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Assassin’s Creed Mirage does not have an Adults Only rating or loot boxes

By Giovanni Colantonio September 12, 2022

After a weekend of confusion, Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Mirage does not currently have an Adults Only rating. The publisher chalks the issue up to a mistake and reaffirms that the game will not feature gambling, as an Xbox listing indicated.

Following Saturday’s Ubisoft Forward stream, fans noticed that the Xbox store page for Assassin’s Creed Mirage had an Adults Only rating attached to it. The rating came with some standard warnings, noting the game had intense violence, partial nudity, and more. What really caught players’ attention was the inclusion of “Real Gambling” in the rating, which seemed to be what earned the game its AO rating.

We reached out to Ubisoft for clarity and the publisher states that the rating is simply an error. ““Following the announcement of Assassin’s Creed Mirage during Ubisoft Forward, some store pages mistakenly displayed the game for pre-orders with an Adults Only ESRB rating,” Ubisoft says. “While Assassin’s Creed Mirage is still pending rating, Ubisoft wants to reassure players that no real gambling or loot boxes are present in the game.”

While that makes sense given the rarity of AO ratings being handed out, there are some discrepancies with the statement. The AO rating didn’t just appear on pre-order pages for the game. Before the Ubisoft Forward preshow began, an Adults Only ESRB rating appeared on the screen. When asked about the stream rating, Ubisoft didn’t explain why an AO was placed on the stream, but noted that it will update it.

“To be safe on all games for the Ubisoft Forward stream, the highest rating was shown. The rating is being updated to M,” Ubisoft tells Digital Trends. Similarly, the Xbox store listing for the game has since been updated to feature a Rating Pending ESRB label.

While it seems like there may have been more confusion behind the scenes than Ubisoft’s statement indicates, players seemingly won’t have to worry about loot boxes in Assassin’s Creed Mirage when it launches next year.

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

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I’ve done a lot of memorable things in VR this year. I’ve climbed mountains, commanded hundreds of tiny people, and even paddled through the seas in a kayak. With Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, I get to add another virtual feat to that list: I’ve jumped down on top of an unsuspecting guard and plunged a hidden blade into his throat with pinpoint accuracy. And I’m a little worried about how delighted I am by that.

Ubisoft has been a long-time supporter of VR going back to early standouts like Eagle Flight, but Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR finds the publisher making its full leap of faith into the tech. It’s not another virtual “experience” based on one of its popular IPs, but rather a full-throated Assassin’s Creed game with just about everything you’d expect in its console counterpart. There’s sneaking, parkour, lock picking, pickpocketing, death-defying leaps, and even a wealth of collectibles hidden in small-scale recreations of historical locations. All that’s missing is the open-world glut -- and that’s arguably its best quality.

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Basim showing off his hidden blade in front of the Bagdad cityscape.

Assassins’ Creed Mirage is out now, bringing the series back to basics with a game focused on one of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s most intriguing characters. This adventure follows Basim as he goes from Anbar street thief to expert Assassin in Baghdad while hunting down members of The Order of the Ancients. As a prequel, there are some things about Basim as a character you might already know going in. Still, learning exactly how Basim stumbled upon these revelations is entertaining itself.

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All Lost Book locations

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Harbiyah
There are two books in this district to find.