Ubisoft’s approach with AC Mirage was inspired by Ghost of Tsushima

When Ghost of Tsushima was released back in 2020, one of the many exciting revelations was the fact that the game featured a great focus on offering full Japanese voice acting – making for a much more immersive experience for those who wished to play the game in its most authentic manner. The recently-released Assassin’s Creed Mirage received similar praise for its decision to make Arabic the game’s default language – with the team now revealing that they were inspired by Ghost of Tsushima.

In an interview conducted by Gamesindustry.biz, Ubisoft’s localisation manager and cultural consultant ‘Mohammed Alemam’ as well as art director ‘Jean-Luc Sala’ spoke to the publication about the the team’s decision to go with Arabic VA as the default language choice, saying:

“The game is fully voiced in Arabic as the launch proposition. It's a part of the game. We [paid] special attention [to the fact] that people love to play Ghost of Tsushima in Japanese, for example. Honestly, it would have been a shame to miss that opportunity to return to the Middle East with Assassin's Creed and not [include] a language that is still here. It feels more accurate to play in Arabic, even if you're not Arabic.”

Even if you choose to play in with English voice acting, many of the main cast are of Arabic heritage and can themselves speak Arabic – leading to an added layer of authenticity, with them explaining “From the names of places, people, and expressions just like salutations in Arabic, if you take non-Arabic [speaking] actors, they would be unable to [pronounce things] correctly, and it would feel odd for people with an Arabic-speaking background.”

The full interview can be found HERE and goes into additional depth regarding the decisions made before and during AC Mirage’s development. While many will likely still choose to experience the game in English, it is exciting to see more and more titles opt to use geographically appropriate languages to match the game. Hopefully more developers are just as inspired by AC Mirage as Ubisoft were with Ghost of Tsushima.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of AC Mirage? Are you playing it in English or Arabic? Let us know down below.

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