The recently released Game of Thrones season 7 trailer has set the record for highest number of views within the first 24-hour period. It's no secret that anticipation is running high for the upcoming seventh season of HBO's hit fantasy drama, based on the George R.R. Martin epic A Song of Ice and Fire novel series. At this point, the HBO series has passed the novels, which has allowed the writers and producers to progress the story quicker than in previous seasons.

Since the latest novel hasn't yet released, the series has been forced to deviate from the source material from time-to-time. And everything that they have been working towards over the years appears to be finally coming to a head in the new season, judging by what audiences have seen thus far. When it comes to Game of Thrones, there are many things that we won't know until the season airs, but judging by what we saw in the full-length trailer, this season is looking to be quite the ride.

HBO released the first, full-length trailer for Game of Thrones yesterday, and it has already racked up over 61 million views in its first 24 hours, according to Deadline. That number accounts for views across multiple digital platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. It has not only surpassed HBO's in-house trailer viewing record, but also the industry's own record. At this time, it's the most-watched online trailer in television history. It can only get higher from here on out.

Game of Thrones is one of the premium channels most successful shows of all time, and anticipation always runs high prior to the season premieres. What makes this news all the more meaningful is that the number of views for the series' season 6 trailer was around 30 million views -- which itself broke HBO's record. That trailer accumulated 63.5 million views throughout its lifetime (up until today). The trailer for season 7 not only doubles the previous viewing record but is only 2.5 million viewers shy of surpassing the season 6 trailer's overall view count.

In addition to yesterday's trailer, HBO has unveiled several new images that do much to build anticipation for the upcoming season. One image shows off one of Daenerys' fully-grown dragons, while another shows all the Stark children together again, for the first time since the very beginning. Needless to say, fans are anxiously awaiting the upcoming seventh season of Game of Thrones, which is premiering later than its usual spring premiere.

Game of Thrones season 7 premieres July 16 on HBO.

Next: Game of Thrones Season 7 Images & Covers Reunite the Stark Children

Source: Deadline