Ryse: Son of Rome had a troubled lifespan. It was a pretty mediocre game at the time and was quickly forgotten a couple of months after release. Recently, a video has been making the rounds on Twitter and a couple of other Gaming Sites (PC Gamer, Eurogamer) showcasing Ryse in a different light. The footage (which you can see below) shows a very early build of Ryse: Son of Rome which was at the time called, Codename: Kingdoms. In this first-person footage of the game, it shows an unnamed character talking to his wife and son when soldiers barge into his home and kill his wife. The trailer then goes on to show fighting styles, tactics and how the character controls and fights in battle.

Codename: Kingdoms was first showcased at E3 2010. Back then, the game was merely a tech demo showing off the power of the Xbox 360 and just what Microsoft could do. Codename: Kingdoms was later revealed to be a Kinect only game to many gamers dismay. During these announcements, the game was rumoured to be a First-Person action game that would not require Kinect. The project then went silent and Microsoft was tight-lipped as to just what this new game would be about or when it would be released. Then, at E3 2013, Microsoft officially announced Ryse: Son of Rome which was then a Third Person action game set in ancient Rome.