Assassin's Creed Mirage - Release Date, Stealth Gameplay, And Everything We Know

Assassin's Creed is finally leaping back into action later this year, but don't expect this next chapter in the franchise to be a massive departure from the series' roots in the same vein as Assassin's Creed Valhalla. While Assassin's Creed Mirage does have a narrative link to Valhalla in the form of its protagonist, this new adventure is being designed to be a more stealth-focused and back-to-basics approach that circles back to the very first game. Here's everything that we know about Assassin's Creed Mirage ahead of its upcoming release.

Release date

Originally scheduled to launch on October 12, Assassin's Creed Mirage had its release date moved up by a whole week to October 5. The game is arriving during an incredibly busy month, as October has a number of high-profile releases, including Forza Motorsport, Lords of the Fallen, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Alan Wake 2.

Platforms

All the usual console suspects will play host to Mirage when it arrives, as you'll be able to play the game on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One.

Who do you play as in Assassin's Creed Mirage?

While Valhalla gave you a more personal stake in the story with a customizable version of the game's protagonist, Eivor, Mirage will focus on Basim Ibn Ishaq, a young street thief in Baghdad who is inducted into the Hidden Ones. Basim plays a key role in Valhalla, and in Mirage, you'll see how he eventually becomes a key member in the precursor to the Assassin Brotherhood.

What is the storyline of Assassin's Creed Mirage?

Ubisoft isn't ready to reveal what the focus of Mirage is yet, but the company has said in interviews that it has a narrative structure that is much closer to the first Assassin's Creed games. Chronologically, Mirage takes place 100 years before the formation of the Assassin Brotherhood and is set roughly 300 years before the first Assassin's Creed game.

One thing you can expect to see very little of is the Animus, the device used by several modern-day protagonists to access the past through the genetically inherited memories of their ancestors," art director Jean-Luc Sala said in an interview.

"We do not have present-day [segments], nor too much science-fiction stuff," Sala said. ."It's clear from the beginning of the game and for a bit at the end that someone is entering the Animus, and this is an Animus experience. This game is not just disconnected from that feature...But it's just not the purpose of this game. It's focused on a young person, [Basim], and his story. That's why we want to go straight into that."

How big is Assassin's Creed Mirage?

Previous Assassin's Creed games like Odyssey and Valhalla have been gigantic slices of digital real estate to explore, but for Mirage, Ubisoft is scaling back on the size of its open world. The game will be around three times shorter than Valhalla, and you can expect to sink around 20-23 hours into its campaign according to Ubisoft lead producer Fabian Salomon. For completionists, that playtime increases to approximately 25-30 hours.

Assassin's Creed Mirage DLC plans

Ubisoft revealed that there are no plans "for now" to release DLC for the game. According to creative director Stephane Boudon, who responded to a fan question in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, Mirage has been designed to be a standalone game.

Gameplay

Compared to the more gung-ho action of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Mirage is focusing more on agile movement, cunning stealth, and fast-paced parkour for exploration. Ubisoft has described Mirage as a return to the series roots, as social stealth and parkour abilities play a more vital role in the game.

"Basim is definitely not Eivor," Sala said. "You have to pay attention to that, what you do, how you play. If you are hit, you are hit. You are going to regret it really, really soon. If you start to fight with big, chunky enemies, thinking this is like Valhalla, you are going to die really fast. You need to just take your time, look around...It's more a bird of prey playing with their prey approach. Take your time, look around, be smart, move quick, kill, disappear, think again, look around. So it's really that: You kill and vanish, then come back again. If you are static, it's no good."

Stealth and parkour

As mentioned above, don't expect to jump into a fight with a drawn sword and come out unscathed, as Basim isn't a warrior on the same level as Eivor or Cassandra. Instead, Basim's guile allows him to function better as a traditional assassin, hunting down targets and taking a stealthier approach in his missions. Basim is even able to pull off a new multi-kill assassination, which can be improved as he gains more skill, he has several tools to help him escape enemies.

Ubisoft has also added a new layer of challenge to the game with reworked detection systems and deadlier enemies, all to help emphasize that Basim isn't a warrior; he's an assassin. As for parkour mechanics, Basim will be able to climb across buildings in Baghdad and move across rooftops, with Ubisoft saying that this system has a quicker pace when compared to previous games. Several animations and iconic moves from those games will also be present in Mirage, and can be combined with Basim's unique moveset to transform him into an agile assassin.

Map size

If the Egyptian, Mediterranean, and England maps of previous Assassin's Creed game were far too large for your personal taste, then Mirage's smaller and more condensed map should be good news. Ubisoft is taking a last-gen approach to the scale of Mirage's map, to keep the game focused. "It's a more focused game. The size of it is something like a Rogue or a Revelations, just to give you an idea of the scope," Sala said.

Baghdad, which has a rich history and was arguably the center of the world in the 9th century, has also been lovingly built in Assassin's Creed Mirage. Previous Assassin's Creed games have featured incredibly detailed open-world environments to explore, and for Mirage, Ubisoft broke up Baghdad into four major districts--such as business and industrial--within the game. Ubisoft also created a History of Baghdad mode that will urge players to learn more about the ancient city.

Assassin's Creed Mirage editions

Like other Ubisoft games, Mirage will be available in multiple editions. The standard version is priced at $50 and only includes the game, the deluxe edition contains DLC inspired by Prince of Persia and retails for $60, and a limited-edition Collector's Case packs in the game, a Baghdad map, a 32cm statue of Basim, and other extras. For more details, you can check out GameSpot's Asassin's Creed Mirage preorder guide.