Assassin's Creed Mirage Update 1.1.0 Adds Major Free DLC, Patch Notes Revealed

I'm actually looking forward to trying this out. While the PIF directly funding this is troubling, I don't think the argument of sportswashing really holds up in the strictest sense. Sportswashing is trying to paint modern Saudi Arabia in a positive light by generating tourism and using the "bread and circus" model to distract from modern injustices, but this expansion can be interpreted as more of a celebration of Saudi history.

Saudi Arabia can simultaneously have a rich, beautiful history to pull from and be a repressive monarchy in the modern era. Both can be true.

Hope the author of this article/site remains consistent and mentions UK/American human rights abuse, and compliance in a recent genocide, when talking about games developed by them.. Irrespective of the level of involvement from governments.

@JustMyOpinion American/UK developed games aren't literally funded by the governments that perpetrate the human rights violations. That's the important distinction. The PIF is the Saudi government.

@wildcat_kickz Yeah, the PIF is the Saudi government, and their abuses should absolutely be called out. But that raises the question of consistency.

Despite the US and UK causing mass civilian deaths in the Middle East and beyond, we don’t see a collective push to boycott products, games, or studios from those countries as a form of protest. Yet we do apply that logic to other nations, Iran, China, Russia, even when individual companies have no connection to government policy.

And yeah I understand this site is hosted in the West, so some bias is expected. But that’s exactly the point I’m making. If we’re going to bring up human rights abuses when discussing games, then it should be applied evenly across all governments, or not at all, irrespective of the level of direct government involment.. Except we wont, since we like to move th goal posts when it comes to the west and it's abuses.

I wonder what a futuristic assassin's creed would look like. A batman beyond like protagonist and setting. Sorry for the non-sequitar.

@wildcat_kickz I get your point , and that's fine. But at the same time that is the area where the game is located in, so it makes sense in that ubisoft had this idea for dlc if they were going to make it for this game , and pif said if you make it we'll fund it for you since its taking part in this country. i could see if they went out and charged money and had it completely funded for them then i would have an issue with that.

@VeganH honestly i feel like thats what they wanted watch dogs to be when they first created it , as a modern day assassins creed since it did have references to the ac series tucked away in it , that it had taken place in the same universe ( modern time story wise).

@twitchtvpat @JustMyOpinion I find myself in an interesting position where I'm defending myself from both flanks, but what is life without nuance!

I think any government's misdeeds can and should be called out, but not necessarily on a gaming website. Here, it only makes sense to call attention to it when relevant. In this case, it's relevant because the head of a country's government (the crown prince), who has personally seen to or directed human rights violations, has gotten himself involved in game development funding. This funding arm, the PIF/Savvy Games, is now directly funding games, like AC Mirage. It's not really relevant to call out the US's involvement in the Middle East because the US government is not funding video games. If the US Army started developing games again, then I think it might be appropriate to bring politics into an article talking about it and if someone didn't want to buy that game on principle, I think they'd have a lot of ground to stand on.

Now, as I said in my first comment, I am going to try this DLC. It's free, so I don't feel I'm directly and consciously funding things I don't find savory. This is different than, for example, my taxes contributing to foreign conflicts because I don't have agency in that, at least outside of voting.

That said, I don't really believe in boycotting private industry because of government action. That leans very close to collective punishment, which I am very much against. But the PIF is not, by definition, private industry, so I don't begrudge anyone from not partaking in PIF funded projects out of principle.

@JustMyOpinion I don't think most people here would boycott a Saudi game just because its Saudi. It really does have to do with the PIF and the crown prince. For me, I very much want experiences from as many places as I can get. I want those perspectives. I want those stories.

@twitchtvpat I actually do think that the PIF solicited Ubisoft to make this expansion, so it gets a little murky, but I really think each person should make a moral decision on their own. I don't think it's my place to judge either way.

@wildcat_kickz i do respect where you are coming from with all of this and you are really well spoken , and by no means am i trying to change any ones minds or opinions about this topic. Like you and i both said , its free , so by playing this you aren't really supporting anything other then the developers for the game , ( or that's how i see it). i wouldn't really be surprised if the they had plans with " if we could make dlc " this would be the dlc. so if it was the developers dream to make this dlc and bring their vision to life , i think thats a win for them since they were able to get it funded by some one else making it free for every one.

@wildcat_kickz I appreciate the nuance in your reply, genuinely, and I agree that direct state funding like PIF deserves scrutiny. Just to clarify, I'm not defending Saudi. I'm questioning what I personally perceive as double standards from the westerners perspective on some things.

Where I think we differ is on the idea that only “direct funding” makes government involvement relevant, therefore boycott/call out etc. It's here, that the line is drawn in differently by different people.

Russian athletes were banned to pressure Russia as a 'whole', athletes, teams, artists, and private companies were all collectively punished, but UK/US gaming and private industries aren’t boycotted for western atrocities, even after wars with massive civilian casualties, not even after their complicity in the recent genocide. Again, the line drawn in different places.

The line between “state involvement” and “private industry” isn’t always as clean as it looks. Western governments have influenced games and media to varying degrees for decades through defence partnerships, script approval, subsidies tied to narrative framing, and even direct development in cases like America’s Army, which was posted on this site, but no mention of their affiliation with the US gov/army - again, double standards.

My point isn’t that Saudi involvement shouldn’t be discussed.
My point is that we almost never apply the same ethical lens when western governments are the ones connected to conflict, intervention, or heavy influence on media. I’m not advocating boycotts, I’m advocating consistency over selective outrage.

Just to add, I'm not looking to convince anyone of anything, and hope you or others who read, dont take this personally. I'm simpky sharing my thoughts, and I'm always open for dialogue.

Passing on this, thank you.

Basim, I need your help!

A pesky journalist has been sniffing around the palace.

Your goal is to follow them into the Turkish Embassy. You'll find a handsaw and gloves hidden under the flowerbed in front of the embassy

@JustMyOpinion I don't take any of this personally at all. Ideally, I think we're all here to add our two cents and talk it out respectfully.

I will completely admit that I'm being a bit reductive regarding the private/public distinction. It's always more complicated than it appears. I'll also freely admit that there is a double standard, but it isn't that surprising. You almost always view your own country or culture as having the moral high ground. I'm definitely guilty of that. Unconscious biases are real. It doesn't necessarily mean that having those biases make you a bad person, but it is something to try to keep in mind, so I think you're right to call it out.

I don't go as far as you regarding the atrocities in the Middle East. For example, I think "genocide" has a very specific definition which hasn't been met, but that doesn't mean what's happened there isn't awful and disproportional. That's a bit of an aside, though.

To me (and I'm willing to wager, to others), the selectivity of the outrage and the instinct to call it out comes from how a government or those in power treat their own populations. The US and other Western countries are far from perfect, but in a broad sense afford their populations with much more personal freedoms than other countries. The fact that we're free to openly criticize these governments in a public forum like this one is a testament to those liberties. I'm not saying this to be a "ra ra 'Murica" type guy, but just trying to explain where I'm coming from.

I'm willing to bet we're in agreement on most of this - it's just a matter of degree. There's a risk of waving away crimes that are committed, but on the other hand, there's a risk of getting lost in the sauce, where everything is a crime that must be called out and lambasted. Somewhere in the middle is where we ought to be.

@wildcat_kickz I appreciate your openess, it's refreshing to see on this site. And I agree, unconscious biases are real for all of us.

Before ending, I’ll just mention two small things. Western involvement in middle east over the past century is something I’m studying closely, and the scale of the harm caused there, and it's lasting effect to this day and possibly beyond for many more to come, is extremely significant, but I won’t go into that here.

And regarding the definition issue, I was referring to Israel’s actions, which many legal scholars/experts on the subject argue meet the criteria outlined in the 1948 UN Convention. Again, that’s a much larger conversation, and not one I’m looking to have in this thread, but just felt compelled to mention.

I’m glad we can discuss this openly without talking past each other. We probably do agree on most of this, especially that the situation is complex and the truth isn’t all on one side.... I guess I don't really have anything more to add, so, catch you another time perhaps. Take it easy mate!

The general consumer won’t care or know for that matter. Free content, is free content. I’m good, personally, but most everyone will be more than fine. Is what it is.