The game will take place concurrently with the television series, from the end of the third season until just prior to the start of the fifth season. The story will focus on the House Forrester, a family not yet introduced in the television series, but found within the continuity of the books, appearing in A Dance with Dragons. House Forrester is found in the north of Westeros, in a fortress called Ironrath, where they control the valuable Ironwood forest which has attracted rivals to their reign. The game will primarily take place near Ironwood, but will include established locations on both Westeros and Essos continents.

Throughout the game, the player will control one of five members of the Forresters (either a family member or servant), with decisions made by one character affecting the others, and the ultimate fate of the house. Telltale has stated there are thirteen original characters developed for the game, which include (both playable and non-playable characters):

    Lord Gregor Forrester, the father of the House and loyal to the Starks.
    Lady Elissa Forrester, the matriarch of House Forrestor that vows to prevent the destruction of her family as had fallen to her birth family, House Branfeld.
    Rodrik Forrester, the first-born son of the House and its heir, with a prominent military background.
    Mira Forrester, the eldest daughter of the House and serving as a handmaiden to Margaery Tyrell.
    Talia Forrester, the second-eldest daughter, who is gifted with a talented voice.
    Ethan Forrester, Talia's twin, the third-born son, and an academic that was drawn into the War of the Five Kings.
    Ryon Forrester, the youngest son of the House.
    Asher Forrester, the exiled son of the House that nearly brought it war and since has resided in Essos to leave that past behind.
    Maester Ortengryn, loyally serving the House Forrestor after studying at the Citadel and assigned to the family.[6]
    Ser Royland Degore, an experienced military leader that serves as the master-at-arms for the House.
    Duncan Tuttle, a good friend of Lord Forrestor to which he now serves as the House's Castellan.
    Gared Tuttle, squire to Lord Forrestor and nephew to Duncan.[18]
    Malcolm Branfeld, brother of Lady Forrestor and, with her, the only surviving members of House Branfeld.

The game will also include characters from the show, with voice work performed by the show's actors, including: Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer), and Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon).

After previous video games based on his works received overwhelmingly negative or mediocre critical responses, George R. R. Martin opined that he wanted "a Game of Thrones game to be made by a studio that knows how to create a thrilling and interesting story". Telltale Games has found critical success in several licensed adventure games, including their The Walking Dead episodic video game series. The Game of Thrones game arose from internal discussions within Telltale of what other popular franchises they wanted to write games around, with much support given for Game of Thrones, considering its emotionally equivalence to their The Walking Dead game. They approached HBO with the concept, and after a year of negotiations, were able to secure the license.

In December 2013, Telltale announced the Game of Thrones title at the 2013 Spike VGX video game awards program. George R. R. Martin stated that his personal assistant, Ty Corey Franck, is working with Telltale Games as a "story consultant".Telltale's CEO Don Conners explained that the game will not be a prequel to the television series, that the established world and timeline of Game of Thrones is allowing Telltale to explore fixed stories in more depth, to appeal to players.