Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage has now unlocked a phenomenal number of 10 million players, which was officially disclosed simultaneously with the distribution of a new free game update. The game thus reaches a very pivotal milestone considering it was often characterized as the series’ return to its roots. The player count is a clear sign of the game’s appeal and, nevertheless, it has sparked a discussion among the players about the import of the player counts as an indicator of success in the gaming industry today.
The official Assassin’s Creed account also made a jubilant announcement post full of party emojis, which conveyed the same excitement. They seem indeed very happy and proud with the 10 million players milestone and have even selected the same day for the release of their new free content Valley of Memory which might also be a good marketing strategy—offering free content while celebrating your numbers. Yet, this is actually where the comments section becomes the most stimulating with gamers starting immediately to pose the possible questions.
The reactions of some of the players were, at the very least, mixed. Some expressed their happiness for Ubisoft‘s achievement while others straightaway demanded sales numbers instead of player counts. One user known as Turbo Achiever even quite audibly asked “How many copies sold?” and he wasn’t the only one. Another user, DowntownAmeliaG, remarked “Awesome, now reveal sales figures, not licenses” whereas Honest_Guardian, who appeared to be rather impatient, asked “the sale numbers, give us the SALE NUMBERS!” This opened up the avenue of suspicion for the players about the term “10 million players”—is it referring to all users who might have played the game via subscription or only the five-minute trial users? Furthermore, the gaming community has become very conscious of these kinds of metrics lately.
Hold on, what was the point I was making–oh yes, this layer where folks are making comparisons between Mirage and the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Akiyama_R7 directly asked “How come a spin-off like this has twice the players as AC Shadows?” which is indeed a rather thought-provoking question. At one stage, there were indications that Mirage was to be this small-scale back-to-basics game while Shadows was the next big mainline entry, but now it seems player interest is telling a different story. Maybe gamers just prefer the classic Assassin’s Creed formula? Or maybe it is too early to call the fate of Shadows as it has not yet been released? Who knows?
The debate also got quite a few interesting twists and turns as players were clamoring for all kinds of things from Ubisoft. Tovrek commented “whatever. just give us assassin’s creed 1 remake” while kitamurakaikai screamed “Give me a Black Flag Remake!” It is crystal clear that while Mirage possesses its own fan club, there is still a massive craving for the proper remakes of those iconic titles which were the dawn of it all. Even IianaDRK proposed “Now let the mirage team create an AC1 remake. They are the sole team that comprehends what made ACs great at the very beginning” which definitely is a very good proposition considering the time.
Next, the conversation was mainly about the different platforms and their availability. MLT015 was like “When is it coming on mobile phone?” whereas el_triforce was like “Switch port?” and futureVrking was like “Would have been 10 million and one if it had a VR mode.” Players still find it quite interesting the game availability on different platforms is such an important factor. Meanwhile, TrillStoney couldn’t understand why Mirage was not available on Ubisoft Plus, and MentalJeff replied “It’s been on Ubi+ since launch, what drugs are you smoking?” So it seems there is indeed some confusion regarding that issue too.
However, the quality of Mirage itself received some appreciation in the comments. MylesAway07 remarked “Very well deserved! It’s a gorgeous game with an intriguing storyline.. and of course, the skills!! lol” while James Dodaro simply said “Well deserved. Awesome milestone.” Therefore, it isn’t all negative feedback—many players truly appreciated what Mirage had to offer, particularly its back-to-basics approach after the major RPG-style recent entries.
It’s particularly remarkable how this celebration tweet became a large-scale discussion about the entire state of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. People are discussing everything from the soon to be released China game to whether eventually Tencent might own Ubisoft (yikes), to detailed requests about character development and storylines. KyleFknCrane had this whole conversation about wanting a redemption arc for Basim and he compared him to Anakin Skywalker, which sounds pretty cool if Ubisoft actually goes there.
Then there are also the technical issues—one person said that you could actually get into the incomplete Alamut castle in the main game but just fall through the floor due to it being unfinished. This is like, the classic Assassin’s Creed bugs that we
The game update and PlayStation and Xbox availability were all hot topics in the discussion.
