Game of Thrones final season is officially 6 episodes

You’ve been hearing this for a couple years, but now it’s a done deal: The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones will firmly consist of six episodes, sources confirm.

Wrapping the hit series at 73 total episodes has long the plan of Emmy-winning showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss, who have known for years precisely how many episodes were ideally left in their intricately constructed HBO fantasy epic based on George R.R. Martin’s novels. The producers are currently writing those final hours while also completing post-production work on the show’s seventh season — which makes its eagerly anticipated return this summer (and will consist of seven episodes).

HBO is also developing four (possibly five) GoT prequel ideas from different writing teams to potentially continue the franchise. The projects are still early days — none are yet written and there’s no certainty that HBO will necessarily greenlight any to series.

For more GoT scoop, EW has released its annual Game of Thrones preview issue behind the scenes in Westeros and offering five collectible covers. Get your copy here and check out our gallery of exclusive photos.

Also this week, HBO unveiled the trailer for season 7. Check out Darren Franich’s deep-dive analysis of every shot. (The trailer has now surpassed 61 million views in just 24 hours!).

For ongoing Game of Thrones coverage, follow @jameshibberd for the latest (non-fake and spoiler free); subscribe to our GoT newsletter for breaking news alerts, and check out our GoT podcast.

Game of Thrones debuts July 16 on HBO.