The Big Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest Interview: Release Date, Clan Roles, Combat, and More

Erin Hunter’s Warrior Cats franchise is finally getting an officially licensed video game coming to all major platforms this fall. We got to speak with one of the developers behind the turn-based title, who opened up about the team’s creative process and what it’s like bringing the Clans to life.

As a lifelong fan of the Warrior Cats world, I couldn’t believe it when I got the chance to quiz the developers at Bamtang Games and the folks at Coolabi Group about Clans of the Forest, the upcoming turn-based role-playing game based on the four original clans of the Warriors book series.

I also get to be the one to happily break the news of its official launch date. Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest will release on October 23, 2026 on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.

With that out of the way, let’s take a dive into my conversation with Adam Johnston, Creative Director at Bamtang Games, who assured me that his team is doing everything they can to stay true the the books’ lore — even to the point of bringing in community members to keep them on the right path.

IGN: The Warriors books are beloved by generations of fans. How does it feel being honored with the task of bringing this world to life?

Adam Johnston: Looking at the sheer scale of the world Erin Hunter built was a little intimidating at first. Once you realize just how many books, characters, and Clan dynamics exist, you understand the size of the mountain you're climbing. But as soon as our team jumped into the stories, that intimidation turned into excitement. We fell in love with the lore. Bringing it to life became a dream project for us. To make sure we get every detail right, we’ve had dedicated super fans working alongside us throughout development. They keep us honest and make sure we don't accidentally violate any sacred Clan traditions along the way. Having their feedback paired with our team's energy has been amazing. Our goal has been to craft something deeply authentic for readers who grew up with the series, while making it just as engaging for someone discovering Warriors for the first time. It's a huge responsibility, but we couldn't ask for a better world to build. If we have accidentally messed up the etiquette of a Gathering, we fully expect StarClan to strike us down.

IGN: Tell me a little bit about the production process for Clans of the Forest. Why a turn-based RPG? Was any inspiration taken from the Roblox game?

Adam Johnston: When you look at combat in the books, it isn't just cats slashing wildly at each other. It’s about stealth, positioning, and working as a team. A turn-based RPG made the most sense because it forces you to think strategically instead of just mashing buttons. It also let us build proper team battles and gives us a solid framework to make fights against badgers, foxes, or rival patrols actually work mechanically. Designing RPG combat for cats meant ditching standard spells. Instead, depth comes from shifting combat Stances. Every move you make alters your stance mid-fight, turning battles into a tactical game of reading your opponent and predicting their next move before they strike. As for Roblox, tons of respect to that community. They showed everyone years ago just how badly fans wanted to roleplay in this world. We're building a structured RPG rather than an open sandbox, but seeing their success gave us a lot of confidence that the appetite was definitely there.

IGN: Why did you make the choice to let players create their own cat, rather than play through the story as one of the established cats in the series?

Adam Johnston: If you ask almost any Warriors fan, the first thing they did after reading the books was figure out what their own warrior name would be and which Clan they belonged to. Self-expression is a huge part of why people fall in love with this universe in the first place. If we forced you to play as Firestar or another established character, you’d just be running through a story where you already know how everything turns out. Letting players create their own cat completely changes the game. It gives you incredible replayability, because every new cat you make comes with a different Clan, look, stat setup, and personality. Over time, you aren't just playing a single campaign. You're building your own personal legacy across the forest, populating the world with your own web of stories, rivalries, and characters across multiple playthroughs.

IGN: How important was cat customization to you? (As a kid who absolutely designed their own Warrior Cat OC, believe me, I get the appeal. Haha!)

Adam Johnston: Everyone who read these books had a notebook somewhere filled with their own custom cat designs. We knew if we didn't give players deep customization, we'd be missing the entire point of making a Warriors game. We wanted to make sure you could customize initial visuals like pelt patterns and eye colors, but also see your cat change as they get older. Your cat will start out as a cute apprentice and eventually end up looking like a grizzled veteran who has seen way too many badgers. On top of that, we tied identity directly into mechanics. Your Clan, level, and training shape your base stats, while the choices you make along your journey determine the moves you learn. That way, your cat actually grows up and lives a different story in the forest each time.

IGN: Will players get to choose certain roles, like being a Medicine Cat? Why or why not?

Adam Johnston: We anchored the player's path in the warrior ranks because every Clan needs a clear leader to face the prophecy, and we wanted the player to be that hero. While being a Medicine Cat is a fantasy for a lot of fans, their duty in the lore is healing and spiritual guidance, not tactical dueling or Clan leadership. The emotional climax across all four Sagas relies on you standing at the head of your Clan during its most dangerous hour. To give players a Hero's Journey, we wanted your choices to directly affect Clan politics and leadership. That said, Medicine Cats still play an important role in your journey. They are central to the story, spiritual guidance, and survival of your Clan, even if you aren't the one dispensing catmint yourself.

IGN: The Warriors books are known for being quite brutal, despite their young audience. Was the inclusion of any blood and gore discussed for this game?

Adam Johnston: We discussed this early on because the books are famous for their fierce battles. But for us, it wasn't about showing blood, it was about honoring the resilience of a warrior. We designed stylized visual scars that feel earned after tough encounters, avoiding anything graphic or scary. Giving players a toggle to turn those scars on or off in the settings was a crucial decision for us: it respects different age groups, sensory comfort, and player agency without diluting the dramatic tension of big important fights.

IGN: Is any DLC planned after the game's launch?

Adam Johnston: Right now, we are focused on the launch of the game. Any updates or plans for additional content will be addressed later.

IGN: And finally, do you have a message to the fans about what they can expect from Clans of the Forest?

Adam Johnston: The books don't pull punches. You've got dog packs, vicious badger fights, and some genuinely heavy character deaths. We knew we couldn't make a sanitized version of the forest, because treating this universe with respect means honoring those actual stakes. At the same time, we didn't want gratuitous gore just for shock value. Our goal was to match the emotional weight of the books rather than turn it into a total splatterfest. You’ll feel the tension of combat, and your cat will pick up scars as they age, but the focus is on story and consequences of choices. Get ready to prove you're warrior material, not just a soft kittypet.

I also got the chance to quiz a few members of the Coolabi Group, a British media company that has owned the rights to the Warrior franchise since 2012. Specifically, I got to chat with Nick Cooke, Director of Product Development, as well as Jordan Long and Stephanie Lane Elliot from Coolabi’s Editorial team.

IGN: The Warriors books are beloved by generations of fans. How does it feel being honored with the task of bringing this world to life?

Jordan Long: I have been reading the books since 2005, when I was just a kid in elementary school and the Warrior Cats series only had eight published books to its name. Now there are hundreds of books, graphic novel adaptations, multiple lines of merchandise, a television series in development - and now the upcoming game. It has been absolutely incredible to be a part of creating this newest chapter in the Warrior Cats story. It feels like reaching back in time and gifting myself the game I always dreamed of as a child, and I hope the players feel the love that was put into this, as a gamer and as a lifelong fan of the books.

IGN: What was the most important aspect from the books that you felt you just had to get right in the game?

Jordan Long: One of the most important things we wanted this game to do for fans was to really let them feel that they weren’t just playing a video game with a Warrior Cats logo slapped onto it, but truly getting to play through a story that felt authentic to the world of Warrior Cats. Not just the mechanics of hunting and fighting and designing their cat, but getting to have the experience of living in the world of the Clans, facing the sort of heavy destiny that many of the characters in the books have been presented with and having the choice of how they want to approach it. We feel that the four stories we’ve put together for the four Clans feel authentic to the world of the books - tales of prophecies, hardship, courage, and the bonds forged both within and outside of your Clan that determine the kind of warrior you become.

Stephanie Lane Elliot: We wanted to make sure the game gave a realistic view of what it feels like to live in the Clans, the weight of the choices a warrior makes every day, and how those choices can impact not only their lives but the lives of all their Clanmates.

IGN: The Warriors books are known for being quite brutal, despite their young audience. Was the inclusion of any blood and gore discussed for this game? Why or why not?

Nick Cooke: We talked a lot about how to bring battling into the gameplay in a way that felt true to the Warrior Cats world, while also being appropriate for a broad audience. We were very conscious of the sensitivity around violence, particularly given the age range of the books’ audience, but we also wanted the combat to feel meaningful and engaging.

The turn-based battle system gives players the opportunity to really step into the role of a warrior. You can hunt prey, defend yourself against predators, and fight alongside your Clan against rival Clans. We felt that focusing on strategy, character abilities, and the excitement of the battle itself allowed us to capture that sense of danger and adventure without relying on graphic blood or gore. By having multi-character battles, particularly battles between Clans, is also a big part of making the game feel like the world of Warrior Cats. It gives players the chance to experience those larger-scale conflicts and, ultimately, feel like they’re truly part of their Clan.

IGN: Fans seem to be equal parts cautious and excited for both the Clans of the Forest game and the upcoming animated series. Do you have any words for the fanbase as to what they can expect from the franchise under Coolabi’s purview?

Nick Cooke: Warrior Cats will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2028, and over those 25 years we have strived to support our extraordinary global fanbase who have made the world of Warrior Cats their own. With more than 90 million books sold and the Roblox game rapidly approaching one billion plays, it’s clear that the appetite for this world is stronger than ever — and there is still a lot more to come.

Our ambition is to continue expanding the ways fans can experience and participate in the world of Warrior Cats, while always respecting what has made the franchise so special to them. Ahead of the animated series which is slated to premiere in 2028, we’ll be launching a number of digital and social media programs with a variety of content, designed to give fans new ways to engage with the characters, stories and wider world. These will sit alongside our continued investment in publishing and our expanding consumer products programme, helping us build a broader digital presence for the franchise.

We also recognise that the Warrior Cats community has been creating, imagining and expanding this world for years. Emmy Award-winning director Rodrigo Blaas, who is directing the animated series, spoke recently about the incredible creativity of the fans and the responsibility that comes with bringing the books to animation:

“People and fans have been animating these books on their own time, in their bedrooms, at their desks, because they were not going to wait for somebody to make it official. Many of those works are beautiful. We have watched a lot of it. This is the first time these books are officially becoming an animated series. So we know we are not the first people who tried to bring this world to animated life. We are just the first ones who get to do it at this scale, and we do not take that lightly.” This really captures how we feel about the future of Warrior Cats. We know we’re building on something that already means a huge amount to millions of people. The goal is not simply to make more Warrior Cats content, but to create new experiences that give existing fans something to be excited about while welcoming a new generation into the Clans.

Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.