Assassin's Creed

The first Assassin's Creed game originated out of ideas for a sequel for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a 3D adaption of the original Prince of Persia games, which was made for PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox and other platforms. It included several parkour moves and combat. The Sands of Time was a critical and financial success, leading publisher Ubisoft to request Ubisoft Montreal to develop a sequel, aiming for the seventh generation of video game consoles. The Ubisoft Montreal team decided to take the gameplay from The Sands of Time into an open world approach, taking advantage of the improved processing power to render larger spaces and crowds. Narratively, the team wanted to move away from the Prince being someone next in line for the throne but to have to work for it; combined with research into secret societies led them to focus on the Assassins, based upon the historical Hashashin sect of Ismaili Shia Islam, heavily borrowing from the novel Alamut.[2][3][4][5]

They developed a narrative where the player would control an Assassin that served as a bodyguard for a non-playable Prince, leading them to call this game Prince of Persia: Assassin. Ubisoft was not happy with a Prince of Persia game without the Prince as the playable character, but this led the marketing division to suggest the name Assassin's Creed, playing off the creed of the Assassins, "nothing is true; everything is permitted". Ubisoft Montreal ran with this in creating a new intellectual property, eliminating the Prince, and creating the conflict between the Assassins and the Knights Templar. Further, in postulating what other assassinations they could account for throughout human history, they came onto the idea of genetic memory and created the "Animus" device and modern storyline elements, which further allowed them to explain certain facets of gameplay, such as accounting when the player fails a mission, in the same way, they had done in The Sands of Time.[2]

When it came to designing the game's world, the team set their eyes on the Holy Land in the late 12th century, primarily the cities of Masyaf (which served as the main base of the Assassins), Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem. In recreating these cities, they strived for historical accuracy, which resulted in some gameplay elements being scrapped, such as the crossbow (which would not have been accessible in the Middle East then). Although the events of the game took place during the Third Crusade, the player would not be a direct participant in it; however, the team still wanted players to feel immersed in the world, so they included heralds that would frequently mention the conflict.[2]

After Assassin's Creed was released in 2007 to a mostly positive reception, Ubisoft Montreal and other Ubisoft studios used the feedback to develop the sequel, which would be much more ambitious. Moving into Assassin's Creed II, the Ubisoft Montreal team recognized that parkour was underutilized in the first game and designed the world in the sequel to feature "freerun highways" to make it easier to enter into parkour moves, using rooftops to escape pursuits or as part of an Assassin ploy. Although the first game's setting received praise, the team decided to leave behind the dark and gritty towns of the 12th-century Holy Land in favor of the more lively cities of 15th-century Renaissance Italy, like Florence and Venice.[6] The change in setting also meant that the game would feature a new cast of characters, including a new protagonist, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who would be more rogueish than the first game's stoic Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Despite this, the team wanted Assassin's Creed II to feel like a proper sequel, so they opted to continue the modern-day storyline following protagonist Desmond Miles while also including several references to Altaïr and other past Assassins. Assassin's Creed II also brought in more use of crowds to hide in plain sight that the developers had seen used in Hitman: Blood Money, adding more to the concept of social stealth as a gameplay option.[6] Finally, Assassin's Creed II completely reworked the repetitive mission structure from the first game through numerous side activities, collectibles, and other secrets. These additions became a central part of the series going forward as well as other Ubisoft games like Watch Dogs, Far Cry and Ghost Recon.[6]

Following its release in 2009, Assassin's Creed II received critical acclaim, being seen as an improvement over the first game in both gameplay and writing. Due to the popularity of both Ezio's character and the Renaissance setting, Ubisoft Montreal decided to follow the game with a direct sequel, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, which was developed in under a year, released in 2010. The game built upon Assassin's Creed II's gameplay and storyline and saw the introduction of a multiplayer mode to the series, as well as the titular Brotherhood system, which allowed players to recruit and train NPCs as Assassins. The open world format was also changed; rather than featuring several smaller cities like the past two games, Brotherhood is primarily set in the city of Rome, which was the largest and most detailed setting in the series at the time.[6] The game received similar acclaim to Assassin's Creed II, with many critics and players feeling that it had perfected the Assassin's Creed formula.

Brotherhood was followed in 2011 by Assassin's Creed: Revelations, which served as a conclusion to the stories of both Ezio, who was again the main protagonist, and Altaïr. The game was developed by Ubisoft Montreal with help from a few other Ubisoft studios in the time span of several months and borrowed many ideas and concepts from Assassin's Creed: Lost Legacy, a Nintendo 3DS spin-off that had been announced at E3 2010 and later quietly cancelled.[6] Unlike the other games starring Ezio, Revelations was met with a more mixed response. While the narrative was once again praised, many felt that the new setting of Constantinople was underwhelming compared to Renaissance Italy and that the gameplay of the series was getting overly familiar and was in need of a serious rework. It was also around this time that Ubisoft decided Assassin's Creed would become an annual franchise, with at least one mainline installment released each year.[6]

Work on Assassin's Creed III began shortly after II's release. The developers had avoided giving Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Revelations numbers in their titles because they wanted the 'true' sequel to Assassin's Creed II to be bigger in scale and feature a different time period. The game's origins can be traced back to both Ubisoft Montreal, who wanted to progress the series' narrative forward in time, and to an unattached project that had been developed at Ubisoft Singapore and featured naval ship combat. As the main team had settled into the American Revolution period for the game, they found this ship-to-ship combat system fits perfectly into the story and redesigned the setting to incorporate it further. Another major change in Assassin's Creed III was transitioning the parkour and freerun systems to work in the natural woodlands of 18th-century New England, which further allowed for adding trees and other vegetation within the city areas themselves, not only as part of the parkour systems but also to add to more realistic appearances, which would also continue as part of the series' ongoing design.[6] The combat and stealth systems also saw a slight rework, with players now being able to use human shields against gunfire and employ the natural environment, like trees and tall grass, to hide from enemies. Narrative-wise, the team wanted to explore the morally gray areas of both the American Revolution and the Assassin-Templar conflict, and so decided to focus on a half-Native protagonist, Ratonhnhaké:ton (or Connor Kenway), who, as the son of a Templar Grand Master, gets to experience the perspectives of both the Assassins and Templars and thus realize the two sides are not so different.[6]

Even though Assassin's Creed III was not received as positively as the previous games in the series, the Ubisoft team noticed that most praised the additions it brought to the series' gameplay, especially the ship combat, and so decided to build upon and improve them in the next game, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.[6] Whereas naval gameplay in III was limited to several missions, in Black Flag it was merged seamlessly with the land-based gameplay. The game world was designed to encourage exploration, replacing the traditional large cities of the series with numerous smaller islands, forts, and sunken ships, although several larger locations were still present, like Havana, Nassau, and Kingston. Adding to this, the ship combat was expanded, allowing players to board virtually any ship encountered in the open world.[6] The team also used the game as a chance to address aspects of the series' storyline, which had started to become stale in their eyes. Choosing to focus on an outsider's perspective to the Assassin-Templar conflict, they set the game around the Golden Age of Piracy, with the protagonist, Edward Kenway, starting out as a pirate who only becomes involved in the conflict with the prospect of wealth at the end. Over the course of the main story, however, he comes to understand what both sides are fighting for and ultimately joins the Assassins. Similarly, after the conclusion of Desmond Miles' story arc in Assassin's Creed III, the modern-day segments put players in the shoes of a nameless Abstergo Industries employee involuntarily drawn into the Assassin-Templar conflict. The team chose this approach because they believed it allowed players to more easily identify themselves in their character.[6] This trend would continue for the next three main games in the series.[6]

After Black Flag was released to critical acclaim, Ubisoft decided to expand upon its concept in the next game, Assassin's Creed Rogue, which would serve as a conclusion to the "Kenway Saga" that started with Assassin's Creed III.[6] Developed primarily by Ubisoft Sofia, Rogue built upon Black Flag's ship combat by introducing new weapons and features, such as the ability to be boarded by enemy ships. The game's North Atlantic setting also allowed players to take advantage of the icy environment during ship battles, while the land-based gameplay saw the return of several features from earlier installments, like enemy outposts and an economy system.[6] Continuing the exploration of the morally gray area of the Assassin-Templar conflict, the game's story put players in control of an Assassin named Shay Patrick Cormac who, after feeling he has been betrayed by the Brotherhood, defects to the Templars and helps them hunt down his former Assassin allies; setting the stage for the events of Assassin's Creed III and Unity. Upon release, Rogue received generally mixed reviews, praised for its nuanced story and the twist on the traditional series formula by playing as a Templar, while criticism was aimed at its short length and lack of innovation in the gameplay department.[6]

Development of Assassin's Creed Unity began shortly after the completion of Brotherhood in 2010,[7] with the core development team splitting off during the early stages of development on Assassin's Creed III.[8] As the first game in the series to be released exclusively for the eighth generation of video game consoles, Unity featured a graphical and gameplay overhaul, including refined combat and stealth mechanics, and an improved parkour system, which allowed players to make controlled ascents and descents at will. The game also introduced skill trees, character customization, and a co-op multiplayer mode to the series. The setting chosen for the game was Paris during the early years of the French Revolution, with players taking control of a new Assassin named Arno Dorian.[6] Despite its ambitiousness, Unity ultimately received mixed reviews from critics, who felt that it failed to truly innovate the series' gameplay formula and criticized its narrative, mission design, and multiplayer-oriented format. The game was also widely panned for its technical state when it was released in 2014, with many players reporting graphical issues and bugs, though most of these issues were later resolved through patches, leading to some positive critical re-evaluations.[6]

After Unity, Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed Syndicate in 2015. Developed by Ubisoft Quebec, who had assisted in the making of six previous games in the series, Syndicate built upon Unity's gameplay systems by introducing new stealth mechanics, including the ability to kidnap enemies, and new means of traversing the world, such as carriages and a Hidden Blade-mounted grapnel gun. The combat system also saw an overhaul, becoming more fast-paced due to the introduction of weapons like brass knuckles and cane swords. The game was set in 19th-century Victorian London and was the first in the series to feature two playable protagonists, twins Jacob and Evie Frye, whom players could switch between at any time outside missions. Syndicate received generally positive reviews for its light-hearted narrative, characters, level design, and fixing most of Unity's issues, although the new combat system, vehicle gameplay, and open-world design were met with some criticism. The game also failed to reach the sale numbers of previous entries, which Ubisoft attributed to series fatigue among players and the troubled launch of Unity.[6]

Members of Ubisoft Quebec, the developer team of Assassin's Creed Odyssey

After Syndicate, Ubisoft recognized that the series needed a major reinvention across both gameplay and narrative, and decided that an extra year of development was needed, meaning no major Assassin's Creed game would release in 2016. By this point in time, available computers and consoles had enough processing power that they were able to create much larger maps, which required different mechanics from the original games. It was decided to make the next game, Assassin's Creed Origins, closer to a role-playing video game than a stealth-action game, which would also bring a game with many more hours of play than previous titles. Some long-standing features of the series were eliminated for this purpose, such as the social stealth mechanic. This changed how missions were presented - rather than directed through the Animus, the player would need to take their character in the game's world to various quest givers to get these missions, which gave a reason for the player to explore the map.[6] From the narrative side, they placed the game before the formation of the Assassin Brotherhood in Ptolemaic Egypt in the 1st century BC to avoid the need to have Assassins drive the storyline, and made the playable character, Bayek, a medjay people would normally respect and seek the help of.[6] The modern-day storyline also shifted back to a single character, Layla Hassan, an Abstergo researcher. They limited the number of times the game's perspective shifts to her character compared to previous games but gave these segments more meaning, such as allowing the player to explore Layla's laptop with background information on the state of Assassins to that point.[6]

Assassin's Creed Odyssey, set in Classical Greece in the 5th century BC, followed a similar approach but put even more emphasis on the role-playing element featured in Origins, such as introducing choices that can alter the narrative in major ways. While these changes proved mostly popular among critics, by this point, many players felt that the series had strayed too far away from its roots and was becoming unrecognizable.[6] Assassin's Creed Valhalla, set in Medieval England and Norway during the Viking Age in the 9th century AD, continued the same style as Origins and Odyssey, but the developers recognized feedback from the previous two games and added back in the social stealth elements, as well as the concept of a customizable home base that was first introduced in Assassin's Creed II.[6]

Ubisoft has since announced several additional games in the series. Assassin's Creed Infinity was announced as a live service game to provide ongoing content for years, though its release is not yet planned.[9] The first two games to be included in Infinity will be Assassin's Creed: Red, set in Feudal Japan,[10] and Assassin's Creed: Hexe, set in the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century.[11] In the interim, Ubisoft also announced Assassin's Creed: Mirage a smaller game intended to bring the series back to its stealth-oriented roots using content originally planned as DLC for Valhalla. The game is expected to release in 2023, and will feature Basim Ibn Ishaq, a major supporting character from Valhalla, in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age.[12]

The Assassin's Creed games primarily revolve around the rivalry and conflict between two ancient secret societies – the Assassins, who represents freedom, and the Knights Templar, who represents order. Versions of these societies have existed for centuries, with the Assassins seeking to stop the Templars from gaining control of "Pieces of Eden", artifacts that are capable of overriding free will to control people.[13]

These artifacts are remnants of an ancient species pre-dating humanity called the Isu, or Precursors, which created humanity to live in peace alongside them. The Isu ensured humans could not rise against them by creating the Pieces of Eden to control them. When the first hybrid Isu-human beings emerged, named Adam and Eve, they were immune to the effects of the Pieces of Eden. They stole the Pieces of Eden, which led to a great war that ended when a massive solar flare devastated the surface of the Earth. The Isu began to die out while humanity thrived. Three Isu attempted to prepare humanity for a future solar flare they knew would come centuries in the future: Minerva, Juno, and Jupiter. Minerva and Jupiter prepared vaults from which humanity could activate a protective shield around Earth with the Pieces of Eden and the Eye, a means to communicate how to find and use these vaults in the future. Juno, however, saw humanity as a threat and attempted to sabotage Minerva and Jupiter's plan. Minerva and Jupiter were forced to destroy Juno, unaware she had hidden her consciousness to wake upon activation of the Eye. All that remained of the Isu were the traces of their memories in the world's mythologies, and religions, the Pieces of Eden lost to time.[13]

The series takes place in the modern era, in which the Templars have established the mega-corporation Abstergo Industries. Abstergo has developed a device called the Animus that allows its user to relive the memories of their ancestors through their genetic material. Abstergo has kidnapped people who are descendants of past Assassins to locate the missing Pieces of Eden via the Animus. A user of the Animus is able to move about in simulated memories as their ancestor, but performing actions outside the bounds of what their ancestor did can lead to "desynchronization" of the memory. Further, extended use of the Animus creates a "bleeding effect" that gives users some of the skills and capabilities they experienced with their ancestor.

The first five main games in the series focus on Desmond Miles, a bartender and former Assassin who learns he is a descendant of several important Assassins throughout history, including Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad from the Middle East during the Third Crusade; Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the Italian Renaissance during the late 15th and early 16th centuries; and Ratonhnhaké:ton (better known as Connor), a half-Mohawk, half-British Assassin during the American Revolution. Desmond is used by Abstergo to find Pieces of Eden but is freed by Lucy Stillman, an undercover agent for the Assassins. Lucy takes Desmond to meet Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, two other members of the modern-day Assassins. The group is joined later by William Miles, Desmond's father. They continue to explore Desmond's memories and eventually discover the Eye and Minerva's warning of another possible solar flare. They also inadvertently free Juno, who then kills Lucy. The group continues to find the vaults across the globe via Desmond's memories, and Desmond can activate them in time to block the solar flare but at the cost of his own life.[13]

Starting with Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, William goes into exile, while Shaun and Rebecca continue to monitor Abstergo by posing as employees of one of their spin-off companies, Abstergo Entertainment. Abstergo Entertainment has refined the Animus technology to allow anyone to experience genetic memories from the DNA material of another person, allowing Abstergo to continue their search for the Pieces of Eden under the guise of creating a film. The unnamed player-character, a new employee of Abstergo Entertainment, is tasked with scanning the memories of Edward Kenway, a privateer-turned-pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy and Connor's grandfather, from Desmond's DNA. During this time, the employee is instructed by an informant, John Standish, to hack into various Abstergo terminals and provide the information to Shaun and Rebecca. This is revealed to be in service to a plan by John to prepare the employee's body for possession by Juno, and that John is one of her Sages; human beings with part of Aita's unique genetic code. The plan ultimately fails, as Juno is not strong enough to return yet, and John is killed by Abstergo's security forces after his malicious intentions are discovered.[13]

By the time of Assassin's Creed Unity, Abstergo distributes its Animus product via a video game console named "Helix", tapping into an extensive, unaware player base to help them locate more Pieces of Eden and determine the fates of other Sages as part of the Phoenix Project, an attempt to recreate the genetic structure of the Isu. The Assassins locate select players and bring them in as Initiates to help their cause. In Unity, the player-character is contacted through Helix by an Assassin named Bishop and asked to experience the memories of Arno Dorian, an Assassin active during the French Revolution, so that the modern-day Assassins can locate the body of a Sage and hide it from Abstergo.[13] Despite the Assassins' efforts, Abstergo collects enough samples of other Sages by the start of Assassin's Creed Syndicate to move forward with the Phoenix Project. Again, Bishop contacts the Initiate and asks them to explore the memories of Jacob and Evie Frye, twin Assassins from Victorian England, to locate a Piece of Eden known as the Shroud, which Abstergo needs to complete the process of recreating the Isu genetic structure. Although the Initiate manages to locate the Shroud, the Templars beat the Assassins to it.[13]

A new storyline is introduced in Assassin's Creed Origins focusing on Abstergo researcher Layla Hassan. Initially tasked with locating historical artifacts in Egypt, Layla stumbles upon the mummified corpses of the Medjay Bayek and his wife Aya, co-founders of the Hidden Ones, the precursor organization to the Assassin Brotherhood. Against Abstergo's orders, Layla uses the Animus to relive Bayek's and Aya's memories, making her a target for the Templars, before being met by William Miles, who recruits her to the Assassins.[13] In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Layla recovers the Spear of Leonidas, extracting the DNA of Leonidas' grandchildren, Alexios and Kassandra. Through their memories, Layla locates the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, another Piece of Eden, which is guarded by one of the siblings (canonically Kassandra), still alive due to being sustained by the Staff. Kassandra relinquishes the Staff to Layla, who is prophesied to one day restore balance to the world, and who proves herself to be worthy of wielding the Staff.[13] In Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Earth is facing yet another disaster, as its magnetic field has been continually strengthening since Desmond activated the Eye in 2012. Layla exhumes the remains of Eivor Varinsdottir, a 9th-century Viking raider, and from her memories, she learns of an Isu temple in Norway. Layla travels to the temple, using the Staff to protect herself from the radiation inside, and enters "the Grey", a virtual world created by the Isu, where she meets both "the Reader" (implied to be Desmond's preserved consciousness) and Basim Ibn Ishaq, a Hidden One and Sage (the reincarnation of the Isu Loki) who was trapped in the Grey by Eivor. Basim helps Layla stop the disaster before escaping back to reality, where he uses the Staff to rejuvenate himself and meets the other modern-day Assassins.

The first game in the series was released in November 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and in April 2008 for Microsoft Windows. It features a historical recreation of the Holy Land (primarily the cities of Masyaf, Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus) in the late 12th century. Its narrative includes real historical figures and events from that time period. The storyline consists of two portions: one set during the modern-day, which follows Desmond Miles; and one set in 1191, which follows Desmond's ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad, a member of the Assassin Brotherhood during the time of the Third Crusade. Desmond's story begins with his abduction by pharmaceutical company Abstergo Industries, whose lead scientist, Dr. Warren Vidic, forces him to explore Altaïr's memories through a machine called the Animus that allows him to connect with his ancestors' DNA. In doing so, Abstergo hopes to find powerful artifacts called Pieces of Eden, which the Assassins and their rivals, the Knights Templar, have fought over for centuries. Altaïr's story begins with his demotion to the rank of Novice Assassin after he botches an attempt by the Assassins to recover a Piece of Eden, the Apple of Eden, from the Templars. To redeem himself, Altaïr is tasked with assassinating nine Templar targets across the Holy Land.

Assassin's Creed introduced core elements that remained in the rest of the series. Players can freely explore the game's open world, making use of Altaïr's parkour and climbing skills to navigate the environment. The game also features refined hack and slash combat, with players able to block and counter-attacks, and stealth mechanics, such as hiding in crowds of people, which allow players to avoid detection by enemies or lose pursuing foes. Although players can choose the order in which they kill their main targets, the mission design was seen as linear and repetitive because players had to complete several side quests before each assassination. The side quest prerequisite was one of the most criticized aspects of the game, so it was abandoned in future games.

Assassin's Creed II is a direct sequel to the first game and was released in November 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in March 2010 for Windows, and in October 2010 for OS X. The modern-day narrative again follows Desmond, who escapes from Abstergo (revealed at the end of the previous game as a front for the modern-day Templars) with the aid of Assassin mole Lucy Stillman and is taken to her team's hideout. Hoping to train Desmond as an Assassin, they put him in the Animus 2.0, where he begins to suffer from the "bleeding effect"; this allows Desmond to gain his ancestors' skills, but it also damages his mind, as he begins to involuntarily experience flashes of his ancestors' memories outside of the Animus. Meanwhile, the main narrative takes place at the height of the Italian Renaissance in the late 15th century and follows Desmond's Italian ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young nobleman from Florence who is forced to become an Assassin after his father and brothers are killed by the Templars. During his journey to avenge their deaths, Ezio makes allies such as Leonardo da Vinci and Caterina Sforza and combats enemies such as the Pazzi and Barbarigo families and Rodrigo Borgia. Ezio also comes into contact with technology left behind by the First Civilization, a race that created humanity and the Pieces of Eden and who were wiped out by a catastrophic event.

Similar to the first game, Assassin's Creed II incorporates historical events into its narrative and features recreations of several cities from the time period it is set in (in this case, Florence, Venice, Forlì, San Gimignano, and Monteriggioni). Missions are divided into main story missions, themselves into memory sequences reflecting points in Ezio's life, and side missions which can be accomplished at any time; this approach to mission structure remains consistent in the other games in the series. The Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni, which acts as the Assassins' headquarters for most of the game, provides several functions which can be expanded on by paying for upgrades of surrounding buildings, or by purchasing artwork, weapons, and armor for the villa; in turn, the villa will generate wealth for the player at a rate influenced by the upgrades and acquisition of these items.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is the sequel to Assassin's Creed II, and was released in November 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in March 2011 for Windows, and in May 2011 for OS X. The game begins immediately after the events of its predecessor, at the end of which Desmond was warned by Minerva, a member of the First Civilization, about a solar flare that will hit the Earth and kill humans in a few months. Desmond and his team travel to Monteriggioni, where they set up a new base and use the Animus to find the Temple of Juno, another First Civilization member, which houses Ezio's own Apple of Eden and the key to stopping the solar flare. The main narrative continues the story of Ezio, who travels to Rome, the center of Templar power in Italy, to re-establish the Assassin Brotherhood there and defeat the Borgias, who have attacked Monteriggioni and stolen the Apple of Eden.

Brotherhood shares many of the same features as the previous game though it takes place primarily in one city: Rome. Like the Villa Auditore, the player can spend money to buy and upgrade shops and other facilities throughout the city to increase the revenue they can collect from it; however, the player will be required to destroy Borgia towers that control various sections of the city before they can do so. The Brotherhood of Assassins is introduced, by which, after saving citizens from certain events, the player can recruit these citizens as Assassins; they can then be dispatched to remote locations across Europe to gain experience and money or can be called in to help the player directly in a mission. For the first time in the series, the game features online multiplayer, in which players assume the role of Abstergo employees who, through the use of the Animus, relive the genetic memories of Renaissance Templars in various game modes.[15] It was the last game to feature Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets, as the creative director of the series.[16][17]

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is the final installment of the "Ezio Trilogy" and was released in November 2011 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows. Following the events of Brotherhood, where he was possessed by Juno and forced to kill Lucy (who, unbeknownst to him, was a Templar double agent), Desmond has fallen into a coma and was put back into the Animus to save his mind. Within the computerized "core" of the Animus, Desmond meets the preserved consciousness of Abstergo's previous Animus test subject, Clay Kaczmarek, who explains that Demond's mind must achieve full synchronization with Altaïr and Ezio, or else he will fall into dementia. Desmond continues exploring the memories of Ezio, who, a few years after the events of Brotherhood, travels to Constantinople to find five keys needed to open a vault built by Altaïr, which is said to contain the power to end the Assassin-Templar conflict. In Constantinople, Ezio becomes caught in a feud between the Ottomans and Byzantines and discovers that the Templars are also searching for the keys. The game also continues Altaïr's story after the first game, as the keys allow Ezio to witness Altaïr's memories to learn more about his life.

Originally Revelations was announced as Assassin's Creed: Lost Legacy, and conceptualized as a Nintendo 3DS title focusing on Ezio traveling to Masyaf to explore Altaïr's legacy and uncover the origins of the Assassin Brotherhood.[18][19] Lost Legacy was later announced as cancelled on July 15, 2011, after Ubisoft decided to expand the idea further, cancel the 3DS development and shift all development duties towards PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC to release the game as a full-fledged main installment of the franchise. The original premise remained and evolved into the plot seen in the final game.[20] Included were many new systems and additional weapons such as bomb-crafting and an expanded Assassin recruitment system. The multiplayer mode returns in Revelations, with more characters, modes, and maps; players once again assume the role of Templars in training and as they level up and rise in the ranks, they are told more about Abstergo's history.

Assassin's Creed III was released in October 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and in November 2012 for Wii U and Windows. A remastered version of the game with enhanced visuals was released for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in March 2019 and for Nintendo Switch in May 2019. This is the final game in the series to follow Desmond, who travels to the First Civilization's Central Temple in New York with his friends and father to use the technology inside to prevent the solar flare set to hit the Earth in less than a month. To access this technology, however, Desmond must undertake several missions across the globe to retrieve 'batteries' to power the Temple, as well as an ancient key to the Temple's inner chambers. To find the latter, Desmond uses the Animus to relive the memories of two of his ancestors who were in possession of the key at various points in time: Haytham Kenway, a British Templar from the 18th century who travels to the American Colonies to establish a strong Templar presence on the continent and find the Central Temple; and Ratonhnhaké:ton (later known as Connor), Haytham's half-Mohawk son, who becomes an Assassin to exact revenge on the Templars, whom he blames for the destruction of his village and the death of his mother in his youth. To this end, Connor later becomes involved in the American Revolution, helping the Patriot cause in exchange for their help in hunting down Haytham's faction of Templars, who hope to use the Revolution to further their own goals.

Assassin's Creed III is structured similarly to the previous games, with missions taking place in an open-world map based on Colonial Boston and New York. The game offers a large wilderness area in the form of the Frontier and the Davenport Homestead, where the player can hunt animals for materials, which subsequently can be used to construct goods to be traded and sold throughout the colonies. Naval battles also debut in the series, wherein the player must steer a warship named the Aquila in dangerous waters and perform ship-to-ship combat with cannons and mounted guns. The multiplayer mode from the previous two games returns in Assassin's Creed III with new game modes, characters, and maps inspired by Colonial America, but this time no major narrative elements are included.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag was released in October 2013 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U and in November 2013 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. Following the events of Assassin's Creed III, at the end of which Desmond sacrificed himself to save the Earth, Abstergo retrieved samples from his body to continue exploring the memories of his ancestors. The player character is an unnamed Abstergo employee tasked with analyzing the memories of Edward Kenway, a famous 18th-century pirate and Connor's grandfather, ostensibly to gather material for an Animus-powered interactive feature film; in reality, Abstergo are searching for the Observatory, a First Civilization structure that allows the user to see through the eyes of a subject to find them anywhere on the planet. As Edward, the player must unravel a conspiracy between high-ranking Templars to manipulate the British and Spanish empires into locating the "Sage" – later identified as Bartholomew Roberts – who is the only man that can lead them to the Observatory.

Black Flag retains many gameplay mechanics from Assassin's Creed III, including the ship-based exploration and combat. For the first time in the series, naval exploration is a major part of the game; players can captain Edward's ship, the Jackdaw, and battle rival ships or hunt sea animals. The game includes a large open world spanning the West Indies, with players able to explore the cities of Havana, Nassau, and Kingston, as well as numerous islands, forts, and sunken ships. A multiplayer mode is once again included, although it is entirely land-based.

Assassin's Creed Rogue is the final game in the series to be developed for the seventh generation of consoles, being released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2014,[21] and for Windows in March 2015.[22] A remastered version of the game was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in March 2018. In the present day, players again take on the role of an unnamed Abstergo employee, tasked with researching the memories of Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin from the 18th century who, for reasons unknown to Abstergo, defected to the Templar cause. During their investigation, the player accidentally trips a hidden memory file that infects the Animus servers. They must complete Shay's memories to clean the servers while Abstergo is put in lockdown. The main narrative takes place during the Seven Years' War,[21] and follows Shay, who starts out as a talented, but insubordinate Assassin trainee. After witnessing the Assassins' hypocrisy and willingness to sacrifice civilians in their blind pursuit of the Pieces of Eden, Shay betrays them and joins the Templar Order, helping his newfound allies hunt down members of his former Brotherhood to prevent them from endangering more innocent lives. Shay's story is set between the events of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed III, and is meant to "fill the gaps" between their respective narratives, while also having "a crucial link to the Kenway saga", as well as to Assassin's Creed Unity.[23] Several major characters from III and Black Flag make appearances in the game, such as Haytham Kenway, Achilles Davenport, and Adéwalé.[24]

In March 2014, a new Assassin's Creed game code-named Comet was revealed to be in development for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, set to release later that year alongside Unity.[25] By the end of the month, additional reports indicated that Comet would be set around 1758 New York City, and would feature sailing on the Atlantic Ocean. The game would be a direct sequel to Black Flag, and would be the first to feature a Templar as the main protagonist. In May 2014, Guillemot stated that Assassin's Creed games would continue releasing on the last generation PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 "for the foreseeable future", despite the franchise moving to the current generation PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with Unity.[26] On August 5, Ubisoft officially announced the game as Assassin's Creed Rogue. While the game reuses many assets from Black Flag, a number of new systems and weapons were included, such as an air rifle and refined naval combat, and the multiplayer aspect has been removed.

Assassin's Creed Unity was released in November 2014 (concurrently with Rogue) for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Stadia.[27] In the present-day, the player character is a player of Helix, an Animus-powered gaming device produced by Abstergo, who hope to use their unaware player base to locate more Pieces of Eden. While playing, the player is contacted by the modern-day Assassins and invited to join them as an Initiate and help them locate the body of an 18th-century Sage. The main story is set in Paris during the French Revolution, and follows Assassin Arno Dorian as he attempts to avenge his foster father's death at the hands of the Templars, which leads him to discover an internal conflict between the Templars as a result of the Revolution.[28]

On March 19, 2014, images leaked for the next Assassin's Creed game, titled or code-named Unity, showing a new assassin in Paris.[25] On March 21, Ubisoft confirmed the game's existence, having been in development for more than three years, by releasing pre-alpha game footage.[29] The game features enhanced visuals compared to its predecessors, and several new gameplay mechanics, including a four player co-op mode, a first for the series.[30]

Assassin's Creed Syndicate was released in October 2015 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, in November 2015 for Windows,[31] and in December 2020 for the Stadia. In the present-day, players control the same unnamed Assassin Initiate from Assassin's Creed Unity, who, this time must help the Assassins find a powerful artifact, the Shroud of Eden, hidden somewhere in London. The main story is set in Victorian era London and follows twin assassins Jacob and Evie Frye as they navigate the corridors of organized crime to take back the city from Templar control and prevent them from finding the Shroud. The narrative also includes segments set in war-torn London during World War I, which follow Jacob's granddaughter, Lydia Frye, as she battles German soldiers and Templar spies and searches for a Sage.

In December 2014, images and information leaked for a new Assassin's Creed game, titled or code-named Victory, which was later confirmed by Ubisoft.[32] In May 2015, Kotaku leaked that Victory had been renamed Syndicate.[33] On May 12, 2015, the game was officially announced by Ubisoft.[34] The game retains most gameplay elements from Unity, while introducing new travelling systems, such as carriages and a grappling hook, and refined combat mechanics. It is the first game in the series to feature multiple playable protagonists, whom the player can switch between both during and outside missions.

Assassin's Creed Origins is a soft reboot of the franchise, and was released in October 2017 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Stadia.[35] The game introduces a new protagonist in the modern-day, Layla Hassan, and explores the origins of the Assassin Brotherhood and their conflict with the Templar Order. The story is set in Ancient Egypt, near the end of the Ptolemaic period (49–43 BC), and follows a Medjay named Bayek and his wife Aya, whose fight to protect their people from the Order of the Ancients—forerunners to the Templar Order—leads them to create the Hidden Ones—forerunners to the Assassin Brotherhood. Unlike previous games in the series, which were more action-adventure oriented, Origins heavily features mechanics found in action role-playing games, including an overhauled "hitbox-based" combat system.

In February 2016, Ubisoft announced they would not be releasing a new game in 2016 in order to step "back and [re-examine] the Assassin's Creed franchise... [and take the] year to evolve the game mechanics and to make sure we're delivering on the promise of Assassin's Creed offering unique and memorable gameplay experiences".[36] On the decision, Guillemot said that "Ubisoft started to question the annualized franchise with the release of Assassin's Creed Unity, and the fact that Assassin's Creed Syndicate had "a slower launch than expected". Guillemot added that "by moving away from the annual iterations of the franchise, it will give the Assassin's Creed teams more time to take advantage of new engines and technology".[37] Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag's director Ashraf Ismail, commented on an interview that he and the team would be interested in doing an Assassin's Creed game in an Ancient Egyptian setting, along with reiterating an earlier statement that a female leading character was not an impossibility for the series.[38] In May 2017, Ubisoft confirmed the development of Assassin's Creed Origins; one month later, the setting was confirmed to be Ptolemaic Egypt.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey was released in October 2018 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows and Nintendo Switch,[39][40] and in November 2019 for the Stadia. The modern-day narrative continues from the events of Origins, as Layla, after being recruited to the Assassins, searches for Atlantis, which is rumored to house a powerful artifact: the Staff of Hermes. The main story is set during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, at the height of Classical Greece. Players choose between two playable protagonists, Alexios and Kassandra, and embark on a quest to discover mysteries surrounding their family, as well as to undermine a proto-Templar organization: the Cult of Kosmos.

Odyssey was leaked in May 2018 by a picture posted by the French website Jeuxvideo; it was officially announced at E3 2018, with a release date of October 2018. Similarly to Origins, the game places more emphasis on role-playing elements than previous entries in the series and introduces dialogue options and branching quests, which can result in different endings.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla was released in November 2020 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows, Stadia, and Luna. The game concludes the modern-day story arc focusing on Layla, who must find a First Civilization temple in Norway to restore the Earth's magnetic field to its proper strength since Desmond's sacrifice in Assassin's Creed III only delayed the apocalypse. The main narrative takes place in the late 9th century, during the Viking expansions into the British Isles. Players control a customizable Viking raider, Eivor Varinsdottir, who becomes embroiled in the conflict between the Hidden Ones and the Order of the Ancients while attempting to establish a new Viking clan in England.

Valhalla was officially announced in April 2020. Ubisoft Montreal led its development along with fourteen other Ubisoft studios.[41] The title had been leaked earlier in April 2019 under the name Assassin's Creed Kingdom.[42][43][44] Like its predecessors, Valhalla is a role-playing game focused on combat and exploration, although it brings back several elements that were absent in Origins and Odyssey, such as social stealth and a customizable settlement.

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation is a spin-off to Assassin's Creed III, originally released for the PlayStation Vita in October 2012. The story takes place before and during the events of Assassin's Creed III, and follows Aveline de Grandpré, a Louisiana Creole woman from New Orleans, the daughter of a French merchant father and an African mother.[45] Aveline is recruited into the Assassin Brotherhood by a former slave and fights against slavery as well as the Templars, who plot to take over Louisiana after the end of the Seven Years' War. Aveline uses a variety of new weapons in combat, including a machete and a blowpipe for ranged attacks, and can disguise herself to deceive enemies, although certain disguises limit her movement and abilities. The entire game is presented as a product developed by the in-universe company Abstergo Entertainment, who have done a heavy amount of censoring in regards to the Assassin-Templar conflict. At various points during their playthrough, the player is contacted by the hacking collective Erudito, who helps them uncensor the game to learn the true nature of the events depicted.

An original Assassin's Creed title for the PlayStation Vita was announced to be in development during Gamescom 2011 and would feature a new story with new characters; on June 4, 2012, at E3, Liberation was officially announced.[46] On September 10, 2013, it was announced that the game would be re-released as Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows via the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam, respectively.[47] In March 2019, it was announced that a remastered version of Liberation would be bundled with Assassin's Creed III Remastered for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and, later, for the Nintendo Switch. Ubisoft officially decommissioned Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD on October 1, 2022, with no additional copies being sold outside of the bundled Assassin's Creed III Remastered version.[48]

Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry was originally released as downloadable content for most versions of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag in December 2013. A standalone version was released in February 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4.[49] Set thirteen years after the ending of Black Flag, the game follows Adéwalé, a major supporting character from Black Flag, who served as the quartermaster to protagonist Edward Kenway before joining the Assassin Brotherhood towards the end of the main story. During the events of Freedom Cry, Adéwalé finds himself shipwrecked in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti), where he encounters some of the most brutal slavery practices in the West Indies. Being a former slave, Adéwalé temporarily abandons his fight against the Templars and joins a Maroon rebellion to help them rescue oppressed slaves.

Being originally released as DLC for Black Flag, Freedom Cry's gameplay is virtually identical, though it does feature several new additions. Most notably, Adéwalé has the option to rescue slaves by raiding plantations, attacking slave ships, or simply killing their masters, with each freed slave serving as a resource for the player to accumulate to unlock upgrades for Adéwalé. Furthermore, some freed slaves join the Maroon rebellion and can become crew members aboard Adéwalé's ship, the Experto Crede, or help the player fight enemies.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles is sub-series of three 2.5D action and stealth games released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One.[50]

• The first game, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, was originally released as part of Assassin's Creed Unity's season pass on April 21, 2015, but was later made available for purchase separately. Set after the short film Assassin's Creed: Embers, the game follows Shao Jun in Imperial China from 1526 to 1532, as she battles the Templar group Eight Tigers and attempts to rebuild the Chinese Assassin Brotherhood.[51]
• The second game, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India, was released on January 12, 2016. It is set in British India in 1841, two years after the events of the graphic novel Assassin's Creed: Brahman. The game follows Arbaaz Mir, who, while attempting to recover a Precursor artifact from the Templars, becomes caught in a war between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company and must protect his friends and lover.[52]
• The last game, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia, was released on February 9, 2016. It is set in Soviet Russia in 1918, in the aftermath of the October Revolution, and bridges the gap between the comic book Assassin's Creed: The Fall and its graphic novel sequel, Assassin's Creed: The Chain. The game follows Nikolai Orelov as he attempts to protect a Precursor artifact and Grand Duchess Anastasia from the Templars and the Bolsheviks after witnessing the Romanov family's execution.[53]

Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles is a spin-off for the Nintendo DS, Windows Phone, Android, iOS, webOS, Symbian, and Java ME, originally released in February 2008. The game is a prequel to the first Assassin's Creed, taking place in the year 1190, and follows Altaïr as he attempts to retrieve an artifact called the Chalice from the Templars.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines is the second spin-off title following Altaïr. It was released as a PlayStation Portable exclusive in November 2009 (concurrently with Assassin's Creed II) and acts as a direct sequel to the original game. Following the events of Assassin's Creed, Altaïr travels to the island nation of Cyprus to eliminate the last remnants of the Templar Order.[54] Here, he again runs into Maria Thorpe, a young Templar agent whose life he spared in the first game, and they team up to eliminate the Templar presence on the island and learn more about the Apple of Eden and the mysterious Templar Archive, where more Pieces of Eden are believed to be hidden.[55] Despite the technical limitations of the PlayStation Portable, the game features most gameplay mechanics of the console and PC titles, and even a few exclusive elements.[56]

Assassin's Creed II: Discovery is a spin-off to Assassin's Creed II and was released alongside it in November 2009 for the Nintendo DS; it was later re-released for iOS in January 2010. The game is a 2.5D side-scroller, and takes place during the events of Assassin's Creed II, between Sequences 12 and 13 when Ezio is searching for the Apple of Eden after losing it to Girolamo Savonarola. During his search, Ezio travels to Spain to rescue members of the Spanish Assassin Brotherhood who have been arrested on the orders of Tomás de Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, and allies with several historical figures such as Luis de Santángel and Christopher Columbus.

Assassin's Creed Rearmed is a multiplayer video game designed for iOS,[57] and available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.[58] It is the only Assassin's Creed multiplayer driven by an in-game economy.[59] The aim is to assassinate the assigned target and avoid being killed by a hunter.[60] The player can purchase additional items, characters and abilities as well as compete with friends and foes from around the globe in a four player real-time online multiplayer mode.[61] Players can connect via Game Center.[62] It is possible to play against someone in the immediate area via Bluetooth.[63] Available map locations include Jerusalem, San Donato, Venice and Alhambra.[64]

Assassin's Creed Recollection is a real-time board game developed for iOS. Players go head-to-head in real-time political battles with characters from the franchise. Players can unlock a collection of artwork from the series. The game features over 280 Memories, reconnecting with characters from Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. The single-player Story Mode has 10+ hours of gameplay, with 20 missions from Barcelona to Constantinople and 10 challenge missions. In Versus Mode, players can challenge their friends and people worldwide, pitting their strategies and abilities against one another. The game supports Game Center, allowing players to track achievements, challenge friends, and play against the world. Go behind the scenes with the Art Gallery, a collection of artwork from the franchise.[65]

Assassin's Creed: Pirates is a mobile game released on iOS and Android devices on December 5, 2013.[66] Developed by Ubisoft Paris,[67] the game follows Captain Alonzo Batilla, who is neither Assassin nor Templar, as he commands a ship and crew, while crossing paths with the Assassins and Templars.[68] Gameplay focuses on real-time battles between ships. The title is in 3D and features both wind and weather that will affect how players proceed.[69]

Assassin's Creed Memories is a mobile game that was released on iOS devices on August 20, 2014.[70] Developed along with PlayNext and Gree, the game combines card collection and battling, target chasing, and strategy elements, along with the option of competitive multiplayer.[71] Additional multiplayer options include allowing players to join a guild and engage in 20 vs 20 guild combat scenarios. Memories features different historical eras, including the Third Crusade, the Golden Age of Piracy, feudal Japan and the Mongolian Empire.[72]

Assassin's Creed Identity is a game for iOS and Android devices that was released worldwide on February 25, 2016.[73] It is a 3D third-person role-playing video game, and takes place during the events of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.[74] It had a soft-launch in Australia and New Zealand in 2014.[75]

Assassin's Creed Rebellion is a game for iOS and Android devices that was released worldwide on November 21, 2018.[76] It is a free-to-play strategy role-playing video game. It follows the Spanish Assassins under Aguilar de Nerha during the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th-century.[77] The game features a large cast of characters from the entire Assassin's Creed franchise, as well as 30 new characters created exclusively for Rebellion.[78]

• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy was a single-player browser-based role-playing video game Facebook application designed as a promotion and tie-in for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. The game is mostly text-based, but includes graphics and sound as well as some video. The game was shut down and put on indefinite hold.
• Assassin's Creed: Utopia is a cancelled mobile game which was planned to be available on Android and iOS devices.[79][80] The game's story would have led into Assassin's Creed III, though there would have been no links in terms of gameplay.[81] Utopia would have taken place in the 17th century, at the beginning of the colonization of North America.[82] Gameplay would have spanned 150 years of history, to help players "discover how the Assassins influenced history and helped shape the nation's original thirteen colonies".[83] The gameplay involved building a colonial city, and was planned to have more of a "social slant" than any of the earlier games.[84] The Assassins of each colony would have taken on their enemies in "limited time epic battles", and players would have been able to pit their strength against friends in asynchronous 3D brawls.[85]

• Assassin's Creed: Ezio Trilogy: Compilation of Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and Assassin's Creed: Revelations. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 13, 2012.
• Assassin's Creed: Heritage Collection: Compilation of the first five games of the main series into one collection, featuring Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Assassin's Creed III. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 8, 2013.[86]
• Assassin's Creed: The Americas Collection (American title) / Assassin's Creed: Birth of a New World – The American Saga (European title): Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, features Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. It was released for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on October 3, 2014, in Europe and October 28, 2014, in North America. The Windows version is exclusive to Europe.[87]
• Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection: Developed by Virtuos and Ubisoft Montreal, features remastered versions of Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Revelations for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The games feature improved graphics, lighting, effects, and textures, and also include all previously released downloadable content for the single-player. In addition, the bundle features the short films Assassin's Creed: Embers and Assassin's Creed: Lineage. The collection was released on November 15, 2016, to mixed reviews,[88][89] being generally criticized for its minimal graphical enhancements, the gameplay for feeling dated, the capped 30 frames per second, and the absence of the multiplayer game modes in Brotherhood and Revelations.[90][91] A Nintendo Switch version was released in February 2022.[92]
• Assassin's Creed: Rebel Collection: Contains Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and the remastered version of Assassin's Creed Rogue, along with all previously released downloadable content. It was released on December 6, 2019, for the Nintendo Switch.[93]

Asked about the future of the series in 2009, Sébastien Puel from Ubisoft said that "we could do 35 of these [Assassin's Creed games]",[94] while Laurent Detoc later said "we hope to reach Assassin's Creed 10".[95]

In November 2011, a Ubisoft survey was sent out, asking participants which locations and time periods they would like to see in the "next Assassin's Creed games". These settings were Medieval China, Victorian England, Ancient Egypt, the Portuguese and/or Spanish Invasion of the Americas, the American Revolution, the Russian Revolution, Feudal Japan, and Ancient Rome.[96] Alex Hutchinson, creative director of Assassin's Creed III, suggested the most requested Assassin's Creed settings, World War II, Feudal Japan and Ancient Egypt, are "the three worst settings for an Assassin's Creed game".[97] However, Hutchinson stated both he and Corey May were open to the idea of a future entry set during the time of the British Raj,[98] which now consists of the modern states of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, and India. Victorian England, the American Revolution, Medieval China, parts of the British Raj, the Russian Revolution, and Ancient Egypt were subsequently used for Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed Chronicles, and Assassin's Creed Origins, respectively, with World War I appearing as a section of Syndicate, World War II as an easter egg in Unity, and part of Ancient Rome appearing briefly in Origins. Feudal Japan is expected to be the setting of an upcoming game, Assassin's Creed: Codename Red.

Assassin's Creed Mirage is an upcoming game for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Luna, expected to release in 2023. Set in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age, it will follow the character Basim Ibn Ishaq, introduced in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and his transition from street thief to Hidden One, a few decades before the events of Valhalla. The game also intends to return to the series' roots by focusing on stealth, parkour, and assassinations over the role-playing elements featured heavily in recent installments.

In early 2022, it was reported that a new Assassin's Creed game, titled or code-named Rift, was in development and expected to launch in late 2022 or early 2023. According to various leaks and reports, the game started out as an expansion for Valhalla starring Basim and was intended to be more akin to older games in the series, featuring a smaller setting and a bigger focus on stealth gameplay.[99][100] The game was officially confirmed by Ubisoft as Assassin's Creed Mirage on September 1, 2022,[101] followed by a full announcement during the Ubisoft Forward online event on September 10.[12]

Assassin's Creed: Codename Jade is an upcoming title for mobile devices which is expected to feature the same open world style of gameplay as the main console and PC games in the series, albeit on a much smaller scale. The game is set in ancient China, during the Qin dynasty in the 3rd century BC.[102]

Following another round of sexual misconduct allegations and internal investigation across Ubisoft in 2020 and 2021, which saw the departure of many top-level executives as well as attrition from its studios, Ubisoft opted to merge operations of the Montreal and Quebec studios under one administrative body in April 2021, with Quebec taking the lead on the Assassin's Creed series. This led to a collaboration to develop the most ambitious game in the series yet, a live-service title codenamed Assassin's Creed Infinity.[103] Infinity will be similar to Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto Online in that it will be more of a service, rather than a game, intended to be an entry point for future Assassin's Creed titles for players as well as to simplify the development of these games across Ubisoft's studios.[104][103][105]

Marc-Alexis Côté, from Quebec, will serve as Infinity's executive producer.[106] According to Cotê, Infinity will be used to present the modern-day setting of the Assassin's Creed games involving the Animus, while each game will be focused on the historical setting.[107] Clint Hocking and Jonathan Dumont will serve as the creative directors, with Dumont and Hocking leading the Quebec and Montreal divisions, respectively.[106] Etienne Allonier and Julien Laferriere, both from Montreal, will serve as brand director and senior producer, respectively.[106]

Assassin's Creed: Codename Red was announced at Ubisoft Forward in September 2022 as the next major Assassin's Creed game to take place during the Feudal Japan period. Cotê said the game will let players live out a "very powerful shinobi fantasy". The title is being helmed by Ubisoft Quebec and will be the first game to be included in Infinity.[10]

Assassin's Creed: Codename Hexe was also announced in September 2022 as the next flagship title in the series, following Codename Red, and the second game to be included in Infinity. Development is being led by Clint Hocking at Ubisoft Montreal. Cotê described the title as "a very different type of Assassin's Creed game".[11] While little on its setting was shown in its initial trailer, Bloomberg News reported that the game is set in Central Europe during the 16th century, at the height of the Holy Roman Empire, and will focus on witch hunts and other paranormal fears.[108]

In September 2020, at the digital event of Facebook Connect, Ubisoft Red Storm Entertainment's VP of Product Development, Elizabeth Loverso, revealed several AAA game franchises coming to virtual reality format to the public. Two of the projects announced were an untitled Assassin's Creed game and an untitled installment from Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (also developed by Ubisoft), with both titles set to release exclusively for Oculus platforms.[109] This is not the first Assassin's Creed title coming to VR, but is the first to be available in public. On July 21, 2022, the Splinter Cell VR game was cancelled.[110]

A live-action film, Assassin's Creed, set in the same universe as the video games and other media,[116] was released on December 21, 2016.[117] Development for the film began in October 2011, when Sony Pictures entered final negotiations with Ubisoft Motion Pictures to make the film.[118] In July 2012, Michael Fassbender was announced to star in the film, as well as co-produce the film.[119] His role was revealed in August 2015 as Callum Lynch, whose ancestor Aguilar, is an Assassin from 15th-century Spain.[120] In October 2012, Ubisoft revealed the film would no longer be produced by Sony Pictures, instead co-produced with New Regency and distributed by 20th Century Fox.[121] In January 2013, Michael Lesslie was hired to write the film,[122] with Scott Frank, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage performing rewrites to the script.[123][124] By the end of April 2014, Justin Kurzel was in talks to direct.[125] Principal photography began on August 31, 2015,[120][126][127] and ended on January 15, 2016.[128] The film was poorly received by critics and performed poorly at the box office, losing an estimated $75 to $100 million and becoming one of the biggest box office bombs of 2016.[129][130][131]

Assassin's Creed: Lineage is a 36-minute film made to promote Assassin's Creed II.[132] The film, released in three parts on YouTube across 2009, was the first step by Ubisoft into the film industry.[133] Lineage serves as a prequel to Assassin's Creed II, exploring the life of Ezio's father Giovanni Auditore and his career as an Assassin in 15th-century Italy. Following the mysterious assassination of Duke of Milan Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1476, Giovanni sets out to find those responsible, leading him him to uncover a larger conspiracy masterminded by the Templars and their Grand Master, Rodrigo Borgia.[134]

Originally named Secret Project Number Three,[135] Ascendance is an animated short by UbiWorkshop and Ubisoft Montreal, which bridges the gap between Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.[136] Set during the events of Brotherhood, it shows Ezio meeting with a hooded man (revealed at the end of the film to be Leonardo da Vinci) to gather information about Cesare Borgia. Most of the film revolves around Cesare's backstory and rise to power in Italy, as narrated by Leonardo to Ezio. The animated short was revealed by UbiWorkshop on November 10, 2010.[137] It was released on November 16, 2010, for Xbox Live, PlayStation Store and iTunes Store.[138]

Assassin's Creed: Embers is a 21-minute animated film included in the Signature and Collector's Editions of Assassin's Creed: Revelations; it was later re-released on the PlayStation Store in April 2015. The film serves as an epilogue to Ezio's story, depicting the final days of his life after he retired from the Assassin Brotherhood and started a family. When a mysterious Chinese assassin named Shao Jun arrives to seek his help and guidance, Ezio must fight to protect his loved ones one last time.

Assassin's Creed Volume 1: Desmond is a French-language graphic novel written by Eric Corbeyran and drawn by Djilalli Defaux. It has been released in France, Canada, Belgium, Poland, and Italy. The comic book was published on November 13, 2009, a few days before Assassin's Creed II was released.[139] An English language version was released on October 30, 2012.[140] The story is a retelling of the events from Assassin's Creed and the beginning of Assassin's Creed II, mostly from Desmond's modern perspective, and reveals certain details not covered in any of the games, such as Lucy being the one who kidnapped Desmond for the Templars. It also features Subject 16 (referred to as Michael) and one of Desmond's ancestors, a 3rd century Roman Assassin named Aquilus. However, the events depicted in the novel contradict certain aspects of the games' storyline, and they are therefore considered non-canon.[141]

Assassin's Creed Volume 2: Aquilus is a French-language graphic novel written by Eric Corbeyran and drawn by Djilalli Defaux.The story continues from the events of Volume 1, as Desmond, Lucy, Rebecca, Shaun, and other Assassins head to a new hideout in Monteriggioni while avoiding Abstergo agents sent to hunt them down. It also continues the story of Aquilus, who comes across a mysterious artifact built by the First Civilization: an ankh which can temporarily revive the dead. The novel was released on November 12, 2010.[142] An English language version was released on October 30, 2012.[143]

Assassin's Creed, Volume 3: Accipiter is the third volume of the French graphic novels. The story focuses on both Desmond and fellow Assassin Jonathan Hawk as they continue to relive the memories of their ancestors, Aquilus and his cousin Accipiter, respectively. It was released on November 10, 2011.[144] An English language version was released on October 30, 2012.[145]

Assassin's Creed, Volume 4: Hawk is the fourth volume of the French graphic novels. It is centered on the story of Jonathan Hawk and his Egyptian ancestor Numa Al'Khamsin, a member of the Assassins in the 14th century. It was released on November 16, 2012.[146] An English language version was released on November 12, 2013 in the US and November 15, 2013 in the UK.[147]

Assassin's Creed, Volume 5: El Cakr is the fifth volume of the French graphic novels. It is centered on the story of Jonathan Hawk and his Egyptian ancestor Numa Al'Khamsin, also known as "El Cakr". It was released on October 31, 2013.[148] An English language version was released on November 18, 2014 in the US and November 21, 2014 in the UK.[149]

Assassin's Creed, Volume 6: Leila is the sixth volume of the French graphic novels. It is centered on the story of Jonathan Hawk and his Egyptian ancestor Numa Al'Khamsin, also known as "El Cakr". It is the last installment in the Egyptian trilogy. It was released on October 31, 2014.[150] An English language version was released on November 17, 2015 in the US and November 20, 2015 in the UK.[151]

Assassin's Creed: Conspiracies is a two-part story published in French by Les Deux Royaumes. Following the end of the first cycle by Corbeyran and Defali, this new story is written by Guillaume Dorison and illustrated by Jean-Baptiste Hostache. The first of the two volumes saw a release in October 2016. Conspiracies is set during World War II, featuring the race for the Atomic Bomb, and follows a new Assassin hero who influences the course of history in 1943.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone is a two-part graphic novel series published in French by Les Deux Royaumes, written by Guillaume Dorison, and illustrated by Ennio Bufi. The first volume was released on 29 March 2019. The modern-day story follows on from Assassin's Creed: Conspiracies.

In July 2010, Ubisoft announced a three-part comic book mini-series set in the world of Assassin's Creed as a part of their UbiWorkshop initiative.[152] Ubisoft has hired illustrators Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl, both winners of multiple comic book awards.[153] The first issue of the series was released on November 10, 2010, the second part on December 1, 2010. It was published by WildStorm.[154] The story alternates between the perspectives of Nikolai Orelov, an Assassin in 19th and 20th-century Russia, and his descendant Daniel Cross, a recovering alcoholic who involuntarily experiences Nikolai's memories.

The Chain is the graphic novel sequel to The Fall and the conclusion of Nikolai Orelov's story. Like The Fall, it also includes a framing story focused on Daniel Cross, now a fully-fledged member of the Templar Order. It was released on August 9, 2012.[155]

Brahman is a graphic novel written by Brendan Fletcher with art by Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl. The story follows Arbaaz Mir, an Assassin from 19th-century British India, and his present-day descendant Monima Das, as well as her fiancé, Jot Soora. It was released on October 30, 2013, in North America.[156]

Assassin's Creed: Assassins is a comic series published by Titan Comics. While it was an ongoing series, it had a planned duration of at least three years, the first issue was released in October 2015. However, in 2016, Titan announced that after its fourteenth issue, Assassins along with its companion series, Templars, would be relaunched with a different creative team as a new title: Assassin's Creed: Uprising.

The first story arc of the series (issues #1 - #5) takes place in the late 17th century, during the Salem witch trials, with the parallel modern-day part featuring an espionage tale. The five issues were later collected and published as a trade paperback, Assassin's Creed Volume 1: Trial by Fire. The second story arc (#6 - #10) takes place during the Inca Empire in the past, running parallel with the modern-day story featuring Erudito. It was later published as Assassin's Creed Volume 2: Setting Sun. The third story arc (#11 - #14) takes place in Florence during the early 16th century, running parallel with a modern-day story again featuring Erudito. It was later published as Assassin's Creed Volume 3: Homecoming.

Assassin's Creed: Templars was a comic book series from Titan Comics. Written by Fred Van Lente and illustrated by Dennis Calero, the series debuted its first issue in March 2016. The first arc of the series focuses on the Templar Order, with its modern-day story set in November 2013, while the historical story takes place in Shanghai in 1927 and follows a Templar known as the Black Cross. The second and final arc has its modern-day story set in 2016, following Juhani Otso Berg and Albert Bolden living through his descendants' memories in 1805 using the Animus. In October 2016, Titan announced that after its ninth issue, Templars, alongside its sister series, Assassins, would be relaunched with a new creative team as Assassin's Creed: Uprising.

Assassin's Creed: Uprising is a comic book series published by Titan Comics. The comic is written by Dan Watters and Alex Paknadel and illustrated by José Holder, with the first issue released in February 2017. It is a continuation of the Assassins and Templars series and concludes the story arc from the video games involving Juno.

Assassin's Creed: Awakening is a manga adaptation of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.[157]

Makoto Yukimura drew a 7-page crossover manga chapter between Assassin's Creed Valhalla and his series Vinland Saga that was uploaded to Ubisoft's website on October 23, 2020.[158]

Assassin's Creed: Renaissance is a novelization of Assassin's Creed II, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on November 20, 2009, in the United Kingdom and on February 23, 2010, in the United States. The novel changes several elements from the game, and also omits the entire modern-day storyline, focusing entirely on Ezio and his journey as an Assassin.[159]

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a novelization of the game of the same name, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on November 25, 2010, in the United Kingdom and on November 30, in the United States. Like the previous novel in the series, Brotherhood changes several elements from the game and does not include any of the modern-day events involving Desmond.

Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade is the third novel in the Assassin's Creed series, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on June 23, 2011, in the United Kingdom, and on June 28 in the United States..[160] The novel tells the entire life story of Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad, as narrated by Niccolò Polo in his journal, and adapts events from Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, and Assassin's Creed: Revelations.[161]

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is a novelization of the game of the same name, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on November 24, 2011, in the United Kingdom and on November 29, in the United States. The novel only adapts the game's events involving Ezio, omitting Altaïr's and Desmond's storylines, and also includes a retelling of the final years of Ezio's life.[162]

Assassin's Creed: Forsaken is the fifth novel in the Assassin's Creed series, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on December 4, 2012. While based on Assassin's Creed III, it is not a direct adaptation, instead covering the life of Haytham Kenway before and during the events of the game.[163]

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag is a novelization of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on November 26, 2013. Similarly to Forsaken, the novel is presented as the journal of its point of view character, Edward Kenway, and covers his life before, during, and after the events of the game.

Assassin's Creed: Unity is the seventh novel in the Assassin's Creed series, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on November 20, 2014, in the United Kingdom and on December 2 in the United States. Based on the game of the same name, the novel alternates between the perspectives of Arno Dorian and Élise de la Serre.

Assassin's Creed Underworld is the eighth novel in the Assassin's Creed series, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on November 5, 2015, in the United Kingdom and December 1, in the United States. Based on Assassin's Creed Syndicate, the novel primarily focuses on the character Jayadeep Mir before he adopted the identity of Henry Green six years before the events depicted in the game. However, the final third of the book includes a novelization of Syndicate's story and alternates between the perspectives of Henry and the Frye twins.[164]

Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization is the ninth book in the Assassin's Creed series, written by Christie Golden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on December 21, 2016, on the same day as the live-action Assassin's Creed film, which it adapts. In addition to retelling the film's events, the novel also includes an anthology of short stories from Nathan, Emir, Moussa, Lin, and their respective ancestors, and an excerpt from Assassin's Creed: Heresy.

Assassin's Creed: Desert Oath is a continuation of the Assassin's Creed book series, written by Oliver Bowden and published by Penguin Books. It was released on October 10, 2017. The novel serves as a prequel to Assassin's Creed Origins, describing Bayek's early life and how he followed in the footsteps of his father, Sabu, to become a Medjay and more.[165] It also explains how and why the Medjay bloodline was eventually erased by the Order of the Ancients.[166]

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey is a novelization of the game of the same name, written by Gordon Doherty and published by Ace Books. It was released on October 30, 2018. The novel tells one of the possible story paths of the game featuring Kassandra, who is identified as the canon protagonist.

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga is a continuation of in the Assassin's Creed book series, written by Matthew J. Kirby and published by Penguin Books. It was released on November 10, 2020. While based on Asssassin's Creed Valhalla, it does not follow the events of the game, instead telling the story of the Viking Geirmund Hel-hide within roughly the same time frame as Valhalla.

UbiWorkshop released an encyclopedia of the Assassin's Creed series in 2011. Initially intended as an art book, the project gathered so much material that the company decided to expand it into an encyclopedia. It features works of artists, such as Craig Mullins, Tavis Coburn, 123Klan, Gabz and James NG. Artists were given creative freedom, as they were able to create a unique Assassin from the period of their choosing. The art book contains a "carte blanche" section, which is going to contain fan-submitted artwork.[167][168]

In November 2012, to coincide with the release of Assassin's Creed III, UbiWorkshop released a second edition of the encyclopedia.[169] This Edition contained an additional 120 pages of content, covering both Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed: The Chain, as well as revised content based on feedback.[170]

The Third Edition of the Assassin's Creed: Encyclopedia is an updated hardcover edition incorporating information of characters and events from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed: Brahman along with new artwork and concept art. It was released worldwide on November 11, 2013, and includes 390 pages of new content and a revised version of the second edition, which is also available to purchase from UbiWorkshop.[171]

Assassin's Creed Gold is an Audible audio drama by Anthony del Col, released February 27, 2020. The four-hour drama follows a card shark and hustler called Ailyah Khan (Tamara Lawrence), who is enlisted by Gavin Banks (John Chancer) to relive the memories of 17th century Assassin Omar Khaled (Riz Ahmed). The production also features the voices of Anthony Head, as Isaac Newton, and Danny Wallace, who reprises his series role as Shaun Hastings.[172]