The first game in the series was released in 2008, sparking an expansion ( Mount & Blade: Warband-released in 2010) and a stand-alone spin-off expansion based on With Fire and Sword, a book written by Henryk Sienkiewicz ( Mount & Blade: With Fire and Sword-released in 2011). With open-world environments and weapon-based combat, Mount & Blade gives players the ability to face off against armies with historical accuracy. The Mount & Blade series, developed by TaleWorlds Entertainment, are RPG games that pride themselves on their focus of realism.