No surprise here. Today HBO made it official that its highly rated and praised fantasy series Game of Thrones will return for a third season in 2013. Like the two seasons before it, the next one will also consist of ten episodes. What’s different, however, is that ten episodes isn’t enough time for the show to tell the entirety of A Storm of Swords, the third book in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series. So the tale will be told over the course of two seasons–that is, if Thrones lives on to see a fourth season (and it most certainly will). Martin confirms on his blog that he will pen the script for season three episode seven already titled “Autumn Storms.”

HBO president Michael Lombardo commented on today’s not surprising but nevertheless great news. “Series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss raised our expectations for the second season – and then surpassed them. We are thrilled by all the viewer and media support we’ve received for the series, and can’t wait to see what Dan and David have in store for next season.”

Game of Thrones airs Sunday nights at 9PM on HBO.