Bannerlord was announced in 2012.[1] A Steam page for the game was created in late 2016; the following year, TaleWorlds began releasing weekly developer diaries detailing elements of the game.[2][3] An early access version of the game was released on March 30, 2020 and quickly became the largest launch of the year on Steam, achieving more than 200,000 concurrent players.[4] A version for unspecified consoles is planned.[5]