AR House of the Dragon App Game Includes Unexpected Tie-In

In case you hadn’t heard, the anticipated Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon App Game, is soon to be released. Its appearance at last weekend’s Comic-Con gave fans a lot to sink their teeth into, Including a new House of the Dragon app game that lets players raise their very own dragon. And an unlikely app that’s been on the scene for a while is also coming along for the dragon ride.

DracARys is a promotional House of the Dragon app game that allows players to “hatch” and raise their own virtual dragon to adulthood. The title uses Niantic’s groundbreaking Lightship technology to render the player’s dragon in the real world, allowing other DracARys users to see and interact with it. Hence the emphasis on the ‘AR’.

How the dragon grows, including its look and temperament, hinges on the dragon keeper’s interactions with it during its formative years. This is likely to allow for players to raise a friendly or aggressive dragon as they see fit. Though if the Tamagochi years are anything to go by, it will most likely lead to a pandemic of whatever personality dragons develop into when they’re chronically neglected.

Those that do show their dragon some regular TLC, however, will be using the actual Valyrian language to communicate with it. ‘Dracarys’ is probably the most recognizable Valyrian word to anyone who has seen Game of Thrones. It was used by Daenarys in the most badass of scenes as a command to her dragons to bring the heat. But most casual viewers probably weren’t aware of its actual Valyrian meaning: “Dragonfire”.

Duolingo users who indulged in its bonafide Valyrian course, however, probably were. And the professional-approved language learning app is stepping up its Valyrian game once more to accompany the House of the Dragon marketing drive and help DracARys users level up their dragon-keeping capabilities.

Alongside the House of the Dragon app game, Duolingo has added 150 new words and 700 new sentences to its free Valyrian course. And while learning Valyrian used to have no use outside of becoming ruler of the Game of Thrones nerds, users can now take that knowledge and put it to good use in DracARys.

All in all, it’s an exciting tie-in from one of the most seminal app games on the market. And if we weren’t already on tenterhooks for August 21 – we certainly are now.