Everything we saw during Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed showcase

The future of the flagship franchise has been revealed

Saturday 10 September 2022 21:20 BST

Basim Ibn Ishaq has been confirmed as the protagonist for Mirage (The Independent)

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As the Assassin’s Creed franchise celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, Ubisoft treated us to a brief glimpse of its plans for the history-spanning series in the near future - and there are plenty of irons on the fire.

As expected Ubisoft previously confirmed the existence of Assassin’s Creed Mirage just last week and we’ve now seen a cinematic trailer confirming some of the title’s biggest rumours, including a new ancient city to explore and a familiar protagonist, as the series returns to its roots in more ways than one.

As well as Mirage, Ubisoft has also been working on several other projects, dubbed “Codename Jade”, “Codename Hexe”, and “Codename Red”, which will take the Hidden Ones to highly requested settings that fans have spent (quite literally) a decade-and-a-half begging for.

There were also more details shared about the upcoming “Project Infinity” and what this might mean for the future of the series going forward.

As well as the Assassin’s Creed showcase, The Independent was invited to learn more about new details and features expected to appear in Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

To find out full details about the future of the Assassin’s Creed series, then keep reading below.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage details revealed

As previously teased last week, Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be the next title in the series and is scheduled to release in 2023.

Developed by Ubisoft Bordeaux, Mirage will follow Basim Ibn Ishaq in the year 861 AD, 20 years prior to his appearance in Valhalla. The game will primarily take place in the city of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age and will follow a young Basim as his life as a lowly street thief is changed forever by his induction into “the Hidden Ones” and is mentored by master assassin Roshan, played by Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Mirage promises to be a return to the original formula for Assassin’s Creed with a more linear focus than recent games. Newer titles, including Origins, Odyssey and most recently, Valhalla, have borrowed more heavily from role-playing elements, whereas Mirage promises to focus on the three core pillars of the originals: Stealth, parkour, and of course, assassinations.

The game will also follow a similar gameplay loop, where Basim must first travel to a target’s last known location, gather information from locals through various means, such as pickpocketing and eavesdropping, in order to track them and find an opportunity to perform a stealth takedown.

A new mechanic that will be introduced in Mirage is the ability to slow down the perception of time to mark targets, which will allow Basim to perform multiple assassinations at once in quick succession.

Baghdad will be a large, vibrant city broken down into four core districts, including the industrial district of Karkh and the lush gardens of the round city. Before Basim investigates various areas while avoiding detection, an eagle companion will make a return that can give Basim an aerial view of the surrounding area. Heavily fortified areas will be guarded by archers which can take down Basim’s bird, unless he is able to take them out first.

As a densely packed city with high rooftops and bustling markets, Basim is able to use the city’s layout to his advantage. While he is being pursued, Basim can quickly blend into the environment or use it to outmanoeuvre his followers. Market stalls can once again be torn down to create barriers and pole vaults are being introduced for the first time that can be used to clear large gaps over rooftops.

‘Assassin’s Creed’: Codename Jade details

Another AC project announced by Ubisoft during the event was titled “Project Jade” which has been confirmed to be a brand new title built exclusively for mobile platforms.

During the short trailer, an eagle could be seen soaring over villages and the Great Wall, confirming that this entry would be taking place in Ancient China.

For the first time in an Assassin’s Creed game, players will be able to fully customise their characters from the beginning in a brand new open world setting. No details have been given of when this title will be released but as a mobile title, it’s likely to be a free-to-play game with monetisation elements.

‘Assassin’s Creed’: Codename Hexe details

A new “darker” and different type of Assassin’s Creed game was also teased during the showcase, currently titled “Codename Hexe”. Not much was revealed apart from a spooky trailer, as well as the familiar Assassin’s Creed logo depicted as some sort of makeshift ritualistic wooden symbol.

The name “Hexe” and imagery shown off, as well as the much darker tone, has led to speculation that the game could be set during the witch hunting trials of the early modern period. It’s not the first time the series has dabbled in the occult, with Valhalla making plenty of references to curses, hexes and other pagan ritual practises taking place throughout Europe.

‘Assassin’s Creed’: Codename Red details

One of the biggest announcements during the event was confirmation that the next flagship title in the Assassin’s Creed series would be set in Feudal Japan, which has been heavily requested from fans since the earliest days of the franchise.

The game will be developed by Ubisoft Quebec, which had previously worked on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Creative director Jonathan Dumont described the upcoming project as a “powerful Shinobi fantasy”.

No further details were given about a potential release date but it is likely to be a few years away, or at least after the release of Mirage next year.

‘Codename Infinity’ update

Details surrounding “Codename Infinity” first began to appear in 2021 and now it seems that the develepors of Assassin’s Creed have given a meaningful update on what players will be able to expect from what sounds to be a live service experience.

“Infinity” has been described as a single entry point for fans as well as the future of the series. Players will be able to explore their own animus to visit different time periods, with a hub open for different experiences within those historical settings. While it seems that this is still at an early phase, the team is reportedly investigating how they will bring standalone multiplayer experiences into the “Infinity hub”.

Assassin’s Creed had previously featured multiplayer experiences in some of its older titles, which allowed players to stealthily take each other out in a game of cat and mouse while trying to elude each other as pedestrians.