Fantasy titan Brandon Sanderson "talking to triple-A developers" to develop Mistborn videogame, and it could be my dream RPG

If you haven't read the Mistborn books, it's hard to call yourself up to date on modern fantasy. While author Brandon Sanderson's characters don't particularly engage me, his worldbuilding and magic systems are sublime. I dare anyone to come up with a more exciting school of magic than Allomancy, and to twist it in more creative ways than Sanderson can and does. What's more, it's perfect for a videogame. So perfect, in fact, that Sanderson himself is in talks to turn his 1.2 million-word series into an interactive adventure.

Sanderson shared the news in his annual State of the Sanderson YouTube video last week. While there are no details at present, he says he's getting "real interest" from "triple-A developers" in a videogame adaptation. I'm not joking when I say that, in the right hands, a Cosmere adapation could shoot straight to the top of our list of the best RPGs ever made.

"I've started to get some real interest on the videogame front, and I feel I'm finally getting established enough that we can make a Mistborn game happen," he says. "To that end, I've started talking to some triple-A developers."

He acknowledges that this is in the 'having conversations' stage of making an adaptation, step one on his personal ten-step program which he uses to explain the process to fans. He also mentions that the videogame rights were "tied up" with the film rights for the last six or seven years, so he's only just started to test the market with them. The reception, it seems, has been positive.

"I'm trying to do things differently this time, in order to retain control of my videogame rights," he says. "I already have interest from some major players in the videogame industry, who I like a lot. So, if you are a decision-maker at a triple-A studio or a major independent, and you've always wanted to make a Mistborn or Stormlight game, you would want to contact my reps now."

As for what the game could look like, we realistically have no idea. Sanderson's favorite games include the likes of Civilization 6, Bloodborne, Final Fantasy 10, and Star Wars: X-Wing, so there are no hints there. Personally I'd love an open-world adventure or, even better, an immersive sim that lets you loose to utilize your powers of Allomancy however you see fit.

While details are understandably scant, this is hugely exciting news for Sanderson fans, and fans of the fantasy genre in general. Not only could a Mistborn videogame be on the way, the author himself has given you plenty of time to read or re-read the series before it releases. With modern development times so bloated, you could probably stretch to reading the 2.2 million words of The Stormlight Archive, too, to really understand everything about Sanderson's meticulously-crafted world. After all that, a couple of hundred hours in an RPG would seem like nothing.