Dragons are what put the Targaryens behind the iron throne and now Game of Thrones fans have the opportunity to raise their own. With the new HBO Original series House of the Dragon premiering August 21, HBO Max launched the official augmented reality app House of the Dragon: DracARys in anticipation of the spin-off prequel.

The app – which allows fans to “hatch” and raise their own virtual dragons at home – was first launched exclusively on July 20 at San Diego Comic-Con to attendees of the immersive guided experience House of the Dragon: The Dragon’s Den. Based on George R. R. Martin’s 2018 novel Fire and Blood, the prequel series is set roughly 200 years prior to the events that took place in the original Game of Thrones HBO series and will focus primarily on the Targaryen family. House of the Dragon will showcase the beginnings of the fall of House Targaryen as well as the events leading up to their civil war known as the Dance of Dragons.

The House of the Dragon: DracARys trailer shows that each dragon is unique to its user, and it will grow, developing a look and temperament driven by its keeper's interactions with it. Valyrian words learned from House of the Dragon as well as the original series will help users command their dragon using the app’s voice recognition system. With House of the Dragon: DracARys, the virtual dragons can grow to enormous size, hitting developmental milestones on their way to full adulthood. In the mobile game, they will be able to roam the world for other users all around the world to see and interact with.

DracARys Visual_2
Image via HBO Max

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“With ‘House of the Dragon: DracARys’ we have built the most personalized, responsive, virtual creature to ever live on your phone, brought to life in the latest augmented reality technology,” Victor Pineiro, the Director of Digital Innovation with HBO Max, said. “We can’t wait for fans to engage with DracARys and further immerse themselves in the world of Westeros.”

In collaboration with The Mill’s team of artists, technologists, and strategists, the HBO Max digital innovation and marketing teams developed House of the Dragon: DracARys from scratch using the Unity game engine. The mobile game is also powered by the Niantic's Lightship tech along with immersive sound design by London-based studio, Factory.

“When the dragons of Westeros appear on the show it's always a breathtaking, awe-inspiring moment,” Kevin Young, the Creative Director at The Mill and Lead Creative on House of the Dragon: DracARys, said. “With DracARys we wanted users to experience those moments of awe and wonder in the context of their everyday lives. Our ambitions are to complement the world of Westeros and the mythology of the show in an enriching way, while pushing the boundaries of what is possible with virtual characters existing in mixed realities.”

House of the Dragon: DracARys is now available to download on Apple and Google Play app stores in 19 countries. While additional countries will be announced at a later date, the countries where the game is already available include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK and USA.

House of the Dragon is set to premiere on HBO Max on August 21, 2022, and will release episodes weekly on Sundays. Seasons 1-8 of Game of Thrones are available to stream on HBO Max as well.

Check out a preview for the app below: