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King’s Quest IX (Cancelled)

Last updated: January 17, 2026

Overview

“King’s Quest IX” is an umbrella term for multiple cancelled attempts to continue Sierra’s flagship adventure game series following King’s Quest VIII: Mask of Eternity (1998). Between 1998 and 2013, different developers and publishers tried to create a ninth King’s Quest, but none reached completion.1

The series would not see another release until The Odd Gentlemen’s 2015 reboot, which the developers explicitly stated was not a “King’s Quest IX.”1

Notably, marketing decrees at Sierra during the late 1990s meant no future King’s Quest game would have carried a numeral in its title. Mark Seibert confirmed: “9 was not in the title, because Marketing decreed that several other big companies’ series were no longer including installment numbers, so we should follow the naming trend.”2

The Five Attempts

1. Roberta Williams’ Concept (1998–1999)

The official hint book for King’s Quest VIII referenced King’s Quest IX as the next game in the series, assuming KQ8 sold well and that Roberta Williams would remain at its helm.13

Story Concept: Williams discussed an idea involving a villain named Rasputris who would conquer Daventry as a hypnotic advisor to the royal court, with siblings Rosella and Alexander working together to stop him.1

Why It Failed: These ideas never entered production. Following her departure from Sierra in 1999, Williams was reportedly required to sign a non-competition agreement preventing her from making games for five years.1 While KQ8 saw enough success that Sierra greenlit a follow-up, Roberta was not brought in to lead the project.1

2. King’s Quest: Twins of Change (1999–2002)

The most documented cancelled sequel, King’s Quest: Twins of Change was developed at Sierra Studios Seattle under Vivendi Games.2

Development Team:

  • Director: Mark Seibert (KQ8 veteran)
  • Writer: Cindy Vanous
  • Art Director: Jimmy Kowalski

Story Summary

Set in an alternate universe version of Daventry—“a world that looks rather like Daventry, except for all the parts that don’t,” according to Cindy Vanous.2 The protagonists Alexander and Rosella had been transformed by wild magic and were “no longer exactly human.” The script referred to them as “Alex” and “Rose.”2

The narrative emphasized “familial banter” between the reluctant siblings as they worked together across worlds including Lava World and Sea World.2

Gameplay

A console-style 3D action-adventure inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, featuring cartoon styling with brighter colors than the darker KQ8.24

Transformation System: Each character had unlockable animal forms:2

  • Alexander: Larger, strength-based forms for physical puzzles
  • Rosella: Small flying creatures (including a tiny fairy) for stealth and tactical challenges

The game was single-player. As Vanous explained: “It was, after all, a King’s Quest game: the interactive version of curling up with a good storybook on a cold winter’s night.”2 In early prototypes, players controlled Alex while Rose acted as a tutorial prompt similar to Navi in Ocarina of Time.

Art Direction: Jimmy Kowalski reimagined Alexander wearing a silver-crowned metallic helmet with a turtle shell crown and rhino-like horn—a callback to King Graham’s iconic Adventurer’s Cap. He carried a huge sword and wore blue and red armor with animal-claw gauntlets.2

Why It Failed: Twins of Change was cancelled when Sierra Studios Seattle “finally died under Vivendi Games.”2 Mark Seibert noted the company “pretty much imploded while this project was in the early concept phase.”1 The project’s fate was tied to “Chainsaw Monday” (February 22, 1999) and subsequent Vivendi mismanagement.5

3. The Silver Lining (Fan Project, 2002–2010)

While not an official KQ9, The Silver Lining deserves mention as a fan project that was originally titled “King’s Quest IX: Every Cloak Has a Silver Lining” before being forced to drop the King’s Quest name.6

Developed by Phoenix Online Studios (originally KQIX Team), the project began in 2002 as an ambitious fan sequel. After receiving cease-and-desist letters from Vivendi, the team negotiated permission to continue under a new name. The first episode released July 18, 2010.67

Four of five planned episodes were released between 2010 and 2014, making it the closest any “KQ9” project came to completion—though as a fan game without official blessing, it exists outside canon.6

4. Silicon Knights Project (2007)

Canadian developer Silicon Knights (known for Eternal Darkness and Too Human) was reportedly developing a King’s Quest game for Vivendi Studios in 2007.18

The project allegedly reached prototype stage using Unreal Engine 3.1

Why It Failed: In 2012, Silicon Knights lost a landmark lawsuit filed by Epic Games over misuse of the Unreal Engine source code. A court order required Silicon Knights to destroy all games and prototypes built with the engine, including the King’s Quest prototype.18 The company filed for bankruptcy in 2014.8

No story, gameplay, or visual details from this version have ever surfaced publicly.

5. Telltale Games (2011–2013)

Telltale Games announced their King’s Quest project at a press event on February 17, 2011, revealing an agreement with Activision to create episodic games based on classic Sierra properties, starting with King’s Quest.91011

Development Details: Telltale approached Roberta Williams to see if she was interested in working on the new game. While Williams declined, saying she had retired from games, she offered advice that developer Dave Grossman called “very valuable.”10 The game was to follow Telltale’s episodic format (similar to Tales of Monkey Island), preserve the series canon, include the possibility of death, but with gameplay adapted to reduce frustration.10

Why It Failed: On April 3, 2013, Telltale senior VP Steve Allison confirmed the project was cancelled after two years of minimal progress:10

“While we deeply love King’s Quest here at Telltale, we can confirm that we are no longer working on the franchise. There was a time last year that we investigated partnering with third party developers to produce the game as a partnership but decided against outsourcing.”

The license reverted to Activision, who ultimately passed development to The Odd Gentlemen for the 2015 reboot.11

Why No True KQ9?

Several factors contributed to the failure of all attempts:

  1. Corporate Instability: Sierra’s acquisition by CUC International (1996), merger into Cendant, and sale to Havas/Vivendi created constant leadership changes.5

  2. Adventure Game Decline: The late 1990s saw traditional adventure games fall out of commercial favor.5

  3. Roberta Williams’ Departure: The series’ creator left Sierra in 1999, removing the franchise’s primary creative voice.1

  4. Studio Closures: Sierra’s internal studios were repeatedly restructured and eventually shut down.2

  5. Legal Issues: The Silicon Knights prototype was destroyed by court order.8

Chainsaw Monday

February 22, 1999—known as “Chainsaw Monday”—was a devastating day when Havas/Vivendi laid off hundreds of employees across Sierra’s studios, accelerating the company’s decline.5

A Pattern of Failure

Game historians note that each cancelled project represented a fundamentally different approach to continuing the franchise—from Williams’ traditional adventure game vision to Twins of Change’s Zelda-inspired action-adventure to Telltale’s episodic format.1 This lack of consensus on what a modern King’s Quest should be, combined with corporate instability and bad timing, meant that no single vision could survive long enough to reach completion.

The 2015 Reboot

In 2015, The Odd Gentlemen released King’s Quest: Adventures of Graham, an episodic reimagining published by Activision under a revived Sierra label.12

The developers explicitly stated this was not King’s Quest IX but a “reimagining” in an alternate timeline. The team felt traditional sequel numbering would burden them with fan expectations.1

While technically the ninth original King’s Quest title published, it is not considered the “fabled King’s Quest IX” by developers or fans.113

Legacy

Despite never receiving a traditional ninth installment, the King’s Quest series remains one of the most influential adventure game franchises in history.14 The original games (1984–1998) established conventions that defined the genre for decades.

The 2015 reboot demonstrated continued interest in the franchise and received positive reviews15 across its five-episode run,16 suggesting the series could have succeeded had earlier attempts reached completion.

Fan Projects

The King’s Quest community has produced numerous fan games and remakes, including AGD Interactive’s VGA remakes. The Silver Lining came closest to being a “King’s Quest IX,” releasing four of five planned episodes before development stalled in 2014—though it was forced to drop the KQ name entirely.6

Documentation Efforts

Much of what is known about these cancelled projects comes from fan community efforts to interview former Sierra employees. The King’s Quest Omnipedia has compiled extensive documentation from developer interviews.12

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

  • Not applicable (King’s Quest IX was never released)

Play the King’s Quest Series:

Manuals & Extras

  • Not applicable (cancelled game)

Series Continuity

King’s Quest IX would have followed 1998 - King’s Quest - Mask of Eternity, the eighth mainline entry. The Twins of Change project specifically reimagined Alexander and Rosella as protagonists, suggesting a return to the royal family focus after KQ8’s departure with Connor.

References

Footnotes

  1. King’s Quest Omnipedia – King’s Quest IX – comprehensive history of all KQ9 attempts, Roberta Williams concepts, marketing decisions, 2015 reboot context ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15

  2. King’s Quest Omnipedia – King’s Quest: Twins of Change – Mark Seibert as director, Cindy Vanous quotes, gameplay details, transformation mechanics, character designs ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  3. King’s Quest Omnipedia – Roberta Williams – career history, departure from Sierra, non-compete agreement ↩

  4. Adventure Gamers – King’s Quest Coverage – King’s Quest franchise history ↩

  5. The Digital Antiquarian – King’s Quest – Sierra corporate history, Chainsaw Monday, adventure game industry decline ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. King’s Quest Omnipedia – The Silver Lining – original “King’s Quest IX” title, Phoenix Online Studios, Vivendi negotiations, episode releases ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. Wikipedia – The Silver Lining (video game) – development history, name change from KQ9, four episodes released ↩

  8. Wikipedia – Silicon Knights – company history, Epic Games lawsuit, destruction of Unreal Engine 3 prototypes, bankruptcy ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  9. Wikipedia – Telltale Games – company history, episodic adventure game format, The Walking Dead pivot ↩

  10. King’s Quest Omnipedia – King’s Quest (Telltale Games) – February 2011 announcement, Roberta Williams approached, Dave Grossman involvement, Steve Allison cancellation quote April 2013 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  11. GameSpot – King’s Quest Rights Go From Telltale to Activision – license reversion to Activision in 2013 ↩ ↩2

  12. IGN – King’s Quest: A Knight to Remember Release Date Announced – 2015 reboot announcement ↩

  13. Wikipedia – King’s Quest (2015 video game) – 2015 reboot, not considered KQ9 ↩

  14. MobyGames – King’s Quest Series – series catalog, release history ↩

  15. GameSpot – King’s Quest Chapter 1 Review – 2015 reboot critical reception ↩

  16. Shacknews – King’s Quest Chapter 5 Announcement – final episode of 2015 series ↩

  17. Game Informer – Sierra’s New King’s Quest Won’t Be Point-and-Click – 2015 reboot genre shift ↩

  18. Polygon – King’s Quest Review – 2015 reboot reception ↩

  19. Metacritic – King’s Quest Chapter 1 – aggregate scores for 2015 reboot ↩

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