'The Banner Saga 2' news: Game to debut in April

The Banner Saga 2Stoic Studios, Versus Evil

Stoic Studio has announced that "The Banner Saga 2" will be released for the PC this coming April 19. A release for the PS4 and the Xbox One is also in development but the console versions will not launch until summer this year, with no specific release currently scheduled.

As stated in a report from VG24/7, the game is already available for pre-order via Steam. Pre-orders will be at a 10 percent discount, placing it at $18. Once the game is released, it will be avalable at its full price of $20. A deluxe version is also going to be available. This will be comparative to the full price of the non-deluxe version of the first game.

The first game saw players control a traveling caravan as they journeyed to defeat a war-race known as the Dredge and hunt for a weakness to bring down the Dredge's leader, Bellower. The sequel will pick up right after the climactic end of the first game, once again allowing players to control their caravan through the almost post-apocalyptic Nordic setting

The developers also said that the choices made in the first game, as well as the final tally of who lived and who died by the time the credits rolled, will affect the events of the second game. Not only will this better tie the two games together but it will raise replayability for the first title.

The second game will also see the return of Austin Wintory as the game's musical composer. Wintory previously garnered a Grammy-nomination for his work on the video game "Journey" and is widely praised for the work he contributed to "The Banner Saga."

According to a report from Warped Zone, Stoic Studio and publisher Versus Evil will be presenting the game during this year's PAX East event, where a playable demo will available at the Versus Evil game booth. A panel will be held on April 23, covering the development process involved in making the game.