Assassin’s Creed Miraj, which is set to debut on October 5th, is set in the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over Baghdad in the ninth century and was a golden age for Islam as well as for art, science, culture, poetry, architecture, and many other things. Mohammad Alemam, Ubisoft MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Localization and Social Media Manager; Malek Tefaha, Senior Project Manager for Diversity, Inclusion, and Access; and Maya L’Oreal, Senior Manager of Inclusive Play and Content, worked diligently with the development team to make Miraj as culturally, religiously, and historically authentic as possible.
These three collaborated with Ubisoft’s Humanities and Inspiration Taskforce, which was run by director of strategic alliances Amy Jenkins and in-house historian Dr. Raphael Weilande. While Alemam and Tefaha served as cultural, religious, and language experts, L’Oreal handled relationship management. They were instrumental in improving the game’s authenticity from the start.
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The development team chose to construct a glossary of terms they could consult rather than using the team for tasks they had already finished. A database of words, emotions, pronunciations, spellings, and audio recordings was created by Alemam and Tefaha. To ensure correctness, they checked the screenplays and voice actor recordings. The development team genuinely trusted us, Alemam stated.
Alemam and Tefaha emphasise that none of their effort would have been successful without the Ubisoft Bordeaux team. According to Tefaha, “Even without our involvement, they prioritised working authentically and with the highest level of credibility.” “They would turn to us right away for advice when they came across components they weren’t sure about… Right away, we had a sense of being an essential component of the creative process. We were collaborators with the story team, the art team, and sometimes even the gameplay team; we weren’t just verification checkmarks.
It was essential to make sure that Arabic, both when spoken and written, was correctly spoken as well as accurate. Alemam is an authority on the Arabic language and has managed localization projects for more than ten years. Alemam states, “Trying to transcribe Arabic words into Latin letters is nearly impossible. Simply pronouncing Arabic words was not the answer.” Instead, Alemam recorded himself saying each Arabic word, and he made sure that actors had access to a conversation coach throughout recording sessions.
Even for English-language conversations, it was essential to know how to pronounce Arabic terms and have a general understanding of the language. According to Tefaha, “almost all actors playing leading roles come from different Middle Eastern nationalities, much like their characters.” This implies that they are capable of speaking with an Arabic accent while speaking in English.
Since Assassin’s Creed Miraj would be the first game in the series to be released globally with complete Arabic localization, it placed a high value on bilingualism. “This is the most ambitious Arabic localization in gaming,” claims Alemam. Our intention is for you to not realise that it was translated from English when you hear it in Arabic; rather, we want it to sound and feel like it was created in Arabic in the first place.
Even though Islam Miraj’s story isn’t the main focus, the backdrop and the influence of religion are inextricably linked. There are many mosques in the city, many veiled women are seen mingling with the masses, and various characters can be seen reciting the Shahada, professing their belief in Allah, and accepting the Prophet Muhammad as God’s prophet.
You may hear the Azan, the Muslim call to prayer, echoing out from surrounding mosques as you stroll through Baghdad’s streets. Azan is recited five times a day in real life, but the team decided to only say it once in Miraj for narrative reasons (as they did with the muted Azan in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla).
Tefaha explains, “The game’s day lasts about 15 minutes, and we’ve set aside two to three minutes for the audio recording.” “So, you can imagine that it’s being recited continuously without interruption if this happens five times a day.”
To make clear to players that the Azan is a scheduled event that doesn’t occur throughout the day (unlike the muffled Azan in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla), the team chose to play it in the morning.
Through the “In-Game History of Baghdad” function, Assassin’s Creed Miraj also seeks to educate players on a variety of topics. Tefaha claims, “I was genuinely amazed when I first saw an entry on the game’s five pillars of Islam.” “I don’t think there has ever been such a significant production that talked about the five pillars of Islam or educated people on what the pillars are.”
Nearly every aspect of Assassin‘s Creed Miraj exhibits a Middle Eastern influence, from the game’s soundtrack, which features Grammy-nominated violinist Leth Siddik, to the Miraj-specific redesign of the Assassin’s Crest, which calls attention to the “Hidden One” in Arabic script by calligrapher Hatem Arafat, to the game’s desired posters, which are influenced by 9th-century art.
In the end, Alemam is pleased about the project because it demands a lot of commitment to produce an authentic experience. Alemam explains, “You can encounter musicians out in the open world, and I find myself standing there, listening to them play in high notes. “I’ve become passionate about this project; it goes beyond my regular work.”
Pre-orders for Assassin’s Creed Miraj, which will go on sale on October 5th, are now being accepted on the Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Amazon Luna. On launch day, the game is also a part of the Ubisoft+ subscription. Please review our suggested PC specifications before playing Miraj.
On October 5, Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be released, and if you want to explore Baghdad in the ninth century on your PC, we have a specific set of presets to help you have the greatest experience. You’ll be able to immerse yourself in 4K, with an uncapped frame rate, use a combination of keyboard, mouse, and controller (or other input devices), enjoy a stunning panoramic view with multi-monitor and widescreen support, as well as HDR, as soon as you start the journey of becoming Basim, learning the truth, and carrying out assassinations in his world. You’ll also be allowed to take benefits of features like Intel’s AI-assisted XESS super-sampling, NVIDIA DLSS, or AMD FSR for upscaling to higher resolutions while transferring out more frames per second; modification for Intel Arc GPUs and 13th-gen CPUs; synchronise environmental lighting with in-game actions using MSI’s Mystic Light products; and even endure upper-body haptic feedback with the OWO Haptic Gaming System Vest (which is also supported on consoles).
Here are some alternative hardware setups and the particular characteristics to use them for: Pre-orders for Assassin’s Creed Mirage are now being accepted on PC via the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store, as well as for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Amazon Luna. On October 5th, the game will be made available. On day one, the Ubisoft+ subscription also comes with the game. Check out our most recent hands-on gameplay preview for Assassin’s Creed Mirage to learn more about how the game’s historical elements will help players have a better understanding of Baghdad’s past.
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