The Making of Karateka now available on Switch in North America

In 1984, Jordan Mechner’s Karateka broke ground for a new era of cinematic storytelling in video games. You’re now able to explore the origins of this extraordinary game in The Making of Karateka, an interactive documentary on Switch in North America today.

Jordan Mechner – who went on to create Prince of Persia and The Last Express – was an 18-year-old college student when he started making the martial arts adventure that would become one of the most influential games of the Apple II era.

The Making of Karateka presents the story behind Mechner’s first published game through an exhaustive archive of design documents, playable prototypes, and all-new video features that can be explored at your own pace. The interactive documentary includes:

Pixel-perfect playable versions of the original Karateka games plus a variety of never-before-seen early prototypes, with rich quality-of-life features like save anywhere, rewind, chapter select, and director’s commentary.

Two remastered games: Karateka Remastered, an all-new adaptation of the original featuring cutting-room-floor content, commentary & achievements, and Deathbounce: Rebounded, a fast and frantic twin-stick shooter based on Jordan’s unpublished prototype.

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how Karateka became one of the first games to include cinematic scenes, a moving original soundtrack, rotoscoped animation, a Hollywood-style love story, and more.

Localization in French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Japanese.

The Making of Karateka is developed by Digital Eclipse, the team behind acclaimed collections including the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection.