The Assassin’s Creed Mirage release date may indeed be as mysterious as the assassins themselves. We know that Mirage is an homage to the original Assassin’s Creed games, bringing back the stealth-focused gameplay in a densely populated Middle-Eastern city. While it’s still an action-adventure game with a strong narrative focus, long-time Assassin’s Creed players will be reminded of Ezio’s adventures rather than Eivor’s.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which was announced in September 2022, is part of Ubisoft’s larger Assassin’s Creed series. Following the release of Valhalla back in 2020, it’s the thirteenth major instalment. Like other AC games, Mirage is all about fascinating historical settings, intriguing characters, and sneakiness – something that will hopefully place Mirage among the best PC games when it eventually releases. Whether you’re a veteran assassin or new to stealth games, here’s everything we know about Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage release date speculation
We don’t have an exact release date, but we know it’s scheduled for release at some point in 2023. Yes, that’s quite broad, but at least it’s not a very long wait.
A recent rumour from Insider Gaming suggests that Assassin’s Creed Mirage may have been planned for an early 2023 release, but has been delayed to August. So far, there’s no evidence to suggest a delay beyond 2023.
PC players will be able to find Mirage in the Ubisoft and Epic Games stores. Besides PC, the upcoming Assassin’s Creed game will release on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage setting and size
The main location in Assassin’s Creed Mirage is ninth-century Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate (modern-day Iraq). We’ll get to explore the city during its Golden Age, as a thriving global hub for scientists, artists, inventors, and merchants. Mirage’s only location outside of Baghdad is the imposing assassins’ stronghold of Alamut, an ancient castle that has often been referenced in earlier games.
Unlike recent Assassin’s Creed games, Mirage won’t feature a large open world. But even though it’s smaller in map size compared to Valhalla and Odyssey, that doesn’t mean it has less to offer. The developers have promised that Baghdad will become a very lively place, with streets full of reactive NPCs responding to the protagonist’s ‘every move’.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage story and gameplay
Mirage’s storyline follows a young man by the name of Basim Ibn Ishaq, who first appeared as an important character in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Taking place about twenty years prior to Valhalla, Mirage tells Basim’s coming of age story, as he evolves from street thief into master assassin. In contrast to its open world predecessors, Basim’s tale is told in a more linear fashion.
There will be a strong focus on assassination in its purest form in Mirage: arrive unseen, take out the target, and disappear without a trace. To aide him in his work, Basim relies on his parkour skills (expect to be up on the rooftops quite a bit) and a variety of tools, such as smoke bombs. In an interview with Arab Hardware, the developers disclosed that their goal is to match AC Unity-level parkour skills.
Still, it looks like some of the series’ recent inventions are here to stay, such as the enemy-marking eagle that was present in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla (as spotted in the trailers below). The bird, who goes by the name Enkidu, should be a great help when planning an assassination.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage trailer
The Assassin’s Creed Mirage reveal trailer shows the bustling streets and colourful markets of medieval Baghdad. There’s no gameplay demonstration yet, but we do get a sense of Mirage’s atmosphere and story.
In the first scene, we hear Basim’s mentor, Roshan, asking the young thief if he’s ready to “give up who he once thought he was”. He’s among the brotherhood of The Hidden Ones, completing a finger-cutting ritual to join their ranks. Later on, we see him sparring with Roshan in the citadel of Alamut, both dressed in assassin’s garments.
Meanwhile, the Mirage trailer shows several flashbacks to Basim’s past as an orphan. Accused of thievery, he tries to escape the city guard before Roshan rescues him. When he returns to the streets of Baghdad as a skilled assassin, a spectacular fight scene with plenty of stealth, smoke bombs, and face-to-face combat follows. Don’t miss the quick glimpse of our hero atop a very high building, overlooking the city as his eagle-sidekick flies by.
At the end of the trailer, a djinn appears from the shadows after Basim kills his target. While the djinn’s role remains a mystery, the developers mentioned that it’s linked to Basim’s memory, and will play a role in his character development.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage news
Back in September 2022, Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Xbox store listing caused a bit of an uproar. It suggested that the game would feature gambling elements, which were widely interpreted as ‘micro-transactions’. However, Ubisoft later declared that the listing was a mistake, stating that “no real gambling or loot boxes are present in the game”.
In an interview with YouTube channel Access the Animus from September 24, Jean-Luc Sala, art director at Ubisoft Bordeaux, paints a more detailed picture of Basim’s character. He describes the young orphan as an over-confident thief who comes to realise that he’s plagued by mental issues and self-doubt. This, Sala says, is the “conflict within the story”.
Finally, we have some great news for Valhalla players who can’t wait for Mirage, as the latest Assassin’s Creed Valhalla DLC adds a crossover bonus quest. The surprise quest, called “Shared History”, features Basim’s mentor Roshan as she teams up with Eivor to slay a bunch of common foes.
