Unprecedented View of Assassin’s Creed in this Groundbreaking Collaboration

The exhibition “Baghdad: rediscover Madinat al-Salam, with Assassin's Creed Mirage” is currently on display at the Museum of the Arab World Institutefrom February 28 until November 10. It is accessible free of charge for those under 26, otherwise the price is €9. This exhibition highlights numerous objects from the Abbasid period, displayed in the settings imagined by the teams of the latest title in the cult saga. The challenge is big : “how can we restore this world city, political, scientific, cultural and commercial capital, razed by the Mongols in 1258, and on the ruins of which modern Baghdad was built?” In our report, we set off to discover these places and meet several main players who take us behind the scenes of the different challenges they pose!

See Assassin's Creed Mirage on Amazon

Ubisoft faces design challenges

Reconstructing and re-enacting eras in Assassin's Creed is challenging, especially when historical sources are rare or extinct. Baghdad is a striking example, having been devastated by the Mongols and literally razed to the ground in the 13th century. To fill these gaps, Thierry Noël, head of the research unit at Ubisoft, says they are turning to all available sources. The team draws on historical texts, including accounts of travelers and merchants who visited the city at the time.

The fantastic thing here is that all the data is impeccable. There is a scientific council, leading researchers. From vestiges and calculations, we can reconstruct Baghdad – explains IMA President Jack Lang.

Furthermore, all of this is based on the work of Guy le Strange, an orientalist who undertook to collect texts, plans and archaeological remains of Baghdad. Learn more about game design with our interviews!

The fruit of a fruitful partnership!

In 2018, Ubisoft and the Institut du Monde Arabe initiated a fruitful partnership focused on virtual reality. The IMA contributed to the photogrammetry work for an immersive experience “Thousand-year-old cities: Virtual journey from Palmyra to Mosul”. Thus, this new exhibition, “Baghdad: rediscovering Madinat al-Salam” is the result of a long collaboration which continued with the latest title Assassin's Creed. The IMA has provided images of three items from its collections, integrated into the game's “Baghdad History” feature. Additionally, upon its release in October 2023, the world of Assassin's Creed Mirage has been integrated into the permanent collections of the institute! In the section dedicated to Arab cities, a film created by Ubisoft presents the historic sites of Baghdad recreated in the game, for the exhibition “Baghdad: rediscover Madinat al-Salam”. Find out more in our report available on YouTube!