Telltale's The Expanse: Release Date, Cast, And Plot - What We Know So Far

There were a lot of amazing new titles announced at the Game Awards, but perhaps one of the more surprising announcements was from a studio many people didn't think they'd ever hear from again. Telltale Games showcased a new game based on the popular sci-fi franchise, "The Expanse" which the developer is making in collaboration with the award-winning studio behind "Life is Strange: True Colors," Deck Nine Games.

This isn't Telltale's first rodeo when it comes to adapting large IPs to their signature choice-based adventure games. The studio has made adaptations in the worlds of "The Walking Dead," "Batman," "Game of Thrones," and more. In some ways, it's a natural choice for adapting "The Expanse." The studio has had more than its fair share of dark times, too, however. It ran into a lot of trouble in 2018, when 250 employees were laid off without notice or severance and all of Telltale's works in progress, (like it's "Stranger Things" game) were either cancelled, or placed on permanent hiatus. Even the developer's Steam library started to disappear from the storefront.

It seems the studio has managed to pull itself back up, and this new "Expanse" game appears to be one of the flagships of its resurrection. Here's everything we know about it so far.

Now fans know that there is a new, narrative-driven "The Expanse" game on the way, the next question that naturally comes to mind is when is it going to be released? Unfortunately, there hasn't been any information on that front as of yet. The game doesn't currently have a Steam page and neither the announcement trailer nor the official website gives any indication as to when fans should expect to actually lay hands on the game.

It's still unclear what platforms the game will be available on, too. According to a promotional piece on the Telltale website, "The Expanse: A Telltale Series" is currently in the early stages of production and is expected to be released for PC and leading consoles." But what does the company mean by leading consoles? It seems to indicate that the game will likely be on the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Several Telltale games are also currently available for the Nintendo Switch, making it a likely candidate to host the game as well. Its place on the PS4 and Xbox One seems less certain. Whatever consoles it may come to, however, it seems like it will be a while before fans get a chance to play it.

Both "The Expanse" Amazon TV series and the series of novels by James S. A. Corey that it was based on have a large cast of vibrant characters that bring the space saga to life. It's likely that several key characters will make an appearance in the video game, but it may be that only one of them will be placed front and center.

The trailer only features one named character, Camina Drummer, a belter who was the Assistant Director of Tycho Station and the Captain and Station Commander of the OPAS Behemoth/Medina Station in the show. According to IMDb, Drummer has been present in 42 of the 58 episodes of the TV show currently available and is played by Cara Gee. It also appears that Gee will be continuing in her role as a younger version of the stern XO in the upcoming game. Jeff Litchford, COO for Deck Nine is quoted in the promotional piece on the Telltale website saying, "We wanted to pick a character and story that hadn't already been told – one that players could really influence but that also stayed true to the books and series for the fans." This makes it seem like the focus will be on Drummer's story, giving the player the agency to make decisions with consequences to the story, without changing the events set in the TV show.

"The Expanse" is set hundreds of years in the future when humanity has spread throughout the Solar System, forming various military factions and systems of government which are all in a tense cold war. The trailer doesn't reveal much about the plot of the game other than the fact that Drummer is not a woman to be messed with, but there is a brief description given in the promotional article: "The Expanse: A Telltale Series" is set prior to the events of the TV series. Players take on the role of Camina Drummer ... the leader of a rag-tag scavenging crew on the hunt for a mysterious treasure on the edges of The Belt. As Drummer, players must work with a mix of big personalities, square off against a bloody mutiny, explore locations beyond the belt, and, most of all, make tough decisions that will decide the fate of The Artemis spaceship and its crew." Using a mutiny aboard a spaceship where any number of things can go dangerously wrong as the setting seems to mesh perfectly with Telltale's traditional formula of placing the player in a position where every decision feels like it has life-or-death consequences.

Setting the game before the events of the series seems like a good move on the developers' part. It allows long-time fans to get some backstory on characters they already love while allowing players who are new to the series a launch point that doesn't require a deep knowledge of the existing story.