As of right now, Ubisoft currently has no DLC or "extensive post-launch" plans for Assassin's Creed Mirage, and that's frankly music to my ears. The upcoming adventure is harking back to the series' roots by putting stealth and parkour back at the forefront, and I'm already gearing myself up to feel like a true assassin again. But personally speaking, the most appealing aspect of Basim's journey is the smaller scale and tighter focus it promises. From everything we've seen so far, Mirage looks set to be a marked departure from the sprawling open-world RPG direction we've seen in recent years with the likes of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Odyssey, and Origins.
After a long stretch of experiences in the series that demand so much time, with generous helpings of DLC that kept trying to pull us right back in, I'm actually relieved to hear the new Assassin's Creed game is seemingly dialling back its scope when it comes to post-launch content, too. Rather than feel disappointment, I only feel more hopeful that Mirage will be the tightly focused, contained Assassin's Creed adventure I've been craving since I fell victim to the post-launch fatigue of Valhalla.
Smaller scope
Assassin's Creed Mirage is tighter in scope but broader in appeal
Towards the end of last year, Ubisoft announced the release of what would be the final DLC for Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Last Chapter. By that point, though, we'd had two years of post-launch content with a season pass of expansions that took Eivor to Paris and Ireland, free additional content like the new roguelite mode The Forgotten Saga, and a huge 30-hour premium DLC with Dawn of the Ragnarok. By the time Ubisoft revealed it was finally winding down additional content for the already massive Viking adventure, I was more than ready to say goodbye to Eivor. But even before the journey was brought to a close at long last, I had already felt a growing sense of fatigue.
After completing the lengthy base game, I'd returned to pick up Eivor's axe time and again, so much so that I started to yearn for pastures new. After seeing through the Siege of Paris DLC, I started to battle with the desire to move on. At the same time, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd come too far to not actually see the post-launch content through to the very end. But when the Dawn of Ragnarok rolled around, I just couldn't muster up any enthusiasm to step back into the world of Vikings and Norse gods. After almost two years of raids, quests, and rock-balancing, I hung up my Viking axe and bid farewell to Eivor.
"I'm instead excited to tuck into a smaller, more concentrated experience that I hope will remind me of just why I fell in love with the earlier games in the first place."
As much as I enjoyed my time with Valhalla, the two year approach to post-launch content ultimately sapped any energy or passion I had left in me for the expansive world that I'd already invested so much time in. The last three Assassin's Creed games have been huge in scale, with each serving up expansions to prolong the adventures even further. When you have an already huge game that's then heaped with lots of additional content, it's not hard to understand why fatigue might start to set in.
So, the news that Mirage doesn't currently have any DLC or "extensive" post-launch plans is actually a relief. Instead of feeling daunted by the prospect of another ginormous Assassin's Creed experience, I'm instead excited to tuck into a smaller, more concentrated experience that I hope will remind me of just why I fell in love with the earlier games in the first place. Give me a detailed setting with a focused story I can stealthily stab my way through. I can't wait to explore a coming-of-age story that follows Valhalla's Basim as he goes from a street thief to a Creed master in the setting of Baghdad, and crucially, to see it through to the end without it feeling overly stuffed with content.
A fan of the stealthy series? See what else is in store with our roundup of all of the upcoming Assassin's Creed games.
