This Week Has Some of the Biggest Video Game Releases of 2024

We’re now properly into the month of October, and that means that some of 2024’s biggest game releases are starting to roll out.

Monday morning saw several big reviews go live, including very positive reviews for Metaphor: ReFantazio (currently a 94 on Metacritic) and Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (our review is currently in progress, but we feel like it’s a labor of love). That’s on top of Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, the Silent Hill 2 remake, and more.

Here are some of the biggest games coming out this week

  • Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S) – October 8 (though it’s available in some regions today)
  • Silent Hill 2 Remake (PC, PS5) – October 8
  • Destiny 2: Revenant (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S) – October 8
  • Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S) – October 11
  • Starship Troopers: Extermination (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S) – October 11
  • Metaphor: ReFantazio (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S) – October 11

It’s a busy week in what looks to be a customarily busy month for games, with Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 also due to release (the latter just got a brand-new trailer).

So the question is: Which of these games are you planning to play first? Silent HIll? Dragon Ball? Metaphor? All of the above? Answer the poll and share your thoughts in the comments.

In meantime, make sure to keep it locked on IGN for lots of coverage around all of these releases, including why Silent 2 Hill is powerfully miserable and why Metaphor: ReFantazio is a brilliant evolution of Persona and Shin Megami Tensei.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Echoes of Wisdom Players Are Finding Creative New Ways to Win Horse Races

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom pushes players to use creativity, rather than brute force, to solve its most tricky puzzles and even boss fights. But while most dungeons and boss fights are a breeze as long as you’ve been keeping your collection of Echoes up to date, there’s one ultra-challenging roadblock that more and more players are reporting is stumping them. No, it’s not a super-hard enemy…it’s a horse race.

Over the last week, player after player has posted on the Echoes of Wisdom and Zelda subreddits complaining about the game’s horse races, and specifically the “short race” in particular. The short race, which Zelda can enter once she passes a point in the game where she gets her own horse (as opposed to a rental) is supposed to be simple. Ride the horse around a circular track exactly one time, and do it in under 17 seconds. Basic stuff.

But for some reason, this particular horse race is a nightmare to do in that amount of time. The track is littered with crates (which Zelda’s horse can jump) and trees (which it cannot jump) to trip you up, making it hard to gain and maintain speed. Post after post has appeared with players finishing the race in just over 17 seconds or even 17 exactly…but needing under 17 to win. Even players who have passed the other horse races with flying colors are struggling with the short race.

Fortunately, some players are finding creative solutions. One player posted a clip of Zelda using Echoes of lava rocks to build little staircases allowing the horse to jump over the tree obstacles, meaning they could get past them without swerving and losing speed. Another popular tactic was even simpler: just use Tri to move the trees out of the way as you ride past, avoiding them entirely. That method in particular is saving other players already:

If you need more tips to beat the horse races yourself, we’ve got a guide to all horse races in Echoes of Wisdom right here. You can also check out our wiki guides to everything else in Echoes of Wisdom, and our interactive map to help you track down heart containers, might crystals, and more.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Alien: Isolation 2 Confirmed

On the 10-year anniversary of Alien: Isolation’s release, developer Creative Assembly has confirmed that a sequel is in development.

In a statement marking the survival horror classic’s 10th birthday, creative director Al Hope said the development team would share more details “when we’re ready.”

Hope returns to lead development on the sequel having done so on the first game. In his statement published to X/Twitter, Hope said: “On the 10th anniversary, it seems only fitting to let you know that we have heard your distress calls loud and clear.

“Today, I’m delighted to confirm, on behalf of the team, that a sequel to Alien: Isolation is in early development. We look forward to sharing more details with you when we’re ready.”

That’s all we have for now. We don’t have a final title for the game, a release window, or target launch platforms. Given the sequel is in early development, it will probably be some time before we find out what to expect and get our first look.

For now though, there’s genuine excitement from Alien: Isolation fans, many of whom had called on Creative Assembly and owner Sega to greenlight a sequel ever since the first game came out. Alien: Isolation sold one million copies within three months of going on sale, then 2.11 million after six months, which was not enough for Sega to have considered it a commercial success.

IGN recently revisted Alien: Isolation for the 10-year anniversary, exploring why the 2014 horror game was just as impoactful now as it was when it launched. “It’s an unforgettable feat of video game design that has successfully endured the test of time, and – like the 1979 film from which it burst forth – will undoubtedly still hold up after another decade has passed,” we said. “Today, on its 10th anniversary, Alien: Isolation remains a singular, extraordinary experience.”

It’s been a difficult time for Creative Assembly in recent years, with the cancelation of live service shooter Hyenas, Total War: Pharaoh’s failure to find an audience, and a significant round of layoffs coming hot on the heels of a studio apology for the various missteps it had made with Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC.

However, the UK studio still has plenty in the works in addition to the Alien: Isolation sequel from its Survival team. Creative Assembly is reportedly also working on a Total War Star Wars video game, one of three new Total War games in development. Total War fans have called on Creative Assembly to give a Star Wars game a shot for years, although there are equally vociferous calls for the studio to follow its Warhammer trilogy of Total War games with a similar effort for Warhammer 40,000.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Halo’s Move to Unreal Engine 5 Would Make a PS5 Version Easier to Achieve, Tech Experts Say

Halo’s move to Unreal Engine 5 would make it easier for developer Halo Studios, née 343 Industries, to take Xbox’s flagship first-person shooter multi-platform, including a launch on PlayStation 5, tech experts have said.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Digital Foundry chief Richard Leadbetter said moving to Unreal 5 makes for “easier” multi-platform development than porting across the existing Slipspace engine.

“It stands to reason that an engine designed for deployment across multiple platforms would be easier to work with than existing technology built for Xbox and PC,” Leadbetter said.

While Microsoft’s multi-platform video game push has seen the likes of Rare’s Sea of Thieves and Obsidian’s Grounded make the jump to PS5, the company has yet to announce any Halo game for a non-Xbox console.

Despite a backlash from some hardcore Xbox fans, Microsoft’s multi-platform push appears to have been a success. Sea of Thieves, for example, topped Sony’s sales chart earlier this year, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said the company’s franchises are stronger for heading to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

Indeed more PS5 launches are coming, including Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, albeit a few months after MachineGames’ adventure hits PC and Xbox, and id Software’s Doom: The Dark Ages. Could Halo be next?

In August, Spencer said Xbox’s multi-platform push is in part about bringing in more money to Microsoft’s gaming business — with the pressure now on to deliver following Microsoft’s eye-watering $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard last year.

“… we run a business,” Spencer said. “It’s definitely true inside of Microsoft the bar is high for us in terms of the delivery we have to give back to the company. Because we get a level of support from the company that’s just amazing and what we’re able to go do.

“So I look at this, how can we make our games as strong as possible? Our platform continues to grow, on console, on PC, and on cloud. It’s just going to be a strategy that works for us.”

Microsoft has so-far used older games released over a year ago for its multi-platform push as opposed to brand new games, but that will soon change with the release of Indiana Jones. The most dramatic move would be to bring Halo to PlayStation, given the shooter’s symbiotic relationship with Xbox. But would Microsoft actually go through with it? As former Xbox boss Peter Moore recently told IGN, Microsoft will be debating whether to bring Halo to PlayStation as we speak.

Halo’s shift to Unreal comes amid a tumultuous time for Xbox that has seen an eye-watering 2,550 staff cut from the gaming business this year and multiple studio closures. All the while, sales of Xbox Series X and S have fallen dramatically, Xbox Game Pass growth has stalled, and Microsoft faces a backlash from hardcore Xbox players about its potentially wavering commitment to exclusives and the console business.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Undisputed Review

Boxing fans have gone far too long without a serious contender stepping forward in video gaming. Fight Night Champion is the last true heavyweight in the genre that Punch-Out started, setting the bar high with its weighty focus on realism over a decade ago in 2010. Developer Steel City Interactive’s presumptively named Undisputed comes in as the plucky underdog looking to knock the king off its throne, but while it is a split decision in some areas, it is clear the newcomer still needs to put in a bit more time on the speed bag before it can end this particular dispute.

To its credit, Undisputed does an excellent job of capturing a convincing simulation of what it’s like to rise through the ranks of the boxing world via its Career Mode. As soon as I started, I was impressed by the character customization options. There are dozens of hairstyles, tattoos, and wardrobe options, giving free rein to make an imposing, serious character or try and recreate real-life fighters thanks to its in-depth character model system. You can even make a wacky monstrosity, similar to the WWE 2K series, as the creation center lets you stretch out faces, give big dumbo ears, or rock a green afro akin to a chia pet.

Alongside that visual creativity, Undisputed also features various fighting styles, both from a cosmetic animation and functional gameplay standpoint. Emulate Mike Tyson by creating an offensive-mind bruiser with a Swarmer who focuses on inside power punches, or float like Muhammed Ali by using reach as an Outside Fighter who wears an opponent’s health down with speedy jabs while draining their stamina by dodging instead of blocking.

I created my character centering around defense, using The Wall archetype. While I may have sacrificed stamina and power, the benefit of an improved guard to reduce the damage of incoming blows and a boost to accuracy for landing punches was worth the trade-off. I found this worked out in the long run, but my lack of power and speed, combined with how slow Undisputed fights feel at the start of Career Mode when stats are lower, took some patience.

Fights feel slow at the start of Career Mode when stats are lower.

For my first four fights, my character’s stamina was drained after just a few punches, leading to many matches ending by decision. This is the one area in Undisputed where realism can drain my gaming stamina just as fast as my character’s. After two or three matches, I was on the ropes and wishing for a more arcade approach to fights – I really just wanted to knock a fool out for a change.

Thankfully, Undisputed’s approach to setting up each fight was enough to keep me entertained even when the fights themselves didn’t. It follows an RPG approach to negotiating and training for opponents, mirroring how the process occurs in real life. I had control over almost everything, including the challenger I selected (within reason of rankings), how much of the fight’s earnings I received, and even the amount of time I was required to spend on social media promoting the bout.

Successfully negotiating before each contest results in buffs to important features like fame, attribute improvements, and the time you have to spend training. Improving fame means you fight better opponents; Fighting better opponents results in an increase in money you receive and improved stats. You’ll need to improve your attributes before getting into these fights, so allocating resources and time is a delicate balance.

On top of that you have to juggle tasks during the weeks leading up to an event. They can be spent training to get into fight-ready shape, resting to improve stamina and ensure you’re injury-free, or going on social media to reach the required level of promotion needed to fight in the first place. Weight also plays a significant role: Spend too much time on training and resting and you can end up overweight, which would mean the fight won’t count – not only will you get less fame and money, but also risk injury for no gain.

Finding the right combo of jabs and power punches was very satisfying.

Finally, managing the contracts of your Coach, Cutman, and Manager is also vital in Undisputed. Each staff member comes with abilities and perks that improve your fighter’s attributes, and they grow alongside you with each win. At first, I set out to keep the same manager my whole career in the hopes of forming a bond similar to Rocky and Mickey. However, the further on into my career I got, the pros of sticking with the same team started to fall too far behind the cons. Yes, I lost a few buffs when I had to start with a new coach, but with the extra ability slots – combined with the similar base stats that came alongside the better staff members – I could recruit with my higher notoriety, and that made it easy to replace the original team as Career Mode went on. Being offered increasingly meaningful benefits to kick my loyal crew to the curb made that decision more of a chin-scratcher.

Back in the ring with those improved stats allowing me to be more active, it didn’t take too many fights for me to appreciate the flow and rhythm of Undisputed’s combat. Figuring out the right combination of quick jabs and power punches and the chess match of attacking the body or the head depending on the opponent’s weaknesses and guard was very satisfying. Just like in real life, damage adds up and plays a vital role in fights.

Consistently aim for one side of the head with a solid combination of jabs or powerful hook shots, and nasty cuts or swollen eyes will appear. Not only do these affect stats like accuracy, but they can also lead to technical knockouts (TKOs), where the referee stops the fight. However, the more I played Undisputed, the more I found these mechanics lacking when directly compared to the 14-year-old Fight Night Champions.

In that game there are a handful of different types of cuts, bruises, and swelling. Between each round, there is also a cutman minigame that, when done successfully, gives an extra stat boost to the fighter’s health and wear-and-tear. Comparatively, Undisputed’s wear-down features are limited to the same three swelling, cuts, and bruises in every fight, which gets repetitive quickly. There’s also no cutman minigame or interaction between each round to break up the routine.

The lack of minigames leading up to fights is a missed opportunity.

The lack of minigames in the lead-up to fights is also a missed opportunity. Instead of automating every training boost, adding an option to hit the speed bag or work on defensive skills manually that can be applied to in-ring action would have been a helpful way to prepare. That is a standard tutorial method in sports games like EA Sports FC 25 and NBA 2K25, so I was disappointed this wasn’t in Undisputed.

In fact, the only minigame that Undisputed does include is ridiculously hard – though to be fair, it shouldn’t be too easy to get up when someone has knocked you on your back. When your fighter is down you have to press and focus the right and left triggers to line up with green bars to make the count. The issue is the bars are located in different spots, so it’s a little like trying to rub your head and belly simultaneously to make your fingers do different things with precision. Improving stats like Heart doesn’t do anything to make this minigame any easier, either. It’s mostly a problem on higher difficulties, especially after I struggled to get up after going down twice while my opponent got to his feet after being knocked down seven times.

While the gameplay is fast and fun when fighting with better boxers, it’s not all that pretty to watch in motion, and in these ways it’s still considerably behind where the Fight Night series left off. Knockdowns and rising animations are identical each time, featuring about as much personality and variation as its commentary team. While I appreciate that Steel City Interactive got pros like Todd Grisham and Johnny Nelson to comment on fights, their descriptions of the action rarely matched what was occurring in the ring. They also had terrible memories: One moment they’d call it an even-sided round, only to make a polar-opposite statement about how my character was dominating a few seconds later as the bell rang. It sounds like they’ve taken a few too many blows to the head.

Dizzying camera angles and cornermen standing at ringside popping into the frame and blocking the fight also made for some pretty frustrating moments. While those are minor, I certainly felt my immersion slipping away when I’d get near the ropes and end up feeling like I was stuck behind a tall guy in the movie theaters mid-match.

Multiplayer is enjoyable, but be ready to run into the usual players who won’t choose anyone but the most powerful characters, Muhammad Ali and Canelo Alvarez. With nothing to balance them out online, those fights don’t have the variety they should. Your best bet is to play with friends or hope to find an opponent that wants to fight with evenly matched fighters. Otherwise, you’ll end up frustrated facing The Great One every time – which feels like the modern-day equivalent of fighting OddJob in GoldenEye.

Director of Original Silent Hill 2 ‘Not Satisfied’ With Limited Camera From 23 Years Ago, Much Prefers the Remake’s Modern Perspective

Now Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 Remake is out in the wild, the director of the original Silent Hill from 2001 has offered his thoughts on this reimagining of his work, and he’s full of praise.

In a series of tweets, Silent Hill 2 director Masashi Tsuboyama began by saying he is “very happy” about the remake and how a new generation will get to play the horror classic. “It’s been 23 years,” he said. “Even if you don’t know the original, you can just enjoy the remake as it is. Whether it’s good or bad doesn’t affect the original.”

Tsuboyama went on to discuss the change in camera perspective from the original’s limited camera to the remake’s modern over-the-shoulder camera perspective. This change — debated by fans in the context of the original tank controls’ crucial role in Silent Hill 2’s famously oppressive atmosphere — has a “significant impact” on everything from combat to level design, and even art creation. “While the impact on the story may be relatively small, it brings a big change to the playfeel of the game,” he added.

It sounds like Tsuboyama has come down in favor of the switch, saying: “The over-the-shoulder view definitely adds to the sense of realism. In other words, it makes me want to try playing the even more immersive remake of Silent Hill 2.”

Tsuboyama, as he has done before, said he isn’t happy with the original game’s camera, but this time added some context as to why it had to be as constrained as it ended up being back in 2001 on the PS2.

“Games and technology are constantly evolving, resulting in significant differences in constraints and levels of expression,” he explained. “This is a common issue with media arts in general, but it is not easy to maintain and appreciate the environment of the time.

“To be honest, I’m not satisfied with the playable camera from 23 years ago. Depth and angle were limited by the processing load,” he said. “It was a continuous process of hard work that was not rewarded. But that was the limit.”

To be honest, I’m not satisfied with the playable camera from 23 years ago.

One aspect of Silent Hill 2 Remake Tsuboyama doesn’t sound thrilled about is Konami’s marketing for the game. He says “it seems like they’re [Konami] not doing enough to convey the appeal of the work to the generation that doesn’t know Silent Hill,” while pointing to the inclusion of the Mira the Dog Mask and the PS5 exclusive Robbie the Rabbit Mask DLC pre-order bonuses.

The original Silent Hill 2 had plenty of goofiness in among its horror, so Tsuboyama may be upset at the idea of players running around the game wearing the DLC masks during their first playthrough, rather than their second or third.

Either way, the Silent Hill 2 Remake is going down well with fans and critics, with IGN’s Silent Hill 2 Remake review returning an 8/10. Unfortunately, trolls are trying to ruin the fun — the Silent Hill 2 Remake Wikipedia page had to be locked down after its list of review scores from the press was edited to make them lower. Check out the Silent Hill 2 Remake’s global release times to find out when it’s playable in your region, and while you wait, check out the remake’s awesome Silent Hill 2 HD Collection Easter egg.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Silent Hill 2 Remake Fans Are Loving This Amazing HD Collection Easter Egg

2012’s Silent Hill HD Collection is perhaps best known by fans for inexplicably changing the Silent Hill Ranch sign font to Comic Sans. It was a tweak to the beloved original that baffled Silent Hill fans and has become infamous in the 12 years since the HD Collection’s release.

Fans had wondered which font Bloober would go with for its remake ahead of release, and so now with early access available it has come as some relief to discover the developers did indeed ditch the HD Collection’s Comic Sans sign in favor of the original’s. X/Twitter user @Wario64 showed off this new/old look.

However, Silent Hill 2 Remake players have discovered that if you clip through or go out of bounds in the PC version when at Silent Hill Ranch, you can find the HD Collection’s Comic Sans sign among other discarded rubbish in an abandoned warehouse (right where fans will say it belongs).

Twitter/X user @GmanLives surfaced the change, since verified by other users, declaring Silent Hill 2 Remake GOTY for this awesome nod to Silent Hill HD Collection.

The apparent Easter egg is certainly going down well with Silent Hill fans. “… Bloober Team and Konami are genuinely amazing for that,” said NONAMEDREDDITER. “… Bloober are officially god tier,” added Low-Positive5888. “Bloober, my heart grows bigger and bigger for you every day,” said stinkyratboiii. “Suck it HD Collection!” declared cyb0rganna.

Generally, Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 Remake is going down well with fans and it’s certainly a hit with critics. However, trolls are trying to ruin the fun — the Silent Hill 2 Remake Wikipedia page had to be locked down after its list of review scores from the press was edited to make them lower. Check out the Silent Hill 2 Remake’s global release times to find out when it’s playable in your region.

Image credit: xRudeAwakening / reddit

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Silent Hill 2 Remake Global Release Times Confirmed

Konami has revealed the global release times for the Silent Hill 2 Remake across PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam.

The publisher shared launch times for each region in an X/Twitter post, below, across its October 8 release date, confirming exactly when survival horror fans can get their hands on the highly anticipated remake.

It sees players take on the role of protagonist James Sunderland as he follows a mysterious letter from his late wife to the terrifying town of Silent Hill, which teems with nightmarish monsters out for blood. “Silent Hill 2 is a great way to visit (or revisit) one of the most dread-inducing destinations in the history of survival horror,” IGN said in our 8/10 review.

Silent Hill 2 Remake PS5 Release Times

  • Los Angeles – 9pm PDT (on October 7)
  • New York – 0am EDT
  • São Paulo – 0am GMT-3
  • London – 0am BST
  • Paris – 0am CEST
  • Warsaw – 0am CEST
  • Istanbul – 0am GMT+3
  • Riyadh – 0am GMT+3
  • Hong Kong – 0am HKT
  • Tokyo – 0am JST
  • Sydney – 0am AEST

Silent Hill 2 Remake PC via Steam Release Times

  • Los Angeles – 9pm PDT (on October 7)
  • New York – 0am EDT
  • São Paulo – 1am GMT-3
  • London – 5am BST
  • Paris – 6am CEST
  • Warsaw – 6am CEST
  • Istanbul – 7am GMT+3
  • Riyadh – 7am GMT+3
  • Hong Kong – 12pm HKT
  • Tokyo – 1pm JST
  • Sydney – 3pm AEST

Those on Xbox will have to wait a tad longer, as Sony itself has confirmed Silent Hill 2 is a PS5 console exclusive for one year. And some fans seemingly upset with the remake’s release took to Wikipedia to falsify lower review scores than Silent Hill 2 actually received, to the point where the website itself had to lock down the page.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Silent Hill 2 Remake Wikipedia Page Locked Down After ‘Persistent Disruptive Editing’ Lowers Review Scores

The Silent Hill 2 Remake Wikipedia page was locked down after its list of review scores from the press was edited to make them lower.

Silent Hill 2 is Bloober Team’s well-received remake of Konami’s classic 2001 psychological horror game for PC and PS5 (it’s console exclusive to PS5 for one year, Sony has confirmed). It sees protagonist James Sunderland following a mysterious letter from his late wife, Mary, and a search for clues in the terrifying namesake town, which is teeming with nightmarish monsters.

As reported by Eurogamer, admins were forced to make Wikipedia’s Silent Hill 2 Remake page ‘semi-protected’ after what was called “persistent disruptive editing.”

Wikipedia’s rules state that semi-protection is sometimes necessary “to prevent vandalism” to popular pages, and that’s exactly what happened here, with admins issuing a number of updates that changelog entries said were “to fix trolling.”

IGN’s was among the review scores tampered with. IGN’s Silent Hill 2 Remake review returned an 8/10, but it was lowered to 6/10. Eurogamer’s score dropped down to 0/5 after awarding the game a five-star review. At the time of this article’s publication, the review scores were accurate.

Why did this happen? Eurogamer speculates it may be driven by trolls who are upset about changes made to the character’s faces and clothes.

Silent Hill 2 Remake is having a better time of it over on Steam, where it currently enjoys an ‘overwhelmingly positive’ user review rating from over 3,000 reviews. (Silent Hill 2 Remake’s global release date is October 8, but advanced access is available now.)

Wikipedia’s Silent Hill 2 Remake page protection is set to expire on October 9, although admins may need to keep an eye on it in the near-term at least.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Hits Steam This Month

Assassin’s Creed Mirage launches on Steam later in October, Ubisoft has announced.

Mirage’s Steam release comes a year after it launched exclusively on the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Connect on PC, as well as PlayStation and Xbox.

Ubisoft recently ditched its policy of signing with Epic for PC exclusivity and will now return to day-one releases on Steam following the poor performance of Star Wars Outlaws, which also skipped Steam at launch. Outlaws itself releases on Steam on November 21, 2024.

Mirage is the well-received back-to-basics Assassin’s Creed game that focuses more on the series’ stealthy origins. You play Basim, a cunning street thief who navigates the bustling streets of ninth-century Baghdad. Mirage is also shorter than recent Assassin’s Creed games — in stark contrast to recent entries Valhalla and Odyssey, which had massive open worlds that would take dozens of hours to explore. IGN’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage review returned an 8/10.

Soon after its launch, Ubisoft said Mirage’s player count was “in line” with Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey’s launch numbers. The company added that Mirage was the biggest new-generation launch game in terms of unit sales in Ubisoft’s history.

Mirage’s Steam launch comes amid a tumultuous year for the company that’s seen disappointing returns from Call of Duty competitor XDefiant and the aforementioned Star Wars Outlaws. Ubisoft delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows into 2025 following the poor sales of Outlaws, and its staff have arranged a strike for later this month.

In its recent note to investors, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot acknowledged that the company’s “second quarter fell short of expectations” and vowed to launch “a review aimed at further improving our execution.” He also addressed some of the cultural conversations happening around Ubisoft lately, which have intensified around Star Wars Outlaws and the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Last week, Ubisoft’s founding Guillemot family and shareholder Tencent were said to be considering teaming up to take the company private following the collapse of its share price.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.