Hoods up, blades out: Here's how Assassin's Creed Mirage, Infinity and Codename Red fit in

Well, this past weekend has certainly been spicy, if nothing else.

Not only did we have the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase rolling out plenty of new content, but Ubisoft saw fit to chime in with its own slew of announcements too. And don't even get us started on Sony's State of Play stream last night. 

Anyway, one of the main topics covered in the Ubisoft Forward stream was the future of the Assassin's Creed franchise, and they threw out a number of terms that might seem confusing without proper context, including Infinity, Mirage, Codename Red, and so on. Heck, it's not just you - even we took a while to wrap our heads around everything, but here's a quick look at what each of those means for the franchise down the line.

Assassin's Creed Mirage

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Accompanied by an amazing cinematic trailer, Mirage is the next title in the main AC line of games, focusing on the life and work of Basim Ibn Is'haq, a young street thief-turned-Assassin living in ninth-century Baghdad.

Chronologically, Basim's story unfolds twenty years before the events of Valhalla, and what's interesting about this time period is that the Assassins aren't actually called "Assassins" yet.

Rather, they're referred to as the Hidden Ones, which isn't quite as catchy, if you ask me.

Kitted out with the series' largest assortment of weaponry and tools to date, Basim sets out alongside his trusty eagle Enkidu to prove his mettle as an Assassin, and to expand the organisation's influence beyond the bustling streets of Baghdad.

The developers have noted that this entry will revisit the core concepts of the franchise, suggesting that there will be a greater emphasis on parkour and stealth mechanics than Valhalla or even Odyssey. As for a release date, all that we know right now is that Mirage will arrive sometime in 2023.

Assassin's Creed Infinity, Codename Red (and Codename Hexe)

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Now, Mirage might be easy enough to understand since it's simply another mainline entry, but where things get confusing is when Assassin's Creed Infinity comes into play.

To clear things up, it's easier if you don't consider Infinity as a game per se, but rather as a conceptual stem - one that Ubisoft is using to complement and support subsequent titles like Codename Red and Codename Hexe. 

In other words, it is functionally going to be what the Battle.net launcher is to Activision Blizzard titles - a central hub of sorts, albeit one that will also offer an independent, refreshed Multiplayer experience for players to enjoy.

As such, the aforementioned Codename Red, which is set in feudal Japan, and Codename Hexe, which supposedly explores the use of witchcraft in 16th Century England, will both branch out from this "hub" as full-length games of their own.

Unfortunately, we're still in the dark about when they intend to drop any of these three titles, though the presence of Mirage in 2023 suggests that they're scheduled for release in 2024 and beyond. 

Assassin's Creed: Codename Jade

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Surprise, surprise.

Although Jade does share the Codename tag with Red and Hexe respectively, it is actually an upcoming RPG title for mobile, so there's no need to worry about how this one fits into the development pipeline. After all, it's not like we have a release window to work with in the first place.

Set in China in 215 BC, players will reportedly have lots of freedom to customise the appearance of their Assassin, though there's not much we can glean from the trailer regarding gameplay. I will admit that it looks quite good for a mobile title, though, so this one might be worth a shot when it does actually show up.

ALSO READ: Secretlab releases new Assassin's Creed-themed gaming chairs and Magnus desk accessories

This article was first published in HardwareZone.