28 May 2023 , 06:00
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2023’s edition of Assassin’s Creed will need to do a lot of heavy lifting to get Ubisoft out of its current financial and reputational hole.
For better or worse, Assassin’s Creed is one of those open-world franchises that simply won’t go away. It’s easy to see why. Ever since the franchise first began in 2007 with the launch of the original, players have been able to visit countless beautiful locations the world over through the lens of a fictional feud between a group of Assassins and the ancient order of Templars. Ubisoft has always bet big on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and in light of a lacklustre release schedule both this year and the end of the last, all signs point towards the weight on the franchise’s shoulders with the launch of Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
According to a recent Ubisoft earnings report, the publisher intends to increase the number of developers working on all things Assassin’s Creed by a significant amount. “As part of our progressive reallocation of resources, we notably plan to increase the number of talents working on the Assassin’s Creed brand by 40% over the coming years,” said CEO Yves Guillemot. This presumably includes its current title, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which has been pitched since its reveal as a smaller experience more reminiscent of the original trilogy.
Mirage is one of six Assassin’s Creed titles Ubisoft currently has in development, two of which we know to be codenamed Hexe and Red. Both were revealed during last year’s Ubisoft Forward digital livestream event, with Hexe said to be centred on the witch trials and Red set sometime during Feudal Japan. But why the sudden step to move what is estimated to be 800 additional staff members – according to insider Tom Henderson – on its trademark open-world series? Well, the Ubisoft calendar has been barren for an unusually long time and games like Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope disappointed financially. News of this came in an earlier January earnings report, around the time of Skull and Bones’ latest delay.
All this is to say that Ubisoft very much needs a win right now, and I’m actually of the opinion that it’s right to pour as much effort as possible into Assassin’s Creed. But it all begins with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, reportedly coming in October as a result of an internal delay. The game still doesn’t have an official date, but we’re expecting to get one at this year’s Ubisoft Forward on June 12, 2023. Assassin’s Creed Mirage being promoted from a palette cleanser to a full-fledged mainline entry might be disappointing for some, but I for one am pleased that a smaller, more streamlined title in the series is now Ubisoft’s main focus for holiday 2023.
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As someone who didn’t finish the past two entries – namely Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – the prospect of a more classic entry in the franchise has me pumped. Especially now that Ubisoft has upped its standing and also hopefully dedicated more resources to it. I’m sure the bulk of Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s development is done, true, but having so many additional developers assisting in its polish phase ensures we won’t have a glitchy mess at launch a la Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.
Set in Baghdad during the 9th century, the hope is that the map will be packed full of detail instead of endless repeated environmental assets. That’s the only way a more intimate edition of this series can work, in my opinion, when the location you’re in actually feels like a character in and of itself. Greece and England felt homogenous by comparison, and lacked the sense of identity earlier instalments built a lot of their success on. There’s a reason why players (including myself) tend to bring up Rome in a much fonder context than, say, Athens, which is a serious problem.
Focussing on being an actual assassin again, as daft as it might sound to say, is also a major boon that Assassin’s Creed Mirage can hopefully take advantage of. Give me actual targets to track down, clues to uncover and interesting locations to break into. Actions like this are what fully place you in the mindset of a dedicated assassin, all being elements largely forgotten about in more recent entries in favour of a sweeping open world and messy stories that were hard to follow. Mirage is a chance to strip Assassin’s Creed back to its core roots. I just hope that by doing so, Ubisoft keeps the quality bar high.
If the heavily rumoured October release date turns out to be true and as the marketing cycle for it spins up, we’ll soon have a better idea of the beast Assassin’s Creed Mirage will turn out to be. Barely anyone I know actually finished Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and if that doesn’t tell Ubisoft that entries were getting too big, I don’t know what will.
That said, we’re about to get a whole lot more Assassin’s Creed following its few years on hiatus. It all begins later this year, when we’ll have our first indication of the long-running franchise’s new direction.