Lancashire, United Kingdom – March 10th, 2025 – Playing With History, a new book exploring iconic video games and the history that inspired them, will launch its first volume later this year, packed with over 200 pages of deep dives and interviews. The project has entered its pre-launch phase on Kickstarter, where a crowdfunding campaign will go live later this Spring.
Bringing History to Life Through Gaming
From the gritty realism of Call of Duty’s D-Day landings to the power fantasy of ruling vast kingdoms in Total War, video games have long served as the most powerful medium for exploring real-world history.
Playing With History: Volume One will take readers on a journey through the past, analysing how games portray different historical eras, figures, and civilizations. This debut volume will feature plenty of deep dives, retrospectives, and exclusive interviews with both developers and historians. The publication’s aim is to offer fresh insights into how history is woven into the fabric of fan-favourite video games.
What’s in Playing With History: Volume One?
Playing With History: Volume One will be available both digitally and physically, in paperback and hardback, featuring a number of familiar names including:
Bringing History to Life Through Gaming
From the gritty realism of Call of Duty’s D-Day landings to the power fantasy of ruling vast kingdoms in Total War, video games have long served as the most powerful medium for exploring real-world history.
Playing With History: Volume One will take readers on a journey through the past, analysing how games portray different historical eras, figures, and civilizations. This debut volume will feature plenty of deep dives, retrospectives, and exclusive interviews with both developers and historians. The publication’s aim is to offer fresh insights into how history is woven into the fabric of fan-favourite video games.
What’s in Playing With History: Volume One?
Playing With History: Volume One will be available both digitally and physically, in paperback and hardback, featuring a number of familiar names including:
- Assassin’s Creed
- Battlefield
- Civilization
- Call of Duty
- Far Cry
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Onimusha
- Sniper Elite
- Tomb Raider
- Total War
Stuffed with meticulously researched articles, the book will appeal to both gamers and history buffs, promising an in-depth look at the historical accuracy, artistic liberties, and cultural significance of these titles and more.
Acclaim from Historians and Authors
The project has already garnered praise from prominent historians and authors ahead of its campaign launch:
- “This is an absolutely brilliant idea - not just enormously good fun, but really thoughtful and clever.” – Dominic Sandbrook, Best-Selling Author & Co-Host of The Rest is History Podcast
- “A ground-breaking tome that promises to be essential reading.” – David Bishop, Award-Winning Author
- “A fantastic idea linking great video games with fascinating history.” – Brian Groom, Best-Selling Author of Northerners: A History
- “A brilliant amalgam of the best of combat gaming and pivotal moments in history.” – Douglas Jackson, Historical Fiction Author
About Playing With History
Playing With History is an independent publication created by writers Ade Burrows and Jim Hargreaves. For the best part of a decade, an article series under the same name has explored history through the lens of video games, studying the real-world events and people that inspired beloved interactive blockbusters. Ade Burrows, a public historian, and Jim Hargreaves, a seasoned video game journalist, have combined their talents to form the perfect time-travelling tag-team.
For all media enquiries, contact us at playingwithhistory@gmail.com