Cultural Theft or Legitimate Virtual Tourism?

Egyptian scholars aren’t happy about video games and movies referencing ancient culture

Years ago, I read an article about Egyptian scholars and archeologists trying to copyright the pyramids and other symbols of ancient Egyptian civilization. Their claim was simple: these symbols belong to Egypt, and any depictions by others outside the country— for example, via the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas — is illegal (in the event, at least, that Egypt itself isn’t getting a cut from the revenues).

At the time, I thought the claim was ridiculous. I agree that ancient Egyptian cultural artefacts are part of Egypt’s civilization and national identity. But there’s no sense in which a modern restaurant or hotel can steal from an ancient civilization. In fact, it could be argued that modern representations of ancient Egypt act as tools of promotion more than anything else.

Last week I read a similar article on Al Jazeera. This time, though, archeologists and scholars weren’t going after physical hotels and resorts — they were instead targeting movies and video games. The main focus was on two video games in particular: PUBG Mobile and Assassin’s Creed Origins. I haven’t played PUBG, but I’ve definitely played and loved Assassin’s Creed Origins. I’m going to take a…