Since October 2017, “Assassin’s Creed: Origins” has gotten positive feedback for its open-world aspect and mechanics. The vast land of Egypt is amazing and certain aspects of it are historically accurate, but the developers at Ubisoft want to let the players go deeper into the ancient world. They created a “Discovery Tour” for those who want to explore the rich historical past of Egypt and explore what it was really like in the era the game is set in, and now teachers are using it to show students ancient Egypt.

This tour allows players to walk through ancient Egypt and learn about the pharaohs and their rise to power, as well as see important landmarks throughout the land. The player is essentially attached to a track that they have to follow in order to get to the next area, seeing people and animals along the way. Once the player gets to the area, they learn about it and are told about how it came to be via audio or subtitles. This happens again and again until the player has seen all the important parts of Egypt.

According to Classcraft.com, the tour features 75 places to stop and inspect the land, designed by historians and Egyptologists. Professor Marc-André Éthier, from the University of Montreal, tried the mode with nearly 300 high school students across eight schools and 40 classes. The study showed what the group following the game’s tours had learned versus those from a group learning about the subject from a teacher who used images from the tour. The study found that the students who used only the video game improved their grades from 22 percent to 41 percent while those who had the teacher’s guidance improved their grades to 55 percent. Some believe that a hybrid approach of video games and traditional instruction could help students with studying in the future.

The developers of the game hoped this would be a learning tool for students and teachers. “The idea is that it is not the game: It’s a specific, educational mode,” said Jean Guesdon, the creative director on “Origins.” “We are doing a re-creation of Egypt that is plausible, credible, full of truthful information, and that’s what we want to offer.” Ubisoft hopes they can continue teaching players with games in the future. “We cannot wait to examine this possibility, to hear what people have to say about this initiative,” said Yannis Mallat, the president and CEO of Ubisoft Montreal. The discovery tour will hopefully keep entertaining and educating students in the future.