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1001: Threads of Mizan Was One of Gamescom 2026’s Best Action Games
Ubisoft's 1001: Threads of Mizan emerged as a standout surprise at Gamescom 2026, with Polygon getting hands-on time with the previously unannounced Arabian Nights-inspired action-adventure. Game director Scott Lussier called its reveal the "greatest secret ever kept" in an industry prone to leaks, and the demo suggests a distinctive AAA title built around carpet flight, colossal enemy encounters and cooperative multiplayer, set in a world rarely explored in games before.
In a 15-minute hands-on session, three players flew magic carpets through a desert, fought a mini-boss called the Sand Knight, and battled a four-armed jinn boss named Nazjush featuring 11 eyeballs to destroy. Combat blends Arkham- and Spider-Man-style melee with aerial dogfighting, while the game's structure is non-linear: individual missions are linear, but players can tackle bosses and optional content such as races, puzzles and tombs in any order from a central hub, aside from prerequisites for the main boss. Lussier cited Insomniac's Spider-Man for its movement feel and The Witcher for its folklore-driven world-building as key inspirations, alongside a hidden "djinn realm" containing Breath of the Wild-style puzzle and combat vaults that feed into progression.
In short
- Ubisoft's 1001: Threads of Mizan wowed at Gamescom 2026 as a surprise reveal
- Co-op action game features carpet flight combat and colossal boss fights
- Non-linear structure lets players tackle bosses and side content in any order
Explained simply
Arabian Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, including the stories often known as One Thousand and One Nights. Its settings and supernatural beings, such as jinn, have appeared in many books and films, but are less common in big-budget video games. Ubisoft is the publisher behind the new adventure, directed by Scott Lussier.
The game follows a group of players exploring a fantasy world inspired by that folklore. Its design combines close-up fighting with travel on flying carpets, and lets players choose the order of many missions and challenges. That mix matters because it brings a less familiar setting into a large action game while drawing on styles seen in other well-known games.