This article has everything you need to know about The Wayward Realms. If you’re one of the few who have and are wondering what it’s all about, you’ve come to the right place. Only revealed a few days ago, not a lot of people have heard about this game yet. This studio is led by former The Elder Scrolls developers and video game industry veterans Ted Peterson and Julian LeFay. Procedural generation and player choice are integral parts of the RPG toolbox, but the dynamic virtual GM might be a big step forward for these elements of the genre.The Wayward Realms is an upcoming single-player “Grand RPG” game coming from OnceLost Games. It wouldn't be surprising if RPGs developed at all levels of the game industry try to mimic The Wayward Realms' GM in their own ways if it succeeds. Its virtual GM is a useful tool for competing with these other top-of-the-line RPGs. No matter when all of these games release, there's no doubt that The Wayward Realms aims to compete with The Elder Scrolls and its AAA peers in spite of its independent development. The Wayward Realms could release before them and change the course of their development, or release after them and potentially mark a new RPG era. The Elder Scrolls 6, Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed, and the Playground Games' Fable reboot are on the way, but their release dates are also mysteries. OnceLost has told fans that it can't provide a release date for The Wayward Realms. In spite of new teasers and early images, the game is still in development, and there's no sign of a release window yet. It's hard to say, then, if The Wayward Realms will change the course of development for any major upcoming RPGs. The Wayward Realms sells itself on player freedom so far, so OnceLost Games has to create a GM that rewards players for doing what they want and provides engaging content in response. Similarly, player actions need to change the story and game world in noticeable ways without punishing the player for playing a certain way. The Wayward Realms needs to generate worlds that are meaningfully different, not just aesthetically different. Any fan of TTRPGs can corroborate that the mistakes of a DM or GM can drive a TTRPG campaign haywire. Questions like these highlight the importance of execution when it comes to OnceLost's GM AI. However, one has to wonder if low-level NPCs, enemies, and terrain will change based on the GM too. That much stands to reason, seeing the standard created by Fallout, Mass Effect, and other faction-driven RPGs. OnceLost clearly states that the game's factions and significant characters will treat the player character differently based on their choices. The Wayward Realms' GM also raises questions about how far the GM's influence reaches. Instead, OnceLost makes it sound like the GM is generating actions taken by NPCs in the background of The Wayward Realms. That's much more comparable to a tabletop RPG's GM, who writes new events and plot points based on the actions that their party takes during a session of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign or any similar TTRPG. What sets The Wayward Realms' virtual GM apart in concept is that it's not just choosing scripted outcomes based on player choices.
It's not uncommon for an RPG to have an NPC act a certain way or make a certain choice in response to a player choice. It's clear that The Wayward Realms intends to be a part of this RPG tradition, but the introduction of the virtual GM suggests the world will constantly change in new ways and at unprecedented depth. For instance, Fallout 4's many factions offer a variety of different ways to shape the Commonwealth, all with a breadth of consequences. Lots of games like to tell different narratives based on how players choose to impact the narrative.