Giza Pyramid Hidden Chamber Already Included In ‘Assassin’s Creed Origins,’ Ubisoft Says

For the past several days, the world has been abuzz over the discovery of a “giant void” in Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza. And with Ubisoft’s latest entry to the Assassin’s Creed series, Assassin’s Creed Origins, being set in Egypt, gamers may be wondering if the virtual version of the Giza pyramid comes with a hidden chamber as well, or if the game will need to be updated to include the chamber. Fortunately, it appears that Ubisoft has planned to include the new discovery all along, albeit with inspiration from a contemporary architect known for his pyramid construction theories.

According to a report from Kotaku, the newly-released Assassin’s Creed Origins includes a version of the Great Pyramid of Giza, also known as the Pyramid of Khufu, that is based on theories from French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin. While frequently contested, the theories suggest that the structure contains a number of hidden chambers, as well as a lengthy internal rampway within the pyramid. Emhotep.net notes that Houdin came up with the theory in 1999 with his father Henri, suggesting that the rampway may have been used to move limestone blocks to the top of the pyramid.

The Giza pyramid’s hidden chambers in Origins are found above its “grand hallway,” making it quite close to where the giant void was spotted in real life. And while it’s not sure if Houdin’s other hypotheses about the Pyramid of Khufu are accurate or not, Assassin’s Creed historian Maxime Durand of Ubisoft Montreal told Kotaku that his team is confident that these theories will be proven correct at some point in the future.

“We have long believed that Jean-Pierre Houdin’s theories about the inner ramps and royal circuit with two antechambers inside the Great Pyramid are probably the most credible, which is why we decided to use them in the game,” said Durand.

“We were betting on the fact that these secret locations inside of the Great Pyramid would probably be discovered in the near future, so we wanted to allow players the chance to visit them in advance.”

This week's Giza pyramid discovery was already built into Assassin's Creed Origins: https://t.co/2l0uXLnIYC pic.twitter.com/IjNVsPPB2J

— Kotaku (@Kotaku) November 3, 2017

As previously noted by the Inquisitr, the discovery at the Great Pyramid of Giza was made by a multinational team of researchers, who used a sophisticated physics technique called muon radiography to detect the giant void. The Giza pyramid’s newly discovered hidden chamber added to the three large chambers previously spotted within the structure, though it’s still unsure what purpose the chamber would have served during ancient days.

Taking readers through a guided tour of the Great Pyramid of Giza’s hypothetical features found in Assassin’s Creed Origins, Kotaku wrote that the King’s Chamber has a small gap in its wall that takes players to two treasure-filled rooms. These represent the antechambers Houdin believes can be found within the Giza pyramid, and can be found in close proximity to where the chamber was recently discovered in real life. There’s also a gap leading to the “Noble Circuit,” a pathway that Houdin theorized might have been used for Khufu’s funeral procession.

Although it should be interesting to visit the Giza pyramid’s hidden chambers as envisioned by the folks at Ubisoft, Kotaku stressed that they represent an optional part of Assassin’s Creed Origins’ storyline. That’s because the Great Pyramid of Giza is the setting of one of the game’s tomb quests where players can hunt for ancient stones. But even if these are just side quests, Ubisoft is still encouraging players to check the pyramid out, especially with the recent real-world discovery dominating science headlines earlier in the week.

[Featured Image by WiTR/Shutterstock]