Excitement is building as Winchester's newest attraction, recreating key moments from Anglo-Saxon history through the world of a video game, opens this weekend.
878 AD opens on November 12 in The Brooks Shopping Centre and takes people back to the defeat of the Vikings by Alfred the Great at the Battle of Edington in May 878.
It uses the graphics of Assassin's Creed Valhalla to show what Winchester looked and sounded like at the time.
The experience is made up of two parts. A physical visitor attraction in The Brooks features actors dressed in the clothes of the time, acting out typical scenes of Winchester in 878. There is also an app that people can download, which uses augmented reality to show key moments from Winchester's past.
It has been developed by the Hampshire Cultural Trust, Ubisoft and Sugar Creative.
Paul Sapwell, chief executive of Hampshire Cultural Trust, said: “It has been a project since 2020. We have been working with Ubisoft in collaboration to put the experience together. We have long wanted to move into immersive technology to interpret the story of Winchester. The project has really developed in scope and excitement. We felt that Winchester was crying out for another attraction which brings the story to a wider audience. The Assassin's Creed collaboration really gives us something special.
“I think the people of Winchester will be excited to see something as forward-thinking and as immersive as this come to the city. I think it will bring footfall into the centre of the city and to The Brooks Centre. Through the immersive app, folks who know the city really well will get something out of it, seeing it through a different light.”
Thierry Noel, senior inspirational content manager at Ubisoft, said: “This experience is pretty unique, it's a nice way to bring together all the research we do for the games. I love the idea that we can do this kind of thing.”
Ryan Lavelle, professor of early medieval history at the University of Winchester, said: “I have been involved right from the beginning as a historical advisor. It gave us a chance to explore what people might feel and the sort of pressures around at the time of 878. I also had involvement in how the little dramas involving the actors would play out.
“Winchester is a city with a lot of history to it, a lot of things happened here. On the streets of Winchester, it's not always easy to perceive the past. Hopefully this helps to bring that alive and inspire people to learn more about that period.”
878 AD opens on November 12 in The Brooks Shopping Centre. For more details, visit 878AD.co.uk.
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