Fellow Thrones Players,
today I’m gonna announce the decision about one of the biggest discussion points we had in recent years of our beloved game.
After the Rotation test period in the first months of 2025, a scenario (starting in 2026 with rotating out the first two cycles) was presented to the community and G.O.T. had to decide if we want to go forward with this plan for Rotation or not.
After reviewing the Survey Results, talks with several players outside of the organisation and discussions within, we came to the following decision:
Rotation will not be implemented
I know there will be people who are not happy with this decision, that would be the case no matter what we decided. But we believe that this is the best decision for our community! This is also reflected in the result of our voting within G.O.T., which had a clear majority of 75% for no Rotation.
We know that there are points we have to tackle; keeping the meta fresh, allow new players to join, reduce the RL and so on. And of course we are trying to find other (in our opinion better) solutions for these points and keep you informed on that!
We believe that Rotation won’t have enough positive effect on these but will effect the player base and, in short term, also the game experience in a negative way.
In the end I have to thank everyone who invested time in the test period, submitted the survey and was involved in controversial conversations.
I hope everyone that cares about this game and our community finds a way to keep playing with this decision and understands the reasoning behind it!
One more important thing: We are happy to discuss your thoughts in Discord but please keep it civil!
–When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives–
G.O.T.
Below is the summary about the Survey Results:
Following up on the rotation test period, the Global Operations Team (GOT) issued a survey to assess community-wide sentiments regarding the future of the game, potentially consisting of rotation, redesigns, and/or more expansive use of the restricted list. The survey also served as a census of the Game of Thrones community as of April 2025. This article presents a summary of the survey, first covering the state of our community and then diving into the future of the game.
- STATE OF THE COMMUNITY
The survey was completed by 176 members of our community, spanning 29 different countries. While the United States takes the title for the country with the most players, approximately two-thirds of the players come from Europe. Fig. 1 shows the breakdown by region and country.
Each person indicated their name on Tourney Grounds, so we were able to compare the survey responses with tournament participation. Based on attendance to major tournaments in 2024, it appears that approximately 50% of the total player base responded to the survey. Therefore, we can estimate that the total player community is approximately 350 people. Of course, the actual player base will look different than these results. Most notably, countries that have fewer English speakers or countries with internet restrictions would be less represented. China is the prime example, as their national championship had 28 people in attendance in 2024.
Fig. 1 – Survey Respondents Grouped by Country and Region
The survey asked a question about when each player started playing Game of Thrones: the Card Game, the results of which are presented in Fig. 2. An incredible 31% of players have been playing since before 2nd edition was launched, demonstrating that our game is truly the only game that matters. Also of note is the 14% of players who joined the game after FFG stopped officially supporting the game. These numbers indicate that attraction of new players accounts for about 3% of our population per year.
The survey captured a wide range of players, from the most hardcore tournament grinders to casual players that have never played in a tournament. Fig. 3 presents the distribution of tournaments played by each player from April 2024 to April 2025. Slovenia takes the prize for the player with the most tournaments (40) as well as the player with the second most tournaments (38).
Fig. 2 – When Players Started Playing Game of Thrones: the Card Game
Fig. 3 – Tournament Participation from April 2024 to April 2025
- QUESTIONS ON ROTATION
The primary motivation for the survey was to gauge community sentiment towards rotation. GOT has previously outlined the intended aims and potential criticisms of rotation. Along with this survey, GOT also published a detailed proposal for how rotation would be implemented in a Game of Thrones: the Card Game. The survey first asked respondents to rank which of these aims they thought were important to the long-term health of the game. Respondents were then asked how effective they thought the rotation proposal would be at achieving those aims. Lastly, they were asked how concerned they are about the potential criticisms.
For the purposes of presentation and simplicity, the qualitative survey results were normalized into numerical values and averaged. Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 present these average values, showing a relative comparison of the various aims and criticisms. Fig. 4 indicates that the community is primarily interested in keeping the meta fresh and balanced, and rotation is seen as being particularly impactful at keeping the meta fresh. The community is also concerned with attracting new players via reduced knowledge and cost barriers, but rotation is expected to be less impactful towards those aims. Meanwhile, the community is most concerned about not being able to play their favorite cards and having fewer options for deck building. One concern not covered by that question, but discussed in detail later, is how rotation would impact the community.
Fig. 4 – Importance of Aims on Long Term Health and Anticipated Impactfulness of Rotation
Fig. 5 – Concerns about Rotation
Respondents were asked about their views on rotation prior to and after the test period. Fig. 6 presents these views, normalized to the population of each group. Prior to the test period, rotation had a +13% “approval rating” with 48% in favor vs. 35% against. After the test period, sentiments dipped slightly with again 48% in favor, but now 38% against. For people whose view on rotation improved, the most often cited reasons were fresh deck building options and playing without meta-defining cards like Valar Morghulis, First Snow of Winter, and Nightmares. By contrast, for people whose view on rotation worsened, the most often cited reason was also playing without meta-defining cards like Valar Morghulis, First Snow of Winter, and Nightmares. It appears that those meta-defining cards are quite divisive!
A distinct regional difference can be seen after the test period with North America at +37% favorability while Europe is equally balanced at 42% in favor and 42% against. Fig. 7 digs deeper into the sentiment of specific countries, showing the results of countries with 5+ players. This data shows that opinions are highly localized and meta-dependent. Three countries had 50+% of players strongly in favor (USA, Czech Republic, Australia). Meanwhile, three countries had more 45+% of players strongly against with no players strongly in favor.
Fig. 6 – Sentiment Toward Rotation by Region, Before and After the Test Period
Fig. 7 – Sentiment Toward Rotation by Country After the Test Period (minimum 5 players)
- IMPACT OF ROTATION ON COMMUNITY
One question asked respondents “If rotation is implemented according to the proposed plan, how do you expect it would impact your personal activity in the game?” Wherever the topic of rotation has come up, the biggest concern has always been about how this will impact the community. We wanted to highlight this question specifically as player retention and engagement is critical to the long-term health of our game. The results, shown in Fig. 8, indicate that about half of the players would have no significant change, while about one quarter would play more and one quarter would play less. Nine percent said they would quit while two percent of players said they don’t currently play but would come back.
When looking into the players who said they would quit, several of them did not log any tournaments in the past year. Similarly, some of the players who said they would come back have logged as many as 10 tournaments in the past year. To get a more accurate estimate of how rotation would impact the tournament scene, we went through each player, counted up their tournament entries from the past year, and projected how many tournaments they would enter if rotation is implemented. While GOT strives to retain as many players as possible, losing a very active player will be more impactful than losing someone who does not play in any tournaments. With weighted results proportional to tournament entries, the numbers only changed slightly with 8% percent saying they would quit versus 2% saying they would come back. Those saying they’d play more and play less were roughly equal (23% and 21%, respectively), so it can be assumed that they would effectively cancel out. Based on these responses, we estimate that the community would shrink by about 6% if rotation is implemented.
One glaring omission from the survey was how players would be impacted if rotation is NOT implemented. A few players indicated in the comments that they are growing tired of the meta and would play less or quit unless rotation is implemented. We don’t have a poll question for this, but based on the comment responses and discussions with players, we estimate that 2% to 10% of players will quit or play significantly less if rotation is NOT implemented.
Fig. 8 – How Would Rotation Impact You Personally?
- RECOMMENDATIONS TO G.O.T.
The community was asked to offer their recommendations to GOT regarding the future of the game and the best way to balance the game. The first question, shown in Fig. 9, gave respondents three choices for which tool they would prefer to use for balancing the meta. Respondents were required to choose a preferred option, second option, and least preferred option. Nearly half of the community selected rotation as their preferred option, while just under 30% each chose redesigns and a more expansive restricted list.
Fig. 9 – Preferred Tool for GOT to Balance the Meta
The community was also asked whether or not we should support a legacy format with a full card pool if rotation is implemented. 48% of the community said a legacy format should be a secondary format for side events while 38% said we should only have one format. Only 14% of respondents preferred two formats that are supported equally. A frequent comment was also that a legacy format should be combined with the existing Valyrian format that allows for the full card pool.
The community was also asked about which cards should be a priority for GOT to preserve and/or quickly introduce. Meta balancing cards like Valar Morghulis, First Snow, and Nightmares were the most popular (70%), followed by agendas (53%) and cards critical to specific archetypes (47%). The community did not support prioritizing “good stuff” cards or champion cards (24% each).
Lastly, a question was asked specifically about Valar Morghulis. As we’ve seen, meta balancing cards can be very divisive, and no card is more iconic and impactful than VM. Respondents were asked whether VM should rotate out permanently, be redesigned to be weaker, rotate out temporarily, or be immediately reintroduced. An overwhelming 75% of the community agreed that VM should be in the game in its current form. About two-thirds of those votes preferred to keep VM continuously legal while one-third preferred to give it a temporary break.
- Comments
Respondents were given a few different opportunities to voice their opinions via comments. There were too many to present in full, but we will provide a summary of the most common themes:
- Community: Above all, people consistently commented that they wanted to do whatever is best for the community.
- Fresh Meta/Deckbuilding: Many comments stressed a strong desire for a fresh meta and fresh deckbuilding options. Some people said rotation would increase deckbuilding options while others said rotation would reduce options.
- Importance of New Players: In addition to preserving our existing players, many people stressed the importance of attracting new players for the long-term health of the game. Opinions varied on whether or not rotation would significantly improve the ability to attract new players.
- Appreciation for Transparency and Engagement: Many people expressed appreciation that we were polling the community and taking their opinions to heart.
- Comparisons to other Card Games: Several people drew comparisons to other card games and how rotation is done (or not done) in those games. Some people want more formats or fewer formats. Some people think the card pool is too large or too small. Several people commented that almost all card games use rotation, but others commented that the reasons for rotation were only to make more money.
- Concerns/Questions about the Rotation Proposal: While many people were open to the idea of rotation, some had concerned about the proposed two-cycle approach. Concerns included that rotation was too fast, that it would decimate too many archetypes, and that it wouldn’t hit the deluxe boxes, which have powerful cards and are also hard to buy.
- Requests to Nerf Specific Cards: There were a lot of strong opinions to hit specific cards. While not the intent of the survey, your feedback is appreciated.
