Discovery Tour: Medieval Baghdad
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Discovery Tour: Medieval Baghdad is the Discovery Tour educational mode for Assassin's Creed: Mirage that released on 3 September 2025 as a free app for Apple,[1] Android,[2] and all desktop devices. Made for quick access while gaming or on the go,[3][4] it gives users access to select database entries from Mirage about cultural life in the Abbasid Caliphate and its capital of Baghdad. Its "Access Codex" mode presents digital models of artifacts through augmented reality, while its "Explore Baghdad" game mode reworks the database into a two-hour choose your own adventure that puts users in the protagonist role of an unnamed Alamut Hidden One apprentice.[5]
Summary[edit | edit source]
Step into the heart of the Islamic Golden Age in Discovery Tour App: Medieval Baghdad, an educational adventure that invites players to explore the legendary city at the height of its cultural and scientific brilliance. Using the rich world of Assassin's Creed: Mirage, this standalone experience blends historical discovery with interactive gameplay as you explore Baghdad in the 9th century—from its bustling markets to the soaring architecture of the Round City. The app has 2 modes, and is free to install and free to use.
Explore Baghdad: embark on a gamified, narrative-driven journey that takes approximately 2 hours to complete. Each mission tasks you with investigating historical locations, gathering and studying intel, and using this acquired knowledge to carry out missions for the Hidden Ones and reveal the path to the hidden treasure.
Access Codex: consult carefully selected encyclopedic entries on the history, art, and culture of medieval Baghdad and the Abbasid Caliphate. Benefit from additional historical information and interact with this content by manipulating 3D images and using the augmented reality functionality for some entries.
Crafted in collaboration with historians and cultural experts, Discovery Tour: Medieval Baghdad delivers an educational experience that's deeply engaging and fully interactive. With intuitive controls, multi-language support, and a focus on meaningful discovery, it offers a unique way to learn through play—anchored in one of history’s most remarkable cities.[1][2]
Introduction letter[edit | edit source]
- Greetings, Hidden One.
In the shadows of the Round City of Baghdad, the 'City of Peace', we have need of your talents. We need you to gather lost pieces of an astronomical instrument called an Astrolabe. It is said that this Astrolabe will guide the bearer on a path to an invaluable treasure hidden somewhere in the desert around Baghdad. If you can locate this treasure, it will give us the resources needed for our fight against the Order of the Ancients.
Your mission: Acquire the pieces of the Astrolabe, assemble them to discern a path, and find the hidden treasure.
We work in the dark to serve the light.
The Hidden Ones.
Development[edit | edit source]
On 13 July 2023, three months before Mirage's release in October, Creative Director Stéphane Boudon, Art Director Jean-Luc Sala, and Narrative Director Sarah Beaulieu hosted a joint AMA on Reddit, during which Sala confirmed that the acclaimed Discovery Tour title made for Assassin's Creed games since 2018 would instead be replaced by Mirage's new "History of Baghdad" database entries that had been announced a week prior.[6] These were a series of 66 research-focused listings detailing Baghdad and the wider caliphate's culture written by Dr. Raphaël Weyland from the Université de Montréal—with assistance from Dr. Glaire Anderson from the University of Edinburgh,[7] Dr. Vanessa Van Renterghem from the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales, and Dr. Ali Olomi from the University of California, Irvine[8]—that used relevant artifact images from collection catalogues given by The David Collection in Copenhagen, the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, Prof. Sir Nasser Khalili's private collection in London, and the Doris Duke Foundation's Shangri La Museum in Honolulu.[7] Despite Sala's official statement, the app was quietly made behind-the-scenes over the next two years and added to Google Play on 11 August 2025[2] before being revealed a month later.
Memories[edit | edit source]
Codex[edit | edit source]
Art and Science[edit | edit source]
Beliefs and Daily Life[edit | edit source]
Court Life[edit | edit source]
| Animals at Court | Abbasid Style | Caliph's Mother | Eunuchs |
| Gardens and Power | Majlis (Intellectual Salons) | Table Manners | Other Palaces |
| Perfumes | Qiyan (Singing Girls) | Harem | Zubaydah bint Ja'far |
Economy[edit | edit source]
Government[edit | edit source]
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
If users opt to learn the above entries in a gamified format, they are presented with a map of the city and initiate their investigations from each districts' local Hidden Ones bureau, from where they are assigned various missions in the locale to learn the entries while uncovering clues about the the missing pieces of an Astrolabe before the Order of the Ancients recovers them. Each mission has a number of sections where player choice impacts the end result's tone, and players must select the optimal choice out of a total three options that are scored from best (3) to worst (1). Regardless what they pick, they are guaranteed to acquire an Astrolabe piece, though the NPCs will react accordingly to any poor decisions.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Promotional image -
Promotional image -
Promotional image
External links[edit | edit source]
Discovery Tour App: Medieval Baghdad (A Ubisoft Original) on Ubisoft's official website (backup link not verified!)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ubisoft (2025). Medieval Baghdad on the App Store. App Store. Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved on 3 September 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ubisoft (August 2025). Medieval Baghdad - Apps on Google Play. Google Play. Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved on 3 September 2025.
- ↑
Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) on Twitter "Step into the heart of Medieval Baghdad—right from your phone.
📜 Uncover rich, immersive history
🦅 Explore 9th century Baghdad
📱 Experience it all for free, anytime, anywhere
Launching today for free: the Discovery Tour App – Medieval Baghdad #AssassinsCreed pic.twitter.com/S9TiynsY8D" - ↑ Discovery Tour by Ubisoft: Teacher Learning Resources on Ubisoft's official website (backup link)
- ↑ Campbell, Ian Carlos (3 September 2025). Ubisoft's free Assassin's Creed Mirage Discovery Tour app allows you to explore 9th century Baghdad. Engadget. Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved on 5 September 2025.
- ↑ "Jean-LucSala" (13 July 2024). Hi, we are Stephane Boudon, Sarah Beaulieu and Jean-Luc Sala, developers on Assassin's Creed Mirage. Ask us anything!. Reddit. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved on 5 September 2025. "Moon_Logic": Will there be a Discovery Tour or at least a no enemies free roam mode? How hard was it to recreate a city that was destroyed so long ago? Is accuracy even possible?
"Jean-LucSala": The recently announced feature "History of Baghdad" is our way to bring the historical content forward in your game experience. It felt important to us to share all the historical research and knowledge that went into the making of the game. Even if the city was destroyed in 13th century, a lot of information can be found about city. The reconstruction started with us learning the architectural Abbasid style in order to find back "the spirit of Baghdad"." - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed Mirage Introduces History of Baghdad Feature to Bring Players Closer to History on Ubisoft's official website (backup link)
- ↑ Nguyen, John (6 July 20023). Explore and learn about Baghdad's history in Assassin’s Creed Mirage feature. Nerd Reactor. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved on 5 September 2025.
