Assassin’s Creed Mirage will include an educational mode for history buffs

Ubisoft has announced that the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Mirage will feature the interactive “History of Baghdad” mode, allowing players to learn the real-life history of the game’s setting.

The details:

• According to a new blog post, the new mode will allow players to unlock "research-driven articles that dig into information across five topics: Economy; Belief & Daily Life; Government; Art & Science; and Court Life" as they progress through the game's main storyline and discover the 66 historical sites within Baghdad. 9th-century artifacts that have survived in museums to this day can also be examined in the mode. Players will also receive an exclusive in-game reward once all of the sites have been discovered.
• This is not the first time that Ubisoft has focused on providing some educational value in the Assassin’s Creed series, with most entries offering an in-game database detailing the real-life events, locations, and people included in the games. Origins introduced the "Discovery Tour" mode in 2017, allowing players to explore the game's environments without regard for objectives or combat, with the goal of learning about the history surrounding its content.
• Mirage will be released on October 12 across both last and current-generation platforms and will be a return to the series' classic gameplay style that was left behind after the release of Origins, complete with a throwback filter that makes the game look like the first entry in the series. It will follow Basim, a key character in Valhalla, prior to the title's events.

Other Ubisoft news:

• Emile Morel, the Creative Director for Beyond Good and Evil 2, has suddenly passed away at age 40. Following the departure of Jean-Marc Geffroy, the designer was promoted from the project's Associate Creative Director position earlier this year. Ubisoft has yet to comment on the situation, and it’s unknown who may take over the position given the project’s apparent rough state.
• The Division 2 development team has announced that those who exploited an XP glitch in the game's Descent mode would face temporary bans, which would then become permanent if the exploits continued. For those caught using the bug, all illegitimately gained progress will be reversed.