The latest possible Game of Thrones season 8 release date has been locked in, according to reports

Want a Game of Thrones season 8 release date? Well, there isn’t one. Sorry about that. What there is, however, is a pretty iron-clan report that gives us our best indication yet on when the absolute latest we can expect the final six episodes to start airing is. Spoiler: it’s all down to HBO wanting to get its hands on some of those sweet, sweet awards next year.

Entertainment Weekly has dealt a death blow to any rumours suggesting that there’s a Game of Thrones season 8 delay. Any chance of the final six episodes being pushed to mid-2019 have been scuppered thanks to HBO going for a real 2019 awards season push. However, the kicker is that, to be eligible for the 2019 Emmys, you have to air your show before mid-2019. May 31, to be precise.

In fact, all episodes will apparently be aired before the May 31 cut-off date. That makes the Game of Thrones season 8 release date, at the absolute latest, April 21. That, of course, chimes in with six of the previous seven seasons, which either premiered in March or April.

So, either start circling your calendars and clearing your schedule or work on figuring out your catch-up plan on how to watch all of Game of Thrones before the season 8 premiere rolls around. This is going to be 2019’s biggest TV event – and it’s all (probably) going to kick off in April for six uninterrupted weeks of gore, goodbyes, and maybe a few twists and turns along the way. Who knows?

It's time to start brushing up on your Game of Thrones theories. Plus, as the finale is nigh, there's no better way to prepare then having the cast tease you with their thoughts on the Game of Thrones ending.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

Latest in Fantasy Shows
Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg and Peter Claffey as Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
HBO boss says new Game of Thrones spin-off's battles "match" the mainline series at a "fraction of the price"
Abubakar Salim in House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon season 3's opening battle is "beastly", according to one of the show's stars
Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things
The Rings of Power newcomer Jamie Campbell Bower has 'revealed' his season 3 character – but it could be a Sauron-style misdirect
Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things 4
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 adds Stranger Things star and Eddie Marsan to cast
Jeff Goldblum in Kaos
Jeff Goldblum's fantasy series Kaos was Netflix's most-watched cancelled show of late 2024
The Wheel of Time season 3
The Wheel of Time showrunner teases future of the Amazon fantasy series beyond season 3: "My job is to do everything I can to get it to the end"
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip