Microids’ Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile game will put an updated spin on the beloved mystery. To learn more, PlayStation LifeStyle spoke with Head of Microids Studio Lyon David Chomard. The game is set to launch on September 25, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
“Death on the Nile is an adventure-detective game, offering a fresh twist on Agatha Christie’s famous story. Set in the lively 1970s, play as Hercule Poirot and detective Jane Royce as they solve two connected mysteries. Dive into a journey filled with intrigue, deception, and unexpected revelations,” says the game’s official description.
Tyler Treese: The new Death on the Nile game has been updated to take place in the 1970s. What can we expect from this different setting than the original?
David Chomard: The book is set in the 1930s, but by transposing the story to the 1970s, we were able to create a narrative that takes place in New York, London, Mallorca, and Cairo — thanks to long-haul flights. We can also create more complex puzzles using cassette players, Polaroids, Super 8 cameras, and more — and introduce a character like Jane, an independent female detective. And finally, the locations and fashion of the 1970s allow us to create a unique visual identity that sets this adaptation apart from other versions of the book.
A new character addition is Jane Royce, another private eye. Does she play differently from Poirot?
Yes. She has her own storyline and her own investigations, which run in parallel to Poirot’s. The player alternates chapters between Jane and Poirot, and it’s only at the end that their stories intersect. Jane’s style is also very different from Poirot’s: she runs, picks locks, fights, shoots—things Poirot would never do. She’s also more passionate, while Poirot stays calm in (almost) all circumstances. Jane’s chapters are more action-oriented, while Poirot’s are more cerebral.
This is based on a beloved novel that has received several film adaptations. How does the video game keep things fresh for mystery fans that might already know the main story?
That was our biggest challenge: creating an investigation that would be engaging, even for those who already know the story. To achieve that, we first added many side investigations for Poirot—events that are only briefly mentioned in the book. For example, early on Poirot visits a club. In the book, he just has a drink, sees some characters, and leaves. In the game, we imagined a jewel theft happening at that moment, which adds a whole original investigation. Similarly, Poirot mentions a robbery in a house in Mallorca — so we turned that into a full case for Jane
We also added tons of puzzles and riddles scattered throughout the game levels for puzzle lovers. And finally, we included a post-ending investigation that goes beyond the events of the book—an entirely original creation.
In the end, the story from the book represents less than half of the game’s overall narrative.
What are the biggest lessons that the team learned from 2023’s Murder on the Orient Express that you implemented into Death on the Nile?
The difficulty level is now adjustable, all the way up to the “Herculean” level. The investigation is less linear, with more freedom in investigation, greater exploration, and more interactions with the environment, along with improved character controls. Since players really enjoyed the variety of gameplay, we added even more: tailing, eavesdropping, lockpicking, mental reconstructions, moral choices, and plenty of new puzzle objects to solve.
We also noticed that players loved collecting things, so we added a museum filled with artworks and rewards that can be unlocked by finding hidden moustaches and vinyl records throughout the levels.
The storyline even goes after the events of the book. Was it daunting to really put your stamp on such a famous story and expand it in a major way?
Yes, of course — it’s definitely bold and risky to add content to a story already so brilliantly written by Agatha Christie. But we had to offer something fresh for fans of the book. So we wrote an epilogue to the original story, which also has a very powerful ending. Without spoiling anything, there are two possible investigations — one of which, I think, will shock even the most jaded players.
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