Video Games With Historical Settings: How Studios Build the Past and Where to Visit

Published · By Alehundred Studios

Video games with historical settings are games that place you in a real place and period, from Ancient Greece to feudal Japan to the American frontier, and the best of them are built on serious fieldwork: Sucker Punch sent teams to Tsushima Island for Ghost of Tsushima, and Warhorse Studios works with historians on Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Below is what counts as a historical setting, how studios recreate the past, how accurate those worlds really are, the best settings to explore era by era, and how to enjoy them with friends.

What is a historical setting in a video game?

A historical setting is a game world modeled on a real time and place, even when the story inside it is fiction.

Historical settings are as old as video games themselves. Historian Robert Whitaker, writing for The Strong National Museum of Play, puts it simply: "To study the early history of digital games is to study games with historical settings." He points to MECC's The Oregon Trail, designed for educational use, and SSI's Computer Bismarck, made for commercial profit.

Most modern games mix a real setting with an invented story. Valiant Hearts: The Great War says it openly on its store page: "This fictitious story takes you back to famous WW1 locations, like Reims or Montfaucon." Historian Ylva Grufstedt, in the Lund University journal Scandia, separates games built on "counterfactual scenarios," which test what might have happened, from "documentary and didactic games, which focus on conveying specific events or historical knowledge."

So a game can be historical in its streets, clothes and buildings while its hero is entirely made up. That combination is what most players mean when they search for games with historical settings.

How do game studios recreate historical settings?

Studios recreate historical settings by visiting real places, working with historians and experts, and capturing details like sound, landscape and language on location.

Ghost of Tsushima. Engadget reported that "Sucker Punch sent teams on fact-finding missions to the island, which included scanning rocks to ensure that the tint of mosses growing on them in the game are representative of what you'd see in real life." Artistic director Jason Connell added that while the island is not to scale, "If you look at a top-down view of the [in-game] map, it is the shape of the island and that's quite interesting." Even the language was researched. Co-founder Chris Zimmerman explained: "All our actors are native Japanese speakers but we actually have to have a dialogue coach on stage to help them speak ancient Japanese correctly."

Kingdom Come: Deliverance. A 2025 study in Acta Ludologica, based on interviews with Warhorse developers, describes "consultations with internal and external historians." The research shows in the cast: the official Kingdom Come: Deliverance II page says Henry's friend Hans "is based on a real historical figure of the same name, a hereditary lord of the town of Rattay," and the villain Markvart is also "Based on a real historical figure of the same name." Even the fighting aims for realism, promising "Combat that is true to history."

Assassin's Creed. Ubisoft historian Maxime Durand told Ubisoft Montreal that for the Assassin's Creed worlds "We did extensive research, with the help of several researchers and historians." For the Ancient Greece Discovery Tour, "We worked with experts from all over the world on it," from the U.S., Canada, France, the U.K., Romania and Greece.

Manor Lords. Small studios do it too. The Manor Lords page explains: "Common medieval tropes are avoided in favor of historical accuracy in order to make the world feel more authentic, colorful, and believable."

Are historical settings in video games accurate?

Historical settings in video games are accurate in many details and deliberately simplified in others, because a game has to stay playable.

The same Acta Ludologica study found deep research "from topography and urbanism to sacred buildings and ethical and cultural patterns of everyday life." It also found that features such as "fast travel, visual guidance of the player, and simplification of dialogues and clothing details" are needed for smooth play. Where the records go quiet, fiction fills in: "By incorporating fictional stories into the gaps in historical records, the narrative design shows how factual boundaries can be preserved."

Getting a setting right is also about respect. Whitaker's research at The Strong found that "if the developers are too cavalier with the history in the game, the gameplay won't matter because the history is all anyone will talk about." His other rule is just as true: "if the game isn't fun, no one is going to care about the history." The best games with historical settings respect both.

What are the best video games with historical settings?

The best video games with historical settings let you walk through a specific era in detail. Here are the standouts, from the oldest era to the newest.

  1. Ancient Greece: Assassin's Creed Odyssey. In Assassin's Creed Odyssey you "Make your way through wild landscapes, vibrant cities, and iconic historical sites" and "Charge into epic clashes between Sparta and Athens."
  2. Viking Age England: Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Valhalla is "set in England's Dark Ages," and you "Sail from Norway's icy coasts to England's lush kingdoms."
  3. Feudal Japan, 13th century: Ghost of Tsushima. The DIRECTOR'S CUT begins "In the late 13th century" as the Mongol fleet reaches Tsushima Island, one of the most beautiful settings in games.
  4. 14th-century Franconia: Manor Lords. A city builder "Inspired by the art and architecture of late 14th century Franconia," where you build a medieval town from a single village.
  5. Medieval Bohemia: Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Kingdom Come invites you to "Explore castles, forests, villages and other realistic settings in medieval Bohemia!"
  6. Sengoku-era Japan: Assassin's Creed Shadows. Shadows offers castle towns, shrines and countryside with "dynamic seasons, shifting weather, and environmental destruction."
  7. The Caribbean, Golden Age of Piracy: Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag. Black Flag takes you "across the Caribbean's Golden Age of Piracy," with Blackbeard and Calico Jack as neighbors.
  8. The American frontier, 1899: Red Dead Redemption 2. Red Dead Redemption 2 opens with "America, 1899." and a whole frontier to ride across.

If you want an even longer list sorted by era, see our guide to the best historical video games.

Can you explore historical settings with friends?

Yes. Some games with historical settings let you explore together online, which turns a museum-like world into a shared trip.

Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT lists Online Co-op among its Steam features, and Red Dead Redemption 2 includes Red Dead Online, where you can "ride solo or form a posse." Exploring a historical setting with friends has a bonus: you notice different details and end up teaching each other.

How can you get more out of a historical setting?

Slow down and treat the world like a place you are visiting, not just a map to clear.

  1. Read everything in the world. Signs, letters, codex entries and tours carry the researched details.
  2. Look at buildings and landscapes. Studios spend years on them; the Ghost of Tsushima team scanned real rocks for the right moss color.
  3. Notice where fiction fills the gaps. The Acta Ludologica study shows how invented stories sit in the gaps of the historical record.
  4. Look up one real place afterward. Compare the game's castle, temple or harbor with photos of the real one.
  5. Share it with friends. Talking about what you found is the fastest way to remember it.

Where does Coins Catcher: Co-op Lands fit?

Coins Catcher: Co-op Lands is built entirely around historical settings, seen from a fun angle: you are about 4 inches (10 cm) tall, and every era is a giant diorama. Players meet in The Ale, a sacred forest with giant mushrooms and glowing butterflies, then travel through magic portals into seven real historical eras, played from newest to oldest: Italy 1956 (Riomaggiore), Wild West 1885, Caribbean 1704 (Hispaniola), Kyoto 1503, York 1062, Hatra 201 AD and Alexandria 300 BC.

Each diorama has 8 signs with real historical curiosities, 56 in total, like a tour guide written for adventurers. It is an online co-op 3D platformer for up to 8 players with voice chat for everyone, and PC, mobile and VR players share the same match. Together you collect themed coins, spend them on talents, defeat the enemies and the giant beast of each era, and race up the era's tower for the Magic Gem once the group gathers 100 coins. It is in Early Access on Steam.

FAQ

What are the best video games with historical settings?

Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Ancient Greece), Assassin's Creed Valhalla (Viking Age England), Ghost of Tsushima (13th-century Japan), Kingdom Come: Deliverance (medieval Bohemia), Manor Lords (14th-century Franconia) and Red Dead Redemption 2 (America, 1899) are among the best.

What games have historical settings?

Open-world adventures like Assassin's Creed and Ghost of Tsushima, RPGs like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, city builders like Manor Lords and westerns like Red Dead Redemption 2 all use historical settings. Even early classics like The Oregon Trail did.

What is a good historical video game to start with?

Ghost of Tsushima and Assassin's Creed Odyssey are great first picks: big, beautiful settings with plenty to explore at your own pace.

Are historical settings in games accurate?

They are researched and simplified at the same time. Studios visit real places and work with historians, then simplify things like travel, dialogue and clothing to keep the game playable.

Can you play games with historical settings with friends?

Yes. Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT lists Online Co-op on Steam, Red Dead Redemption 2 includes Red Dead Online, and Coins Catcher: Co-op Lands is an online co-op platformer for up to 8 players across seven historical eras.

Sources

  1. Whitaker R. Playing in the Past. The Strong National Museum of Play, 2019.
  2. Grufstedt Y. Scandia introduces: Historical game studies. History in, with, and of (digital) games. Scandia, 91(2), 2025.
  3. Pravdová H, Cihlářová M. From Chronicles to Quests: Integrating Historical Sources into the Digital Games Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Acta Ludologica, 8(2), 2025.
  4. Tarantola A. 'Ghost of Tsushima' sent its developers to Japanese History 101. Engadget, 2018.
  5. Deep Silver, Warhorse Studios. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Official game page.
  6. Ubisoft Montréal. Discovery Tour Ancient Greece: a behind the scene look with Maxime Durand. Ubisoft Montréal, 2019.
  7. Ubisoft. Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Assassin's Creed Shadows and Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag. Steam store pages.
  8. Sucker Punch Productions, Nixxes Software. Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT. Steam store page.
  9. Warhorse Studios. Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Steam store page.
  10. Slavic Magic. Manor Lords. Steam store page.
  11. Rockstar Games. Red Dead Redemption 2. Steam store page.
  12. Ubisoft Montpellier. Valiant Hearts: The Great War. Steam store page.