Ubisoft recently released Assassin’s Creed Mirage (Free) for iPhone 15 Pro and iPad (M1 and later), and it is the final game from Apple’s four announcements for the iPhone 15 Pro series phones. Read my review of the iPhone 15 Pro version here. Ahead of the game’s launch on iPhone and iPad, I had a chance to send some questions to Ubisoft about the game’s new port, touch controls, post launch update plans, and a lot more.
TouchArcade (TA): Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at Ubisoft.
Krasimira Yakovlieva (KY): My name is Krasimira Yakovlieva and I’m the producer of Assassin’s Creed Mirage for iOS. I joined Ubisoft Sofia almost 8 years ago and, as part of the Project Management team, I’ve had the pleasure to contribute to more than six Ubisoft titles, four of which are from the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
TA: Before discussing Assassin’s Creed Mirage, I wanted to ask what led to this being the first big Ubisoft title to hit iPhone 15 Pro and iPad M1 when we’ve seen a few of the older Assassin’s Creed games come to Switch natively.
KY: We first had the opportunity to create a demo of the game for iPhone 15 Pro, which was a great success and gave us confidence when entering full production. Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the latest installment in the Assassin’s Creed Franchise, was the best fit for a project like this, with its condensed world and story-driven adventure. Bringing the game, initially designed for just consoles and PC, to iPhone and iPad was made possible due to the dedicated efforts and expertise of our talented team of developers and engineers, as well as the excellent performance of the A17 Pro chip combined with the advanced technology of our Anvil engine.
TA: Ubisoft has been a mobile supporter for ages now through standalone premium games, free to play ones, Apple Arcade, and even Netflix. How was it working with Apple for Assassin’s Creed Mirage?
KY: The collaboration with Apple has been a truly beneficial partnership, marked by a shared commitment to innovation and a strategic alignment of goals. Through this collaboration, we exchanged valuable knowledge and expertise leading to successful progress in releasing Assassin’s Creed Mirage for iOS and driving innovation. It was a challenging, yet very rewarding experience for our team to adapt a AAA game for a new mobile device. What helped immensely was that we knew and were very experienced with the Assassin’s Creed’s pipeline which includes our expertise in working with the Anvil engine. We had great collaboration with very talented professionals across Ubisoft and with various teams at Apple, which gave us an opportunity to deliver an authentic Assassin’s Creed experience on iPhone and iPad.
TA: A lot of my friends consider Assassin’s Creed Mirage a “return to form” for the franchise. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve played so far on PS5 and iPhone, but I think I like the Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey formula more. Do you think we could see one of those hit iPhone 15 Pro in the future?
KY: I cannot speak for other games.
TA: Assassin’s Creed Mirage is capped at 30fps on Apple hardware including the M4 iPad. I was wondering if there was a possibility that we would see an uncapped frame rate option in the future?
KY: Right now, we are dedicated to prioritizing the stability and performance of the game on the various compatible Apple devices.
TA: Assassin’s Creed Mirage has very good touch controls compared to the other big AAA ports we’ve seen for iPhone 15 Pro. How much testing went into getting the touch interface right?
KY: A lot! This was a first for us, so the number of iterations we had in nailing the controls both on iPhone and iPad was beyond any reasonable count. We conducted various internal and external playtests in order to make sure that the controls work for a variety of audiences and gaming preferences. After taking the decision to release not only on iPhone but also on iPad, we opted out for the fully customizable controls, so we can ensure that we fit as many playstyles as possible.
TA: Having cross progression through Ubisoft Connect is great. I was glad to bring my PS5 save to my iPhone to check how it feels here. Is this something we should expect in other multiplatform Ubisoft titles on iPhone, iPad, and macOS as well?
KY: I cannot speak for other games.
TA: Ubisoft recently announced Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown for macOS while Assassin’s Creed Mirage is not on macOS but on iPhone and iPad. Are there plans to bring Assassin’s Creed Mirage to macOS and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown to iOS in the future?
KY: Our focus right now is to ensure the stability of Assassin’s Creed Mirage on compatible devices. We are committed to delivering a seamless gaming experience for players on mobile, coupled with visuals that match the quality of consoles.
TA: What Apple technologies were leveraged for bringing the Assassin’s Creed Mirage game engine to iPhone 15 Pro and iPad models?
KY: The Metal API & MetalFX upscaling are core technologies that helped us realize our vision for the game on iOS. To bring Assassin’s Creed Mirage to iPhone and iPad, we took advantage of all available Apple technologies, ensuring an optimized, high-performance experience that leverages the advanced graphics capabilities and seamless integration with the iOS ecosystem.
TA: Are there plans for any post launch updates for the game aside from bug fixes?
KY: We do plan on implementing crash fixes and stability improvements based on feedback from players worldwide.
TA: Did the team working on this port also try out the Resident Evil or Death Stranding iPhone 15 Pro ports?
KY: The dev team of Assassin’s Creed Mirage for iOS are all savvy gamers and try a variety of games available on the market. We appreciate the hard work done by all gaming publishers and their dev teams.
TA: What are you hoping to see from Apple for the next iPhone and iPad models?
KY: With Apple being an innovative company, we are excited to see how they will push boundaries in the future.
TA: Are there plans to bring DualSense haptic feedback or adaptive trigger support to Assassin’s Creed Mirage on iPhone 15 Pro / iPad when using a DualSense controller?
KY: No, we’re not planning on introducing new features. We will remain focused on enhancing stability and improving quality of life features.
TA: Is there anything you’d like to say to our readers for Assassin’s Creed Mirage?
KY: We hope iOS users enjoy Assassin’s Creed Mirage as much as we enjoyed bringing it to them. Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that the game delivers a memorable experience on iPhone and iPad, leveraging the latest Apple technologies to bring the game’s graphics and gameplay on par with the console version of the game. We encourage everyone to share their thoughts and experiences with us. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you in the game!
TA: How do you like your coffee?
KY: Strong.
I’d like to thank Krasimira Yakovlieva and Ellie Vengala from Ubisoft and Jennifer Tam and Peter Nguyen from Apple for their time and help here.
You can keep up with all our interviews here including our recent ones with M2 discussing shmups and more here, Digital Extremes for Warframe mobile, Team NINJA, Sonic Dream Team, Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and more. As usual, thanks for reading.