When is AC Mirage set? Basim's place in Assassin's Creed timeline

Listen to our new Gaming podcast, One More Life - the next episode is about AC Mirage!

Voiced by Lee Majdoub – best known as Agent Stone in the Sonic the Hedgehog movies – it will be interesting to see if the character can compete with the likes of Ezio or Kassandra for best protagonist. Thankfully, we won't have to wait that long to find out - with Mirage due for release on 5th October 2023.

In the meantime, for anybody jumping into the game and wanting to find who is Basim and where he is placed in the Assassin's Creed timeline, we've rounded up all the information in one place for your Creeding pleasure. Enjoy.

When is AC Mirage set?

Assassin's Creed Mirage is set in ninth-century Baghdad during the anarchy of Samarra, a period known for its instability from 861 to 870 during the history of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Specifically, the in-game year is 861 BCE, picking up 12 years prior to the events of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Basim will visit 66 historical sites throughout Baghdad

"From the start, we had an ambitious premise: to help the players better understand the world of ninth-century Baghdad, a world that is seldom represented in popular culture," said Ubisoft Montreal historian Dr Raphaël Weyland (via Ubisoft).

He later added: "I am proud that we did not shy away from any subject, discussing sensitive and misrepresented topics such as the harem, the role of eunuchs, and slavery in a nuanced way.

"I am also happy that we managed to incorporate some humour in the entries on Table Manners or Market Inspectors. After all, history can also be funny and lighthearted!"

Timeline-wise, in comparison to other instalments, Mirage is 338 years prior to the original Assassin's Creed games, as well as 900 years on from Assassin's Creed Origins.

Ubisoft has assured fans that Mirage is a standalone experience, meaning there is no need to play any other game in the franchise.

While that's true to an extent, it's also clear that there are references that will likely fly over your head if you've not experienced certain stories. This brings us to…

What else do we know about Basim’s life?

Basim Ibn Ishaq was first introduced in Assassins's Creed Valhalla, and Mirage will dive into the character's backstory, with the events of the new game taking place 12 years prior. He grew up as a street thief, something that is seemingly going to be explored more in Mirage.

A Master Assassin of the Hidden Ones, Basim was one of the antagonists featured in Valhalla who originally mentored the game's lead, Eivor.

It was later (warning: spoilers!) in the game that it was revealed that Basim is actually a reincarnation of Loki, who himself was one of the Isu, an advanced species that came before humans.

A confrontation between Basim and Eivor doesn't end well for the former, however, but whether Mirage addresses this in some form is yet to be seen.

This video below dives further into story spoilers:

Assassin's Creed Mirage is scheduled to launch on 5th October 2023 across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. It will also arrive on iOS devices in 2024.

To secure a copy, head to Amazon so that you can start playing as soon as possible.

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