTale titles often waited months between episode releases. However, the company promises that an episode will release every two weeks until the fifth and final episode’s launch.
From books to TV to games
The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a prequel to The Expanse television series, which originally aired on Syfy and is now available on Prime. In turn, the highly rated TV show is based on James S. A. Corey’s series of nine novels.
According to Telltale, The Expanse is its largest title yet and offers more immersive exploration than previous games. Players take on the role of Camina Drummer, voiced by the actress who portrayed her on TV, Cara Gee. In the game, players will deal with a mutiny, search shipwrecks and make heart-wrenching decisions that affect the playthrough’s outcome.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series’ standard version retails for $40, while the deluxe edition is available for $45. Those who pre-order the title on PlayStation or the Epic Store will gain access to the game a day earlier than other gamers. The game’s deluxe edition will include access to extra content that will release at a future date.
Sci-fi in transmedia
The Expanse isn’t the only sci-fi IP to gain a video game adaptation. John Carter, the hero from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ stories, is gaining a video game adaptation as well. John Carter: Warlord Of Mars is being developed by Hypnotic Ants. In a similar vein, Charisma’s AI was used to create a video game of the science fiction novel The Kraken Wakes To Life. Additionally, Doctor Who celebrates its 60th anniversary this year with the transmedia story Doom’s Day
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
