If you didn’t already hold out high hopes for the Halo TV show, you might just want to reconsider your position. That’s because it’s got some very lofty goals in its sight, not least attempting to match and mirror Game of Thrones, quite possibly the most popular TV show ever. With the financial might of Microsoft at its back, this (hopefully) isn’t just 343 Industries whispering sweet nothings to stoke the already-frenzied fires of an expectant fan base.

Speaking to The Game Maker’s Notebook podcast (H/T Gamespot), 343 transmedia boss Kiki Wolfkill (yes, that is their real name and, yes, it is impossibly cool), was asked about what the Halo TV show could be compared to in the medium.

Their answer, though, might raise some eyebrows: “"It's hard to find an analog. We talk about Game of Thrones a lot in terms of scope and scale and complexity of relationships,” before expanding that “A lot of the background of Halo is this sort of political drama. It's something that [is mentioned] really lightly in the games… Some of that [Game of Thrones] complexity is interesting."

So, while we shouldn’t be expecting Red Weddings involving Sgt. Johnson, there is a lot we can at least hold out hope for. Epic battles, obviously, should be the first on the list. Imagine Master Chief – who we now know is being played by Pablo Schreiber – weaving through a gallery of Grunts and Brutes as all hell rains down in the background. Goosebumps.

But it might be the political situation that has caught the attention of those who are entrenched in Halo lore. If you don’t know your Covenant from your Cortanas, you might not realise there is a deep, rich history of political and religious intrigue bubbling away in the background in the Halo universe. Setting up that framework for Master Chief’s story, including all the backstabs and betrayals that come with it, could reap rewards in the long run, instead of the Halo TV show just gunning for merely being a one-dimensional video game adaptation.

Hilariously, Wolfkill says the Halo TV show won’t be matching HBO’s fantastic epic in all respects. Namely, there’s “no incest” and that “If you're looking for that, you won't find it here.”

So… yeah. Apart from that, the Halo TV show could be well on its way to filling the Game of Thrones-shaped hole in our heart (and telly boxes).

Here are just some of the new TV shows you should be excited about for the rest of 2019.