Assassin’s creed Mirage was recently announced and Ubisoft has unveiled more details about the upcoming game including its setting, gameplay, and characters.

The game stars Basim Ibn Ishaq who previously appeared in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and promises to go back to the roots with stealth-focus action, and properly hooded assassins.

Who Developing It?

The lead studio for Assassin’s Creed Mirage is Ubisoft Bordeaux, which previously worked on the ‘Wrath of the Druids’ DLC for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The studio is supported by many other Ubisoft studios including many Assassin’s Creed veterans. These include Ubisoft Montreal, Montpellier, Philippines, Singapore, Sofia, Kyiv, Odesa, and Bucharest.

The developer says they wanted to pay homage to the entire series and particularly the first ever Assassin’s Creed.

Welcome to Baghdad

The presenter invited Narrative Director Sarah Beaulieu to talk about the game’s world and story.

The game takes place in 861AD when Baghdad was the center of the world before it was eventually destroyed five centuries later. They picked Baghdad because they wanted to go back to the Middle East which is the place that started Assassin’s Creed and based the city on historical research of the region around that time period. 

Other than Baghdad, players can also experience some key moments in Alamut, the original home of the Assassins who started the creed. This is where the Hidden Ones set up their fortress, and during this game, the fortress is still in construction.

Meet the characters

This game is set 20 years before the events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, meaning that Basim is also 20 years younger. The player will see him start off as a street thief, slowly growing into a master assassin in the city of Baghdad. The developers have also given Basim a number of new abilities, like how he’s so agile that he can feel time slow down around him, allowing him to launch a series of super-fast assassinations. He also has a new ability named Assassin’s Focus, allowing Basim to perform multiple stealth kills at once.

Basim is also the proud owner of a juvenile Aquila Heliaca a.k.a. an Eastern Imperial Eagle named Enkidu, which is said to be specific to that region. Players can use the eagle to tag enemies and resources. There are however special archers that can shoot down the eagle, so be careful.

Other than Basim, Ubisoft has also introduced another main character named Roshan. She’s a 50-year-old Persian, who was a slave, and now a master assassin and mentor of Basim. She is a true warrior who fights for justice and will protect the Hidden Ones at all costs. She will be voiced by Emmy Award-winning actress Shohreh Aghdashloo most well known for her roles on ’24’ and ‘House of Saddam’.

Like the other Assassin’s Creed games, several well-known historical figures will appear and interact with the protagonist throughout the game. 

The Return of Stealth

The gameplay of Assassin’s Creed Mirage pays homage to the earlier games, focusing on the key gameplay pillars of stealth, parkour, and assassinations.

The developers have reworked and improved the detection system. This means that players will be able to really see who is tracking them, and how far away are they. They’ve also added new tools to help with stealth assassinations like mines and a blowdart. Beloved animations and iconic moves like corner swings are also making a return as well as some new ones like pole vaulting. Basim can use this to cross some big gaps and obstacles.

The main assassinations of the game are called the Black Box Missions, which let the players have opportunities to define the way they want to take down the next target. There will be upgradable Assassin Tools and new interactions with the environment like setting traps and making scaffolds fall onto the enemies.

The Collector’s Case

Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be available in 2023, however, no concrete release date has been announced. If you pre-order the game, you also get an exclusive Forty Thieves side quest.

The game will also have a Collector’s Case with the following items:

• AC Mirage Deluxe Edition
• Selected Game Soundtrack
• Exclusive SteelBook with design elected by fans
• 32cm Basim Figurine
• Map of Baghdad (From that era presumably, ‘cause the current Baghdad is, I’m sorry, boring)
• Mini-Artbook
• Basim’s Brooch
• Deluxe Pack inspired by Prince of Persia including outfit, eagle, mount skin, and weapons.
• Bonus Content: Digital Artbook + Digital Soundtrack

The Future of Assassin’s Creed

Aside from Mirage, Ubisoft unveiled several new Assassin’s Creed projects at the showcase. These include Assassin’s Creed Valhalla The Last Chapter, the final piece of DLC for the game, a game set in Japan that will be part of Assassin’s Creed Infinity, a new mobile game Assassin’s Creed Jade, and the announcement of an Assassin’s Creed Netflix show.

The game will be launched on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Amazon Luna, and PC via Ubisoft Store and Epic Games Store in 2023. The Standard edition cost $50 USD, the Deluxe edition cost $60 USD and the Collector’s Case cost $150 USD.