Playing Kafka | Kafka 2024

Together with the indie game studio Charles Games, the Goethe-Institut is developing a video game that brings Kafka's literary world to life in virtual space.

With the video game Playing Kafka, it is now possible to immerse yourself virtually in the mysterious world of Kafka's novel. By interacting with the game world, engaging dialogs with the characters and interactive puzzles, players embark on a kafkaesque journey.

What decisions would you make if you were Joseph K.? Every choice influences the course of the game and the story. Playing Kafka encourages players to become actively involved in the narrative and thus opens up space for individual reflections on Kafka's works in the context of today's world.

Playing Kafka is an excellent educational video game to introduce pupils to the work and life of Franz Kafka in a creative way. Comprehensive accompanying educational material is also available.

The first module of the game, which is based on Kafka's novel „The Trial“, has been available free of charge in the PC version (Windows) in English and Czech since June 2023 (see below). In May 2024, the full game will be released, which also contains modules inspired by Kafka's „Letter to the Father“ and „The Castle“. This will be available for free to the general public on mobile devices (iOS, Android) as well as for PC (Windows, Mac OS) in three language versions: Czech, German and English.

Playing Kafka is being developed by the Goethe-Institut together with the independent game studio Charles Games. The project is supported by the National Recovery Plan of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, funded by the European Union.