'The Banner Saga 3' release date: Game may have 2018 release; story said to be stranger than previous entries

"The Banner Saga 2," the current game in the seriesStoic Studio

Stoic Studio has just released "The Banner Saga 2," the sequel to the 2014 original, to critical acclaim. Ports of the first game are still set for release for the PS Vita, and during the PAX East panel, concept artist Arnie Jorgensen revealed several details regarding the third game, "The Banner Saga 3."

Speaking to Gamespot, Jorgensen revealed that "The Banner Saga 3" will be their immediate priority and that the developers would like to continue fleshing out the story even more. Jorgensen explained that the longer players get to see of "The Banner Saga" series the more they will see and experience of the game's world and lore.

In regards to the story of "The Banner Saga 3," Jorgensen confirmed that it will be even stranger than "The Banner Saga 2," which is already being notable for introduce a lot of high-fantasy and mythological elements into the game. He also confirmed that the "weirdness" of North mythology will be explored in the third game.

The first game had a simple plot, dotted with very few moments of the spectacular, but with each new game Stoic Studio is going to add more magical elements.

"We had the whole story and we broke it into three arcs, and you'll see the second arc is going to be ramping up. It's going to get a lot more tense, it's going to get a lot weirder," Jorgensen explained as he spoke to iDigital Times during PAX East. "If 'Saga 3' is successful, then we can flesh it out with other games and different systems."

Jorgensen's last statement confirms that the studios are open to exploring the world of the games in other genres but only after the release of "The Banner Saga 3." This may include an expansion to "The Banner Saga: Factions" and a multiplayer or action game set in the same universe. 

"The Banner Saga 3" has no official release date as of the time of writing but given the gap between the first and second title fans speculate the third game will not launch until 2018 or early 2019.