The Wheel Of Time Is About To Rewrite The Forsaken’s Fate

Published Sep 20, 2026, 1:30 AM EDT

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. 

The Forsaken in The Wheel of Time novels are among the most dangerous and influential servants of the Dark One, with each leaving a lasting mark on the world long before the Last Battle begins. Originally powerful channelers from the Age of Legends, the thirteen Forsaken turned to the Shadow during the War of Power before being imprisoned alongside their master at Shayol Ghul.

Their eventual return thousands of years later becomes one of the key threats Rand al’Thor and his allies face, as figures like Ishamael, Lanfear, Demandred, and Graendal manipulate nations and pursue their own competing ambitions. Despite their legendary reputations, however, the Forsaken are hardly united. Rivalries, betrayals, arrogance, and the Dark One’s willingness to resurrect certain fallen servants repeatedly reshape their ranks throughout the series.

By the conclusion of A Memory of Light, most have been killed, incapacitated, or otherwise defeated, leaving the once-terrifying group effectively broken following the Last Battle. However, the fate of the Forsaken is about to be entirely rewritten in an upcoming Wheel of Time release that officially arrives in 2027.

Wheel Of Time's Forsaken Get New Ending In Upcoming Release

Dire Wolf's upcoming War of the Dragon: The Wheel of Time will essentially give players an opportunity to rewrite the struggle between the Light and Shadow, taking recognizable characters, conflicts, and turning points from Robert Jordan's novels and allowing them to unfold differently on the tabletop.

The game begins around the events of The Shadow Rising before building toward its own version of Tarmon Gai’don, with the choices made along the way determining what the Last Battle ultimately looks like. That setup becomes particularly interesting for anyone playing as the Shadow. While Rahvin and Sammael begin during gameplay, the remaining Forsaken are locked away in a special deck appropriately called the Dark One’s Prison.

Throughout Epic Mode, the Shadow player can work toward freeing these powerful servants by progressing the Inner Wheel and accumulating Prison icons, potentially unleashing Forsaken who provide unique abilities and huge advantages later on. Freeing all 11 even provides a potentially game-defining benefit heading into the Last Battle.

This structure creates a very different version of the Forsaken's story from the novels, where instead of their individual schemes, betrayals, and deaths playing out exactly as written, players can determine how effectively the Shadow uses them and which figures become instrumental in the war.

War Of The Dragon Lets Wheel Of Time Fans Write Their Own Endings

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The above philosophy extends across the entirety of War of the Dragon, where heroes can develop differently, armies can seize different territories, and familiar story events can have entirely new outcomes. War of the Dragon does not literally replace the books' canon, but it effectively turns the major conflict into a giant what-if scenario where the Pattern can be woven differently every time.

Backers who pledged to War of the Dragon: The Wheel of Time should begin receiving their copies in 2027, although the exact timing will depend on location. Dire Wolf currently expects shipments to leave the factory before the end of 2026, with fulfillment for U.S. backers taking place during the first half of 2027. International fulfillment is expected to follow over the subsequent months.

Players who missed the crowdfunding campaign will also have an opportunity to pick up War of the Dragon in retail as well. Dire Wolf has confirmed that the standard Dragon Reborn Edition will arrive at friendly local game stores and through its international localization partners sometime in 2027, although a more specific retail release date has not yet been announced.

The premium One Power Edition and several accessories are also expected to remain available directly through Dire Wolf, while certain Kickstarter bonuses, including the Bela and Hopper promo cards and Map of the Westlands art print, were campaign exclusives and are not planned for the standard retail release. Either way, whether you got in early or are just now learning about War of the Dragon, fans will be able to dive into this new chapter in Wheel of Time's saga next year.

The Wheel of Time