It has been known for some time that Game of Thrones will probably end after its eighth season. It has now been been reported that the final two seasons of HBO's fantasy hit might be considerably shorter than their predecessors.

　　Variety have revealed that executive producers David Benioff and DB Weiss are planning only 13 more episodes after the upcoming sixth season. In other words, seven for season seven, and just six of the eighth. Previous seasons have always contained ten episodes.

　　"I think we're down to our final 13 episodes after this season. We're heading into the final lap," Benioff said. "That's the guess, though nothing is yet set in stone, but that's what we're looking at."

　　The news was confirmed by HBO programming president Michael Lombardo, although he did stress that these were early conversations, and that nothing had been decided. "That's my understanding from them right now, those have been the conversations we've had," he revealed. "Because where these narratives go, it feels like another two years to them. As a television executive, as a fan, do I wish they said another six years? I do.

　　"I'm always an optimist, and I do believe we will figure this out."

　　In other Game of Thrones news, a fan-made season six trailer containing every scene released so far by HBO has been put online. Check it out below:

　　Game of Thrones season six debuts on HBO on April 24. For more, check out GameSpot's roundup of all the news, videos, and images for it.