Ubisoft's Saudi-funded Assassin's Creed DLC provokes staff unrest, but the publisher insists partnering with the controversial regime is A-OK: 'Talking with partners who do not share our democratic values does not mean abandoning them'
In a surprise announcement last month, Ubisoft revealed that 2023's Assassin's Creed Mirage would be receiving a hefty free DLC. A new map and quests for a two year-old game, and no charge? Such largesse is only possible thanks to the involvement of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has made many gaming investments as part of its mission to detoxify the image of the brutal petrol state.
The DLC will see Basim, Mirage's protagonist, visiting AlUla, an ancient city key to Saudi Arabian culture. It was also announced by Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot in Riyadh at the New Global Sport Conference, an event that ran alongside the Saudi-funded Esports World Cup.
"We are working with AlUla, which is a UNESCO site, which is not known yet very much," Guillemote said at the time. "But we are creating content that will be given for free to players that play Mirage, and they will be able to go in that site.
As to the question of whether the DLC is being fully funded by the PIF, Ubisoft says it does "not comment on rumours."
It appears that Ubisoft staff are not particularly happy about the publisher getting into bed with the Saudis. In an internal Q&A first published by GameFile, one employee came right out and asked: is partnering up with Saudi Arabia, specifically in the context of the murder and subsequent dismemberment of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, really worth the hit to the company's image?
The response is uninspiring. Guillemot's visit was as part of a French delegation, including president Emmanuel Macron, and was described as a "classic diplomatic tool for expanding France's influence and reach around the world" that would help spread its values. I'm not sure that such contemporary values would necessarily include the French revolution's darker excesses but hey… plus ça change.
Ubisoft also says, somewhat unconvincingly, that Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the PIF are different things. "The latter's money is not MBS's, and talking with partners who do not share our democratic values does not mean abandoning them," says the publisher. The PIF is controlled by the crown prince, so not sure I'm buying that one.
Ubisoft has subsequently sought to emphasise that it retains "creative control," telling IGN the DLC was "made possible thanks to the support of local and international organisations [...] through access to experts, historians and resources to ensure the creation of an authentic and accurate setting." And those bags of cash in the corner? Forget about it. And have you tried these canapes?
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