Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Franchise covers many grounds over the course of 18 years. The Assassin Templar conflict has earned players across five continents, ranging from ancient Greece to Victorian London, spanning two to three hundred years of history over the course of 13 mainline games.
With the upcoming release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we have compiled this timeline for Assassin’s Creed Timeline so far. This timeline only includes the Mainline Assassin’s Creed game. Spin-off games are not included in this list as they are not important to the ongoing assassin belief stories.
Jump:
How many Assassin’s Creed games are there?
Currently, the main series has 14 Assassin’s Creed games and 17 additional spinoff games. Outside of video games, there is also the Assassin’s Creed Board game and the Assassin’s Creed TV series, which is currently being worked on on Netflix.
Which Assassin’s Creed Games should you play first?
There are quite a few places you can start on the Assassin’s Creed timeline. I personally recommend you choose a game set in the most interesting times. That being said, it is hard to deny that the original Ezio trilogy (Assassin’s Creed 2, Brotherhood, Revelation) has the best writings in the series. If you’re interested in more recent games, Black Flag is a solid entry point with sailor pirate gameplay, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey allows you to dive into the world of ancient Greeks.
How to play the Assassin Creed Game in turn
There are two ways to view the Assassin’s Creed Chronology. First: in the order of the modern storyline of the game. This option makes sense given that the connected stories of each mainline game are currently being notified. The current story progresses in chronological order with each release. So if you want to play the game like this, scroll down to the section on how to play Assassin’s Creed Games on each release date. If you’re committed to playing throughout the franchise, this is the order we recommend. This is the best way to experience the evolution of franchises from stealth action games to open world RPGs, following a comprehensive story.
The second option (details below) presents the game in turn in a historic environment. These stories are less intertwined than modern counterparts, but they are places where they spend most of their assassinian beliefs. This is a more interesting issue than a practical play guide.
Assassin Creed Games play games in chronological order
With the newcomers in the series in mind, it is included only in the brief plot summary below Mild Spoilers A wide range of plot points, historical settings, and introductions to characters.
1. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (431 BC, 422 BC)
- Primary settings: Ancient Greece
- Historical hero:Cassandra or Alexios
- Modern hero:Layla Hassan
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has expanded the RPG elements introduced in Origins, set nearly 400 years before the other mainline games, completing the genre turn from stealth-based action to Open-World RPG.
You play as Cassandra or Alexios. The grandson of King Leonidas I. Odyssey of Sparta was set during the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens, and features important historical figures from that era, including Hippocrates, Socrates, and Plato. It weaves in the history of the era with its myths and introduces creatures such as the Sphinx, Cyclops, and Medusa.
The Odyssey is set before the formation of the assassins and the Order of Templars, but it features an important Eden* in Leonidas’ spear.
*The fragments of Eden are powerful technical artifacts created by the precursor competition of beings known as the first civilization. Eden and the First Civilization are constants throughout the mainline game that connect the storylines of the past and modern times.
2. The origins of the Assassin’s Creed (49-44 BC)
- Primary settings: Ancient Egypt
- Historical hero: Shiva’s Bayek
- Modern hero:Layla Hassan
After releasing a new Assassin’s Creed game every year from 2009 to 2015, Ubisoft introduced RPG mechanics in 2017 with Assassin’s Creed Origins, a soft reboot of the franchise, and the first game of the series.
Origins is primarily set in ancient Egypt during the reigns of Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra, but its historical inspiration extends to the rule of Rome and Julius Caesar. The stories of the beliefs of many assassins begin as stories of vengeance, but only unfold into a massive tale of political plots. Origins follows this pattern. The death of Bayek and Aya’s sons serve as a driving force in their journey, but as the story progresses, the duo reveals a prototempura organization called the Order of the Ancients, and ultimately forms the hidden one, the first carnation of the assassins.
Meanwhile, the modern story introduces Layla Hassan, who serves as the current protagonist of Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla.
3. Assassin’s Creed Mirage (861 – ???)
- Primary settings: 9th century Baghdad
- Historical hero:Basim Ibn Ishaq
- Modern hero:n/a
Released in 2023, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the latest installment in the series. Mirage is a $50 stealthy adventure designed as a “homage to the first Assassin’s Creed game” rather than a full-price open-world RPG. Ubisoft describes it as “a shorter and more story-driven game than the series’ recent entries.”
Assassin’s Creed Mirage stars 17-year-old Basim Ibn Ishak, a street thief with a “nightmare vision” that plays an important role in Assassin’s Creed Barhalla. Mirage escapes Baghdad with the guidance of his leader, Roshan, and with the guidance of Baghdad, fleeing towards the Fortress of the hidden man Alamute.
Unlike other entries on this list, Mirage doesn’t make the current storyline stand out. Check out our full review of Assassin’s Creed Mirage for more information.
4. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (872–878)
- Primary settings: 9th century England and Norway
- Historical hero:Eivor Varinsson/Varinsdottir
- Modern hero:Layla Hassan
Assassin’s Creed’s Valhalla is a series venture into Scandinavian history and mythology. It’s the biggest game in the series. The average time to complete the main story is 60 hours. This is how much time it takes (15 hours longer than the next biggest Odyssey). Like Odyssey, Valhalla integrates the history of its environment with mythology, introducing real-life characters, King Harald Fairhair, King Elfred the Great Roro, and mythical figures such as Fenrir and Odin.
It continues the conflict between the hidden and the ancient order, balancing the more personal story of Aver and the pilgrimage of their clans from Norway in the Resources Bahren to the more fertile lands of England.
The modern story seems to close out Leila Hassan’s three-game arc.
5. Assassin’s Creed (1191)
- Primary settings: Holy Lands of the 12th Century (Acres, Damascus, Jerusalem)
- Historical hero:Altair Ibn’la-Ahad
- Modern hero: Desmond Mile
The first assassin’s belief takes place 300 years after Valhalla and introduces Altair Ibn’la-Ahad, the original protagonist of the series. Assassin’s Creed laid the foundation for the franchise’s next 15 years of success, laying the foundation for the story of the assassin Templar, who simultaneously hacks, while introducing basic gameplay elements such as climbing and assassination.
It presents important narrative concepts like Eden and Animus, an in-space device that allows the modern protagonists of each game to relive the memories of their historical counterparts via DNA.
Past stories show the conflict between the modern assassin Templars, during the third crusade, while the current stories showcase the conflict between Desmond Miles and Templar, a modern assassin that runs through AC III.
6. Assassin’s Creed II (1476–1499)
- Primary settings: 15th century Italy
- Historical hero: Ezio Auditor of Florence
- Modern hero: Desmond Mile
Assassin’s Creed 2 introduced the longest protagonist of the series, Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. Favorite among Assassin’s Creed Fans, Ezio’s story was run from AC II in 2009 to AC: Evelations in 2011.
Ezio aims to revenge the deaths of his father and brother, but his vengeful hunt leads him to reveal a greater plot, placing him at the heart of the battle between the assassins and the Knights Templars. Assassin’s Creed II brings players from all over Italy, from Florence to the Vatican, introducing Eggio to historical figures such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccoloma Cabelli and Pope Alexander VI.
Today, Desmond begins his work with assassins.
7. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (1499–1507)
- Primary settings: Italy in the 15th to 16th centuries
- Historical hero: Ezio Auditor of Florence
- Modern hero: Desmond Mile
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is an AC II continuation in both past and modern storylines. The fallout from AC II creates a new antagonist of Egio, embarking on another vengeance quest while working to rebuild Rome’s weakened assassin guild and reclaim the Apples of Eden.
Today, Desmond and modern assassins are heading to Italy in search of the same Eden in Eden that will help prevent the prophesied edge of the world.
8. Assassin’s Creed: Revelation (1511–1512)
- Primary settings: 16th century Constantinople
- Historical hero: Ezio Auditor of Florence
- Modern hero: Desmond Mile
Ezio Trilogy’s conclusion connects the story of an Italian assassin with his predecessor, Altair. Old Ezio travels to Constantinople in search of Altair’s hidden library, which was thought to contain valuable wisdom. In Constantinople, Egio searches for the keys needed to open the library. Each has important memories in Altair’s life. The revelation of the Assassin’s beliefs ultimately reveals Egio’s role in the broader AC story.
Currently coma Desmond is trapped in Animus, where he works with past Animus users to escape the “black room” and return to consciousness.
The Revelation features one of the best trailers (above) for the series, first published at E3 in 2011.
9. Shadow of the Assassin’s Creed (1581)
- Primary settings: Feudal Japan
- Historical hero: Naoe and Yasuke
- Modern hero: n/a
The latest Assassin’s Creed game heads to feudal Japan during the late civil war. Assassin’s Creed Shadows features dual protagonists, each with unique gameplay, but Ubisoft emphasizes that players will just play one route and not miss it. Yasuke is an African mercenary who will become Samurai serving Oda nobunaga. The service leads him to IGA state, home to Naoe, who is a ninja, and the tragedy brings the two together in a quest for vengeance.
Like Mirage, Shadows doesn’t have its own modern protagonist. Instead, the new game will match the release of Animus Hub. This will bring Assassin’s Creed Franchise to a single platform and add a reward system to the game.
10. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (1715–1722)
- Primary settings18th century Caribbean Islands
- Historical hero: Edward Kenway
- Modern hero:Unknown Abstergo employee
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag remembers best for introducing the series’ naval gameplay. It is set from the second century of Ezio’s trilogy about 40 years before the previously released Assassin’s Creed III.
Black Flag stars Edward Kenway, the 18th century pirate and grandfather of AC III protagonist Connor Kenway. It features notorious real-life pirates of that era, including Edward Thatch (Blackbeard), Benjamin Hornigold and Mary Reed. We will also introduce Adéwalé, the protagonist of Standaron Spinoff Freedom Cry, who has switched to DLC. After killing the assassin without his knowledge, Edward finds himself caught up in the conflict of the assassin Templar and in the hunt for the first civilization site known as the Observatory.
The modern story stars an unknown Abstergo employee who is tasked with relating Connor’s life to create the film (but of course, Abstergo’s true intentions are more malicious).
11. Assassin’s Creedrogue (1752–1760)
- Primary settings: 18th century Northeast America
- Historical hero: Shay Patrick Cormac
- Modern hero: Abstergo employee “Numbskull”
Assassin’s Creed Rogue serves as a narrative bridge between AC III and AC IV. Starring Irish-American assassin Shay Patrick Cormack, the Knights Templar hunted Eden. Master Haythom Kenway of the Knights of Templar, son of AC 4’s protagonist Edward and father of AC III’s protagonist Connor, appears throughout the story.
Currently, you are bidding for the modern Knights of Templar as another Abstergo employee called “Numbskull.”
12. Assassin’s Creed III (1754–1783)
- Primary settings: 18th century colonial America
- Historical hero: Ratonhnhaké “Connor” Kenway
- Modern hero: Desmond Mile
Following a 1754 set sequence to play as Haythem Kenway, Assassin’s Creed 3 begins in earnest with Haythem’s son Raton hnhaké: Ton, aka Connor. Set primarily during the American Revolution, Connor is trying to protect his tribes from the Templars from the magnificent temples of the first civilization from the Knights of Templars.
AC III features historical figures such as George Washington, Sam Adams, Charlesley, and Benjamin Franklin.
The current story concludes Desmond’s arc, where he and other modern assassins gather at the aforementioned Grand Temple to prevent the end of the world prophesied on December 21, 2012.
13. Assassin’s Creed Unity (1789–1794)
- Primary settings18th century France
- Historical hero: Shay Patrick Cormac
- Modern hero: Nameless helix player
Assassin’s Creed Unity features scenes ranging from 1307 to the mid-1900s, but was primarily set at the height of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1794.
Historical figures included Napoleon Bonaparte, Marquise de Sadet and King Louis XVI.
Unity’s modern tales are one of the most memorable as they completely removed gameplay in favour of cutscenes and ultimately proved insignificant to the ongoing story. Abstergo’s animus-driven gaming software created to play as a gamer playing helix, push Templar propaganda and collect the DNA of unsuspecting users.
14. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (1868)
- Primary settingsVictorian London
- Historical hero: Jacob and Evie Fry
- Modern hero: Nameless helix player
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate clears controls of the Knights Templar while searching for dual protagonists Jacob and Evie Fry, and the Twin Assassin Eden. Certain side missions extend the timeline to World War I, but the majority of the syndicate is set in 1868. Notable historical figures include Alexander Graham Bell, Charles Darwin, Future Sequences and Winston Churchill.
The Syndicate stars the same modern character as Unity, who works with the assassin to find another Eden in London.
How to play Assassin’s Creed game by release date
- Assassin’s Creed (2007)
- Assassin’s Creed II (2009)
- Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (2010)
- Assassin’s Creed: Revelation (2011)
- Assassin’s Creed III / Liberation (2012)
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag/Freedom Cry (2013)
- Assassin’s Creedrogue (2014)
- Assassin’s Creed Unity (2014)
- Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (2015)
- Assassin’s Creed Origins (2017)
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (2018)
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (2020)
- Assassin’s Creed Mirage (2023)
- Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR (2023)
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024)
Upcoming Assassin’s Creed Games
Ubisoft’s latest AC game is Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which will be released on March 20th. There is no information about future mainline games, but according to Ubisoft’s CEO, there are several remakes of the old Assassin’s Creed Games in development.
As far as we know, the live-action Assassin’s Creed Show is still in work on Netflix, but Tencent’s mobile-only title Assassin’s Creed Jade was late in 2025.
Jordan has covered games, shows and films as a freelance writer for Passthecontroller.
