Credit: ITMUbisoft has become one of the biggest names in video games. They built their company around monumental achievements such as Prince of Persia, Watch Dogs, Far Cry, and the long-awaited Star Wars: Outlaws. Despite their success in games involving wall-running swordsmen, vigilante eco-fighters, and ruthless tropical mercenaries, the series that made them into the powerhouse of the gaming industry was the international phenomenon — Assassin’s Creed.
This mainstay franchise for Ubisoft has amassed a devoted fanbase due to its refreshingly rich yet cryptic mythology mixed with historical fiction. Assassin’s Creed has continued to maintain its fandom since its debut in 2007. After 12 main installments over 16 years, the games have gone on to gross around $5.4 billion. The Viking-centric Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla has been the company’s most successful series, as it raked in $1 billion alone.
The series captivated players by centering around a hidden order of skilled assassins. Each inductee pledged their allegiance to a creed to defend humanity from a sinister organization that sought to control people’s free will through alien technology. The game was a standout as it immersed players in major historical events, figures, and places to add to the story’s authenticity.
Any long-lasting brand places an importance on iconography. Images are definitive and striking as it can connect to a franchise’s look, theme and tone. Assassin’s Creed has created many iconic symbols from the hidden blades to the sleek hoods to the quintessential ‘A’ monogram. Birds of prey are also the mascots of the Assassin Order. They represent freedom, speed, and resilience. While they were often companions to these hooded warriors, there was another animal that players could often interact with in the game — cats.
Whether Ubisoft are cat lovers or knew that cats were considered sacred beings in many cultures, they were often inserted into ancient cities and towns during gameplay. Gamers could directly interact with these cuddly felines as a delightful distraction from the main narrative. Their inclusion would have a profound affect on one particular Assassin’s Creed fan.
I'm not crying, you're crying 😭 https://t.co/3CYOdz6rz9
— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) October 17, 2023
On the behalf of a mourning fan, a personal friend tweeted (or x-ed ?) Ubisoft Bordeaux for a personal request. They asked if game designers could add their friend’s beloved recently deceased cat into their upcoming game, Assassin’s Creed: Mirage. As a selling point, the friend included a picture of the adorable house cat who had face markings that looked like the Assassin’s Creed ‘A’ symbol.
Developers received the petition and brought to life the honorary assassin companion for the new game. The answered tweet started trending when fans noticed the distinguished looking feline was featured in gameplay footage. This precious furry loved one can now be an interactive animal within ancient Baghdad. Assassin’s Creed: Mirage will take place in the 9th century AD where gamers can explore the origins of the Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla’s villain, Basim Ibn Ishaq.
Ubisoft has expressed that Mirage‘s gameplay will be different from its predecessor by focusing more on stealth, parkour and more acrobatic assassinations per fan demands. The most notable change is that it will deviate from the open-world format of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Odyssey to a more streamlined action adventure like the original games involving fan-favorites, Altaïr and Ezio.
Assassin’s Creed‘s creative director, Stéphane Boudon, stated that they listened to the fans who wanted to go back to the smaller scale experience that was narrative-driven. There was also a desire to concentrate on the classic gaming mechanics of stealth and parkour. Basim will be the ultimate “old school” assassin that will show his ascent from “street rat” to Master Assassin.
It is an uplifting occurrence when a major company actually listens to its fans. Ubisoft went above and beyond to not only restructure their gaming system, but even do something as minute as include a grieving fan’s cat into a cherished franchise. These new features are a welcomed addition as fans wait for Netflix’s reimagining of Assassin’s Creed in a new TV series, as well as the next three games in development.
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage was released on October 5, 2023 on all gaming consoles, including PC.
Should more companies pay more attention to fan requests? Is this strategy helpful or hinder the direction of the franchise?