In Video Games
WHS appearing within video games. This only includes examples of 'realistic' portrayals of WHS, in the sense that the locations are recognisable with some attempt at authentic portrayal.
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Aachen Cathedral | Age of Empires II: Britons: they had the Aachen cathedral for whatever reason before the definitive edition of the game came out (now it's Chichester's); Call of Duty: WWII (it is very realistically modeled) | |
| Acropolis | Assassin's Creed Odyssey; Age of Mythology: Greeks - Poseidon: an integer theater of Dyonisus | |
| Ahwar of Southern Iraq | Age of Empire 1: A ziggurat of Ur for Babylonians, Persians and Hittites | |
| Aksum | Civilization VII: Great Stele | |
| Ancient Kyoto | To-ji Temple, Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Like a Dragon: Ishin! | |
| Ancient Nara | Age of Empires II: Japanese: Tōdai-ji | |
| Ancient Thebes | Serious Sam HD – Temple of Hatshepsut; Assassin's Creed Origins (The Curse of the Pharaohs DLC) - Temple of Hatshepsut, Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Temple of Luxor | |
| Andrefana Dry Forests | Civilization VI | |
| Angkor | Age of Empires II: Khmer: Angkor Wat; Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Angkor Wat, Civilization VII: Angkor Wat | |
| Arab-Norman Palermo | Age of Empires II: Sicilians: Monreale cathedral | |
| Archaeological Site of Delphi | Assassin's Creed Odyssey; Civilization VI; Civilization VII: Oracle | |
| Arles | A Plague Tale: Requiem features Arles Amphitheatre circa 1349. | |
| Babylon | Civilization VI: Etemenanki; Civilization VII: Hanging Gardens | |
| Bagan | Age of Empires II: Shwezigon pagoda | |
| Bamiyan Valley | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | |
| Belem | Age of Empires II: Portuguese: tower of Belém; Civilization VI: Belem Tower | |
| Borobudur | Civilizations VII | |
| Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur | Age of Empires II: Bengalis: Somapura Mahavihara | |
| Cahokia Mounds | Civilization VII: Monks Mound | |
| Chichen-Itza | Civilization VI | |
| Chola Temples | Age of Empires II: Dravidians: Brihadisvara temple; Civilizations VII: Brihadisvara temple | |
| Damascus | Assassin's Creed - Ummayad Mosque | |
| Delos | Assassin's Creed Odyssey | |
| Djenné | Age of Empires II: Malians: Great mosque of Djenné | |
| Echmiatsin and Zvartnots | Age of Empires II | |
| Edinburgh | Forza Horizon 4 | |
| El Escurial | Civilizations VII | |
| Ephesus | Civilization VI: Temple of Artemis | |
| Everglades | Grand Theft Auto VI | |
| Florence | Assassin's Creed II – Duomo, Ponte Vecchio | |
| Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings | Marvel's Spider-Man - Guggenheim Museum | |
| Frontiers of the Roman Empire | Hadrian's Wall in Assassin's Creed Valhalla | |
| Galapagos Islands | Civilization VI | |
| Gebel Barkal | Civilization VI | |
| Giant's Causeway | Assassin's Creed Valhalla; Civilization VI | |
| Gobustan Rock Art | Civilization VI (as a Natural Wonder) | |
| Granada | Civilization VI: Alhambra | |
| Grand Canyon | Civilization VII | |
| Grand Place, Brussels | Age of Empires II: Burgundians: Brussels town hall | |
| Great Barrier Reef | Civilization VI; Civilization VII | |
| Great Zimbabwe | Civilization VI | |
| Gros Morne National Park | Gros Morne appears as a playable area in the 2014 videogame Assassin's Creed Rogue. (wiki) | |
| Guanajuato | Forza Horizon 5 | |
| Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago | Civilization VI | |
| Hierapolis-Pamukkale | Civilization VI: Pamukkale | |
| Historic Cairo | Serious Sam 3 – Mosque of Ibn Tulun | |
| Humayun's Tomb | Age of Empires II: Hindustanis: Humayun's tomb | |
| Iguacu | Civilization VII | |
| Iguazu National Park | Civilization VII | |
| Imperial Palace | China: The Forbidden City - The game is set in 1775 in the Forbidden City; Age of Mythology: Chinese - Fu Xi: Hall of Harmony in the Forbidden City; Civilization VI: Forbidden City; Civilizations VII: Forbidden City | |
| Istanbul | Assassin's Creed Revelations – Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace; Painkiller (2004) - Hagia Sophia; Age of Empires II: Byzantines: Hagia Sophia; Civilization VI: Hagia Sophia | |
| Itsukushima Shrine | Nioh | |
| Kilimanjaro National Park | Civilization VI; Civilization VII | |
| Kizhi Pogost | Age of Empires II: Slavs: Church on Kiži Island | |
| Kraków | Age of Empires II: Poles: Wawel cathedral | |
| Kremlin and Red Square | Civilization VI: St Basil's Cathedral | |
| Lake District | Forza Horizon 4 - Ambleside, Derwent Water | |
| Lalibela | Age of Empires II: Ethiopians: Biete Amanuel rock-hewn church | |
| Machu Picchu | Age of Empires II: Incas: Sun Temple of Macchu Picchu; Civilization VI; Civilizations VII | |
| Mahabodhi Temple Complex | Civilization VI | |
| Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor | Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom; Civilization VI: Terracotta Army; Civilization VII: Terracotta Army | |
| Mexico City and Xochimilco | Civilization VI: Huey Teocalli; Civilization VII: Palacio de Bellas Artes | |
| Moenjodaro | Civilization VI: Great Bath | |
| Mont-Saint-Michel | Civilization VI | |
| Mountain Resort, Chengde | Civilization VII | |
| Mtskheta | Age of Empires II (in particular Sveticxoveli cathedral) | |
| Mycenae and Tiryns | Assassin's Creed Odyssey | |
| Nalanda | Civilization VII | |
| Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers | Civilization VII | |
| Nubian Monuments | Serious Sam 3 – Abu Simbel, Philae; Age of Mythology: Set: Hathor's temple at Abu Simbel | |
| Old City of Acre | Assassin's Creed – Hospitaller Fortress | |
| Old City of Jerusalem | Assassin's Creed – Dome of the Rock, Al Aqsa Mosque, Church of the Holy Sepulchre | |
| Old Havana | Assassin's Creed IV – Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta, Havana Cathedral | |
| Olympia | Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Temple of Zeus, Temple of Hera; Age of Mythology (Greeks - Zeus: his own statue in Olympia (no more existing)) | |
| Pantanal | Civilization VI | |
| Paris, Banks of the Seine | Assassin's Creed Unity – Notre Dame Cathedral; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Eiffel Tower; Civilization VI: Eiffel Tower; Civilization VII: Notre Dame & Eiffel Tower | |
| Persepolis | Civilization VI: Apadana; Civilization VII: Gate of All Nations | |
| Petra | Civilization VI; Civilization VII | |
| Potala Palace | Civilization VI | |
| Prague | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3; Age of Empires II: Bohemians: Powder tower; Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption | |
| Pyramids (Memphis) | Serious Sam 3 – Sphinx, Giza Pyramids; Assassin's Creed Origins – Sphinz, Giza, Bent Pyramid; Age of Empire I: Great Pyramid of Giza for Egyptians, Assirians, Sumerians; Age of Mythology: Egyptians - Ra: Great Pyramid of Giza and Isis: the Great Sphynx of Gizah; Civilizations VI; Indiana Jones and the Great Circle; Civilization VII: Giza | |
| Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos | Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Heraion of Samos | |
| Rabat | Age of Empires II: Berbers: Hassan tower in Rabat | |
| Ravenna | Age of Empires II: Goths: Mausoleum of Theoderic I; Civilization VII: Mausoleum of Theodoric | |
| Red Fort | Civilization VII | |
| Redwood | Civilization VII | |
| Rio de Janeiro | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Sugarloaf; Civilization VI: Christ the Redeemer statue | |
| Rome | Assassin's Creed Brotherhood – Colosseum, Castel Santangelo; Age of Empire 1: An integer Colosseum for Romans, Carthaginians, Palmyrians, Macedonians; Age of Empires II: Huns: the arc of Constantine in Rome; Civilization VI: Colosseum; Civilization VII: Colosseum | |
| Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France | Assassin's Creed Unity – Tour St Jacques (with historical church still attached) | |
| Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara | Civilization VI: Kilwa Kisiwani | |
| Sagarmatha National Park | Civilization VI: Mt. Everest | |
| Samarkand | Age of Empires II: Tatars: the Ulugh Beg observatory in Samarkand | |
| Samarra | Age of Empires II: Saracens: Great Mosque of Samarra | |
| San Gimignano | Assassin's Creed II | |
| Sanchi | Civilization VII | |
| Selimiye Mosque | Age of Empires II: Turks (Ottomans): Selimiye Mosque in Edirne | |
| Seville | Civilization VI: Casa de Contratacion: the actual Casa de Contratacion seems to be a more abstracted agency rather than an actual building, but it was initially housed in the Casa de Indias in Seville and that is what the in-game model depicts. | |
| Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor | Civilizations VII: Weiyang Palace | |
| Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - depicts the Battle of Hamburg | |
| St. Petersburg | Civilization VI: Hermitage; Civilization VII: Hermitage | |
| Statue of Liberty | Deus Ex; Marvel's Spider-Man; Tom Clancy's The Division 2 (Warlords of New York Expansion); Civilization VI; Civilization VII | |
| Stonehenge | Assassin's Creed Valhalla; Civilization VI | |
| Sukhothai | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | |
| Summer Palace | Age of Mythology: Chinese: Nü Wa: the Summer Palace | |
| Sydney Opera House | Civilization VI | |
| Taj Mahal | Civilization VI; Civilization VII | |
| Te Wahipounamu | Civilization VI: Piopiotahi | |
| Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae | Assassin's Creed Odyssey | |
| Temple of Heaven | Age of Empire 1: Temple of Heaven for Yamato, Shang, Choson; Age of Empires II; Age of Mythology: Chinese: Shennong: the Temple of Heaven; Age of Empires 3 | |
| Teotihuacan | Forza Horizon 5; Civilization VII: Pyramid of the Sun | |
| Tikal National Park | Age of Empires II: Mayans: Great Jaguar Temple in Tikal; Civilization VII: Mundo Perdido | |
| Timbuktu | Civilization VI | |
| Tomb of Askia | Civilization VII | |
| Tombs of Buganda Kings | Civilization VII: Muzibu Azalea | |
| Tower of London | Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Traitors Gate; Watch Dogs: Legion; Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin; Civilization VII: White Tower | |
| Uluru | Civilization VI; Civilization VII | |
| Uvs Nuur Basin | Civilization VI: Ubsunur Hollow | |
| Uxmal | Forza Horizon 5 | |
| Vatican City | Assassin's Creed II – Sistine Chapel; Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | |
| Venice and its Lagoon | Assassin's Creed II – St Mark's Cathedral, St Mark's Square; Painkiller (2004); Moebius: Empire Rising; Civilization VI: Venetian Arsenal | |
| Versailles | Assassin's Creed Unity, Versailles 1685 | |
| Western Ghats | Uncharted: The Lost Legacy | |
| Westminster | Assassin's Creed Syndicate – Parliament, Westminster Abbey; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3; Watch Dogs: Legion; Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Big Ben | |
| Works of Antoni Gaudí | Wheelman: Barcelona including the Sagrada Familia | |
| Wulingyuan | Civilization VII: Zhangjiajie | |
| Yosemite National Park | Civilization VI | |
| Zollverein | Civilization VI |
Suggestions?
Do you know of another WHS we could connect to In Video Games?
A connection should:
- Not be "self evident"
- Link at least 3 different sites
- Not duplicate or merely subdivide the "Category" assignment already identified on this site.
- Add some knowledge or insight (whether significant or trivial!) about WHS for the users of this site
- Be explained, with reference to a source