For the best part of a decade we’ve explored video games through a historic lens in Playing With History, studying AAA blockbusters such as Ghost of Tsushima to indie gems like Radio Commander, examining the real-world people, events, and cultures that inspired them.
We’re proud to announce that Playing With History is to become a premium print publication with its first volume heading to crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, later this year. Available digitally and in both paperback and hardback, Playing With History: Volume One promises over 200 pages of developer interviews, deep dives, and retrospectives, all presented in a visually arresting format.
Battlefield: The Endless War For Wake Island is just one of many original articles created for Playing With History.
Together, with video game creatives and historians, we investigate a wide spectrum of historic eras and how they are represented, from the prehistoric playgrounds of Far Cry Primal to Call of Duty’s nightmarish Normandy landings and far beyond. Whether it’s Romans, Vikings, samurai, or pirates, we leave no virtual stone unturned, with plenty of fascinating detours along the way.
If you would like to learn more about the project and get notified when the campaign goes live, please visit the Playing With History Volume One pre-launch hub. For regular updates you can follow us over on BlueSky and X. In the meantime, to whet your time-travelling appetites, we’ve collated a Playing With History archive below (several of these articles will be adapted into the final book alongside new and original stories).
- The Mad Mythology Behind Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- How Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is steeped in Persian mythology
- Wo Long and why games love The Yellow Turban Rebellion
- Battlefield V And The Women Soldiers Of WW2
- Why are Viking video games so popular right now?
- Asssassin’s Creed Valhalla DLC – what was The Siege of Paris?
- The missing history of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Ghost of Tsushima and the real world history behind Sony’s latest PS4 exclusive
- Ubisoft on history and creating new heroes in For Honor
- Kratos vs. Norse Mythology
- Wolfenstein And The Third Reich’s Paranormal Activity
- What’s Next for God of War?
- Dissecting The Setting Of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Just How Accurate Was Far Cry Primal?
- Dissecting Assassin’s Creed Origins’ Historical Background
- Fossil Hunting With Reptoid Games
- Investigating Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- Seeking the Shinobi secrets of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Jurassic World Evolution And Tyrannosaurus Rex
- The Impressionist Art Of 11-11: Memories Retold
- The Unbelievable Weapons Missing From Battlefield 1
- 11-11 Memories Retold And The Human Cost Of WWI
- Playing With History – Days Gone And Zombie History
- Radio Commander and the challenges of historical authenticity
- Cutting into Story of a Gladiator
- Illuminating the insane game world of Inkulinati
- How HOOD: Outlaws and Legends is playing with history and fantasy
- Dealing With The Burden Of Command
- The forbidden gay love of Sundown: A Dunkirk Story
- How the past helped build Lamplight City
