'The Winds of Winter' release date update: Launch in 2016 still unclear; GRRM teases possible spin-off

There are only a few months left for 2016, and with no reports yet regarding George R. R. Martin's upcoming novel, it is getting less likely that the fans will not be able to see "The Winds of Winter" this year. If anything, the book launching of the sixth installment in the highly popular "A Song of Ice and Fire" series will happen in the early part of 2017. However, there is a bit of a good news from the renowned author as after the conclusion of his series, it is possible that a "Game of Thrones" spin-off will be created.

Martin has not yet confirmed a date of release for "The Winds of Winter." Earlier this year, it was rumored that the book will be released during the last quarter of 2016, and so far, there is not a single hint that the novel is ready to be published and released in the coming months. If anything, the fans can expect "The Winds of Winter" to be released in March 2017 at the earliest. Martin has also stated in the past that he is targeting to launch the book before the Season 7 of HBO's "Game of Thrones" premieres in 2017.

As Martin's avid readers may be disappointed by the delayed release of "The Winds of Winter," he may have a pleasant surprise in store for everyone. In an interview with the Deadline, Martin revealed that even if the "Game of Thrones" creators declared the seventh and eighth seasons of the show to be the last, he can still continue the epic saga of the Seven Kingdoms. A :Game of Thrones" spin-off is possible as he claimed to have enough materials to cover for it, and it is most likely to come out as a prequel.

"I do have thousands of pages of fake history of everything that led up to Game of Thrones, so there's a lot of material there," said Martin. "I'm writing more."

For now, Martin is focusing on the last two books in "A Song of Ice and Fire," especially "The Winds of Winter" that has a target release date before the "Game of Thrones" Season 7 premiere.