Thai tourist spots to be featured in popular mobile game

Thai tourist spots to be featured in popular mobile game
Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol says the ministry will collaborate with the publisher of mobile game Ragnarok Origin to feature beautiful places in Thailand in the game’s new version due for release in late 2024. (Bangkok Post photo)

Popular tourist destinations in secondary provinces will be proposed as scenes in Gravity’s hit mobile game Ragnarok Origin, Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said.

Ms Sudawan said one of the secondary provinces would be Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya as it has beautiful places including World Heritage sites and a strong cultural identity.

Ragnarok Origin (ROO) is a mobile game and a sequel to the iconic multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Ragnarok Online (RO) created by Korean developer Gravity. RO attracted more than 50 million players worldwide during its peak.

Ms Sudawan’s remarks came after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin recently met the management of Gravity Game Tech, Gravity’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Thailand, to listen to the company’s plan to choose Thailand as one of the three countries that will have real places featured in the new version of ROO due for release by the year’s end.

Mr Srettha asked the company to add the muay Thai shorts, headband and Thai war elephants as items in the game, a move that Ms Sudawan said would help promote Thai cultural heritage.

“The collaboration aims to attract 50 million gamers worldwide to spend their holidays in Thailand and see the physical places that are promoted in the game,” the tourism minister added.