Behind the Tamil game ‘Son of Thanjai’ that promises to revolutionize Indian gaming

An exiled Chola prince slaughters his enemies with whip and sword in an exciting quest to claim the throne. you are welcome son of thanjaiAn Xbox original open-world Tamil video game that promises to revolutionize Indian gaming.

Ever since PlayStation and Xbox released trending promos of the game, the attention of the global gaming community has rightly turned towards India. Based on the 11th century Chola dynasty, the gameplay takes place in an eight-kilometre area around the iconic Brihadeshwara Temple of Thanjavur. Players take on the role of Vinnendhiran, a fictional Chola prince inspired by Rajendra Chola.

Produced by Chennai-based Eyelet Studios, the game’s story, screenplay, dialogues and lyrics are written by the acclaimed writer and lyricist. Madan Karki. The project fulfills Madan’s 20-year dream of writing video games. “In assassin’s creed In the version set in Egypt, I was able to climb the pyramids and even go inside them. When I actually went to Egypt, I felt like I was already living there. That’s what sports offer,” he says, linking his journey to son of thanjai It began when Abraham Kay, studio head and creative director of Eyelet Studios, approached him to write lyrics for a song in the game.

Abraham’s vision of making a Tamil play about the Cholas began much earlier son of thanjai. His team worked on a demo version called Anonymous Empire: CholaWhich was released on Steam. “We did that game to evaluate pipelines; we had just a 4-member team back then, and so it was like a start-up. When we released it, we got 75,000 downloads. Later, in 2025, we released a new version called The Unsung Empire: Chola 2Which was also well received.”

However, he was aware of the limitations and understood that the sport had to compete on the world stage while remaining true to its cultural representation. Abraham says, “So we started reworking the characters, the world, the combat, etc. We invested a portion of our budget in Optitrack motion-capture technology. Then we had Madan involved and the whole story changed.”

The developer says, “We chose the Cholas because they are one of the most documented kings, and we wanted our players to experience a new world and its mechanics.” While Madhavan was excited, he knew that making it a story on Rajendra Chola would place great restrictions on him. “We were able to tell everything that’s recorded in history. But especially because it’s going to be a different world – and a violent world – for a video game, I suggested we fictionalize it.” Thus the team decided to create Sengage Chola and his son, Vinnendhiran Chola, as the protagonist.

Madan and his team researched many of the elements that make up life in the 11th century. Madan says, “We looked at the types of occupations, stories and gossip recorded in history. There was a document about tunnels used during the period of Rajendra Chola, which was not recorded anywhere else. So we analyzed it to see what could help the gameplay, and then gradually created some characters around that.”

Then the examination of linguistics and iconography started. “Tanjore is a dialect of Tamil. For ‘Dreams’, they will not use ‘Kanavu’ but ‘Soppanam.'” We want Tamil gamers to understand it without the need for any translation. The game will be released worldwide with subtitles in the Tamil language.

According to the game’s logline, the story will not only describe Vinendheeran’s journey in reclaiming the throne but also reveal the kind of person he will be when he gets there. “Vinnendhiran is a prince who has become spoiled by the pleasures of the world. The kingdom is falling, enemies are all around, and Vinnendhiran’s mother has gone mad and has put him in chains. So he is a troubled child, and is the last in the line of Cholas. Now, his father has decided to throw him out of the palace, and that’s when the story begins. He has to survive on the streets, live with the people, try to look after their issues, help them To do – or choose not to do – because he always has a choice so he will decide what he wants to become,” explains Madan.

For Abraham, Vinnendhiran is his attempt to create a new action-hero ideal rooted in South Indian history, war and political manipulation. “Since this is a narrative-based game, we wanted to make sure the story gave agency to the player. That’s when we decided on both stealth and combat.” For the fight, Abraham and the team chose Kalaripayattu, a South Indian martial art that is relatively unknown in sports. “This makes sure it doesn’t feel like a sword-and-shield game that we’ve played many times. With stealth, we used a lot of new mechanics. Plus, the entire world reacts to stealth – if you walk on water, you stimulate sound within a certain radius. If you’re someone who likes stealth, you can go through the entire game without combat by sneaking, bluffing, and luring.”

Of particular interest is the concept of ‘combat through fear and morale’ that the developers have used. “Normally, whenever there is a battle, the enemies are in a 140-degree circle, and at any given time, only one enemy will attack you. But we wanted to break that. So the enemies will surround you in 360 degrees. And whenever you kill someone, their ‘morale’ is affected. If you kill someone or attack the target, it affects the morale of other enemies, and they feel ‘scared’. So as The earlier you invoke fear, the easier the combat will be. Also, if there is a commander among the enemies, he can boost the morale of the entire group, so this system will be really interesting if players use it correctly,” explains Abraham.

Given the advanced techniques of Kalaripayattu, Abraham’s team used advanced motion-capture technology to capture the physicality. “We had to experiment a lot and see how much timing and fluidity each attack should have, and whether or not the combat should be reactive. In the beginning, the combat designers would plan the shots.” Then, the team practiced the attacks with real Kalari practitioners. “On the day of the shooting, we capture them carrying out the attacks while wearing motion-capture suits.”

What really makes any game stand out is its world-building, and there are many joys in exploring open worlds son of thanjaiMadan says. “In this world, you can meet many people of different professions. From an old woman telling children stories about the old Chola dynasty to therukoothu Display.”

Abraham says how every single non-playable character (NPC) has their own story. “Each NPC also has gossip about what’s going on in the village, as well as what’s happening with Winnendhiran’s journey.” The game also pays homage to Sangam-era literature and music. “We have kept Sangam-era songs written on palm leaves as collectibles at various places,” says Madan.

Abraham admits that there have been many challenges in creating a Tamil game for a global audience. “We don’t have any publishers in India to publish games on consoles because we don’t have any games from India that have created a global movement. When we talk to investors outside India, they ask for context, which we don’t have. When we talk about Tamil, they ask for data, but there is no data on the market performance of Tamil games. Hopefully, once this game comes out, we will change the entire market.”

He says he is grateful that this project is likely to encourage more raw talent in Tamil Nadu. “There are a lot of developers who left India to work in the gaming industry, simply because they don’t have opportunities here. But we have a lot of raw talent: this game was only possible because of the team. So there is a huge opportunity in the area of ​​talent development.”

Abraham plans to release more promos in the near future to reveal what he’s working on. “We’re waiting for the right timeframe to release the game because we have a lot of big GTA VI coming. We still have a lot to do, and so we’re planning a release in the first quarter of next year,” he says.

Madan says, “Whenever I go on a trip, and people find out I’m from India, they start talking to me in Hindi. This game is an opportunity to tell the world that there’s more to India than what they see. I love playing games in the original language because it naturally transports me to a new world. Now, I want the world to experience Tamil culture.”