Ubisoft's deal with Saudi Arabia over free Assassin's Creed Mirage DLC has reportedly seen staff pushback

As questions astir its backing stay without conclusive answers

Ubisoft workers person raised concerns with institution absorption astir a woody with Saudi Arabia to make a escaped DLC for Assassin's Creed Mirage acceptable successful the country, according to a caller report.

Announced with small fanfare - astatine least, arsenic acold arsenic add-ons for beauteous salient games are acrophobic - connected a Saturday greeting past month, the escaped DLC is acceptable to adhd a caller communicative section acceptable successful 9th period AlUla aboriginal this year. AlUla is an past oasis metropolis and governorate successful Saudi Arabia, though Ubisoft's announcement station didn't notation the state by name.

As elaborate successful this study from Game File, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced the DLC alongside the online uncover during a code successful Riyadh astatine a league enactment connected successful conjunction with the Esports World Cup, which the Saudi authorities are funding.

According to an interior Ubisoft Q&A, which Game File's Stephen Totilo has published arsenic portion of his report, workers astatine the steadfast person demanded answers from absorption astir this concern with Saudi Arabia. The question from a staffer astir the contented specifically cited the sidesplitting of writer Jamal Khashoggi, asking whether Ubisoft execs believed an relation with the authoritarian Saudi authorities could person a antagonistic effect connected the company's image.

While they've publically told IGN that they person originative power implicit what goes into this DLC, Ubisoft reportedly wouldn't archer unit thing astir however it came to be, simply stating that they don't remark connected "rumours". They did however, marque a favoritism betwixt the Saudi government's Public Investment Fund and Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman, the second being the Public Investment Fund's president and the idiosyncratic who allegedly ordered Khashoggi's assassination. "The [PIF]'s wealth is not MBS's, and talking with partners who bash not stock our antiauthoritarian values does not mean abandoning them," Ubisoft absorption told workers.

The institution besides defended Guillemot having travelled to Saudi Arabia successful precocious 2024 alongside French president Emmanuel Macron to conscionable with Saudi politicians. That was conscionable a "classic diplomatic instrumentality for expanding France's power and scope astir the world", according to Ubisoft.

The reported concern with Ubisoft implicit Mirage DLC - released astatine nary charge, arsenic is often the lawsuit for sizeable add-ons boasting not conscionable caller missions, but a wholly caller determination to research - is acold from the lone gaming-related concern the Saudi authorities and their associates person made successful caller years. Just past week, PIF-backed "giga project" Qiddiya bought co-ownership of warring crippled tourney Evo.