When is the Assassin’s Creed release date? 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, 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 stealth – 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 the AC Mirage release date and gameplay.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage release date
The Assassin’s Creed Mirage release date is Thursday, October 5, 2023. The new release date was confirmed in a tweet from the official Assassin’s Creed account, announcing that the game has now gone gold.
The AC Mirage release change brings the date forward one whole week earlier than the one announced during the PlayStation showcase.
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 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 than Valhalla and Odyssey, that doesn’t mean it has less to offer. According to the AC Mirage official website, Baghdad will be lively, with streets full of reactive NPCs responding to the protagonist’s ‘every move’. We got a glimpse of the city in action in the trailer above, which debuted at Gamescom 2023 ONL.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage story
Mirage is going to be a narrative-driven experience, according to Ubisoft. Its storyline follows a young man named Basim Ibn Ishaq, who first appeared as an important character in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Set about twenty years before Valhalla, specifically in the 9th century, Mirage tells Basim’s coming-of-age story as he evolves from a street thief into a master assassin.
In contrast to its open-world predecessors, Basim’s tale is told in a more linear fashion. Consequently, the Assassin’s Creed Mirage length is five times shorter than Valhalla’s, with Ubisoft lead producer Fabian Salomon estimating it to take around 20-23 hours to complete the main story.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage gameplay
There is a strong focus on assassinating targets in its purest form in Mirage: arrive unseen, take out the target, and disappear without a trace. To aid him in his work, Basim relies on his parkour skills and swordsmanship, of which animation director Benjamin Fox has said in an interview with GLHF that the team “looked at samurai, we looked at Jedi for the way that swords and lightsabers are handled”.
You can also unlock various unlockable tools, such as smoke bombs, blow darts, and others that you can unlock at any Assassin base. These tools can also be upgraded to improve their capabilities. In an interview with Arab Hardware, the developers disclosed that their goal is to match AC Unity-level parkour skills. You will also be able to teleport to help you get the jump on multiple targets.
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). The bird, who goes by the name Enkidu, should be a great help when planning an assassination. However, as the gameplay trailer shows, guards will now fire arrows at any eagle they spot in the sky.
You’ll also be able to take on contractor missions, which are the game’s side quests. These range from stealing a valuable mirror from a bathhouse or assassinating a rebel spy, but also come with optional contractor requests, such as not taking any damage or not assassinating anyone.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage trailers
The Assassin’s Creed Mirage reveal trailer shows medieval Baghdad’s bustling streets and colorful markets. 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, 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. This is perhaps a nod to the famous ‘One Thousand and One Nights’ collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, known in English as the ‘Arabian Nights’, where such god-like beings were commonplace.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage DLC
Unlike previous games in the series, there are no plans for Assassin’s Creed Mirage DLC or extensive post-launch content. This information came to light during a recent Assassin’s Creed AMA on Reddit, with the game’s creative director Stéphane Boudon being the person who confirmed the lack of DLC plans.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage news
In September 2022, AC Mirage’s Xbox store listing caused a bit of an uproar concerning Assassin’s Creed Mirage microtransactions. It suggested that the game would feature gambling elements. However, Ubisoft later declared that the listing was a mistake, stating that “no real gambling or loot boxes are present in the game”. We also have confirmation that we won’t need to pay to block Assassin’s Creed Mirage ads, either.
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 realizes that his mental health and self-doubt plague him. This, Sala says, is the “conflict within the story”.
As for more recent developments, AC Mirage will be compatible with the OWO haptic gaming system, which is a short-sleeved shirt that gives you a response if you’re hit in the game. This means you’ll feel every punch, kick, or weapon blow. There will be a special Assassin’s Creed Mirage version with relevant branding that comes with the game.
That’s all for the Assassin’s Creed Mirage release date, be sure to check back for release times closer to launch. In the meantime, here’s whether AC Mirage is available on Steam, and if AC Mirage is Steam Deck compatible so you can decide on a platform ahead of time.
