Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed franchise is huge, and only continuing to grow. What began as a complex game series spanning both the past and the present now spans books, comics and is soon to be a major motion picture.
With so many plotlines and characters, following the entire Assassin's Creed story isn't easy. That's why we've compiled this complete chronology of the Assassin's Creed universe. We've put each game in order according to its historical date, making note of "present day" plot lines when needed.
And this is just the beginning. New games in the franchise arrive every year, and if the upcoming film starring Michael Fassbender is a success, more movies may be on the horizon as well. So take the opportunity to brush up on the history of the war between Assassin and Templar. Trust us, you'll need it in the years to come.
Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles (Game)
Year: 1190
Setting: Middle East during The Third Crusade
Altair, after arriving back in the Holy Land following a perilous journey, is thrust into a quest for an ancient relic known as the Chalice. It is said that whoever possesses this artifact will end the crusade, whether it be the Templars or the Saracens. The chalice turns out to actually be a woman named Adha, who is kidnapped by the Templars.
Assassin's Creed (Game)
Year: 1191
Setting: Middle East during The Third Crusade
Altair, demoted to the rank of novice, must prove himself to his master and the Order of Assassins by eliminating nine key leaders in on both sides of the war. As he does so, Altiar learns of a mysterious artifact known as a Piece of Eden, a relic from an ancient civilization that has the power to create illusions and brainwash the masses.
Altair learns the leader of the Assassins is actually a Templar, and used the Assassin order to eliminate his rivals so that he could use the Piece of Eden for himself, bringing an end to all conflict by using the Piece of Eden's power to subjugate the world. Altair kills his master and takes the Piece of Eden for himself, in the process revealing a holographic map of the world containing the locations of additional Piece's of Eden hidden throughout the globe.
In the modern day, Desmond Miles has been captured by Abstergo Industries, a modern day front for the Templars who are attempting to find Pieces of Eden by exploring the genetic memories of those who have Assassin ancestors using a device known as the Animus.
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (Game)
Year: 1191
Setting: Middle East during The Third Crusade
Shortly after the events of Assassin's Creed, Altair takes Maria Thrope, the former stewardess of Templar Grand Master Robert de Sable, prisoner. Together the two investigate Templar activity on the island of Cyprus, eventually finding a Templar archive that is a treasure trove of knowledge and ancient artifacts.
Assassin's Creed (Movie)
Year: Sometime in the 1400s
Setting: Spain
Callum Lynch discovers he is the descendant of a 15th century Assassin Aguilar, and relives his genetic memories of his ancestor while battling the Templars in the present day.
Assassin's Creed: Lineage (Web Movie)
Year: 1476
Setting: Italian Renaissance
Giovanni Auditore, Ezio's father, investigates the mysterious assassination of the Duke of Milan and first learns about Rodrigo Borgia's conspiracy.
Assassin's Creed II (Game)
Year: 1476
Setting: Italian Renaissance
Ezio Auditore joins the Assassin order after his father and brothers are executed, betrayed by a family friend who is revealed to be a Templar. On his quest for revenge Ezio follows Rodrigo Borgia, who eventually becomes Pope Alexander VI, to gain access to an ancient Vault said to be housed underneath the Vatican.
Upon defeating Borgia and claiming the two Pieces of Eden needed to open the Vault, Ezio opens it to find a holographic figure named Minerva, who tells him of an ancient civilization that existed before recorded history but was wiped out by a cataclysmic event. This ancient civilization created humans as a slave race to do manual labor, but humans eventually rebelled and became engaged in a long war with their creators. Those from the ancient precursor race who survived the event then set out to rebuild the world and ensure the same catastrophe would never strike again.
In the present, Desmond Miles is rescued from Abstergo by modern-day Assassins. Once rescued, Desmond continues to explore the memories of his ancestor Ezio, all the while learning the skills of an Assassin thanks to "the bleeding effect" from having used the Animus.
Assassin's Creed II: Discovery (Game)
Year: 1491
Setting: Italian Renaissance
Ezio travels to Spain during the events of Assassin's Creed II to help rebuild the Assassin brotherhood there.
Assassin's Creed: Ascendance (Animated Movie)
Year: 1500
Setting: Italian Renaissance
Ezio meets with Leonardo da Vinci to learn about the Pope's son, Cesare Borgia, with Ezio vowing to end Cesare Borgia's corrupt rule over Rome.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Game)
Year: 1506
Setting: The Italian Renaissance
Ezio begins to rebuild the Assassin order in Rome, all the while looking to stop the influence of the powerful Templar family of the Borgias.
In the present, Desmond and the modern Assassins hunt for the Pieces of Eden Ezio hid. Desmond and the group eventually discover a precursor temple housing the Piece of Eden, only for time to stop. Desmond is then controlled by a precursor named Juno, who uses Desmond's hidden blade to stab his longtime ally Lucy, a fellow Assassin who had helped free Desmond from Abstergo.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Game)
Year: 1511
Setting: The Middle East
Ezio travels to the stronghold of Altair seeking answers, eventually discovering what happened to the founder of the modern Assassin order and finding a Piece of Eden. In the present, Desmond uses Ezio's memories to recover from a coma after stabbing Lucy. The location of a "Grand Temple" crafted by the precursors for the purpose of preventing the global catastrophe is revealed.
Assassin's Creed: Embers (Animated Movie)
Year: 1524
Setting: Italian Renaissance
An elderly Ezio is visited by the Chinese Assassin Shao Jun, who seeks his advice and wisdom. It is later revealed that Shao is on the run from servants of the Chinese Emperor. With Ezio's help the two Assassin's kill those seeking Shao, with Ezio gifting her a small box before sending her on her way. Ezio later dies from heart issues while visiting Florence with his family.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China (Game)
Year: 1526
Setting: China
Shao Jun returns home to China to exact vengeance against the Templars who destroyed the Chinese Assassin brotherhood.
Assassin's Creed: Trial by Fire (Comic)
Year: 1692
Setting: Colonial New England
Assassin Tom Stoddard witnesses the events of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, along with fellow Assassin Jennifer Querry. The two learn that the Templars believe the sudden "illness" of Dorothy Osbourne may have been the result of exposure to a Piece of Eden. The Templars then convince others in the town to fake their symptoms, resulting in the mass hysteria and claims of the illness being the result of witchcraft and the Devil.
In the present, Charlotte de lu Cruz is swept up in the conspiracy between Templars and Assassin's, eventually joining the Brotherhood and helping them track down the Piece of Eden hidden in Salem.
Assassin's Creed: Forsaken (Novel)
Year: 1735
Setting: Europe
Haytham Kenway, son of Edward Kenway, is thrust into the world of Assassins and Templars after his father is killed and his sister is kidnapped. He eventually joins the Templars.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (Game)
Year: 1715
Setting: Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy
Edward Kenway, a pirate and the father of Haytham Kenway, is caught up in a war against the Templars to find a precursor site known as The Observatory. The key to finding the site is Bartholomew Roberts, a reincarnated man referred to as a sage. After being betrayed by Roberts, escaping prison and stealing back a key artifact from Roberts, Kenway eventually seals the Observatory so that it can't be used by the Templars before formerly joining the Assassin order.
In the present, a new Abstergo Entertainment employee studies memories from Desmond's DNA, only to become trapped in a conspiracy involving the modern-day Assassin's and the modern-day reincarnation of Roberts, who seeks to resurrect Juno in physical form. (The present story in this title takes place after the events of Assassin's Creed III.)
Assassin's Creed Rogue (Game)
Year: 1752
Setting: The Seven Years' War, aka The French and Indian War
Assassin turned Templar Shay Cormac sets out to destroy the Order of Assassin's in the North American colonies prior to the events of Assassin's Creed III.
Assassin's Creed III (Game)
Year: 1765
Setting: The Revolutionary War
Haytham Kenway embarks on a journey to the English colonies in North America to discover a precursor safehouse. He recruits men to his cause and aids a group of Native Americans who he believes know the location of the precursor temple. Eventually he falls in love with a Native American woman and the two have a son. Years later his son, referred to as Connor, trains under an old Assassin master named Achilles. Connor joins the American Revolution and participates in several key moments of the war, battling against his father and other Templars before securing the medallion needed to open the precursor temple.
In the present, Desmond and the Assassin's track down the medallion, open the temple and prevent a cataclysmic solar flare that would wipe out much of humanity. However, Desmond is killed in the process and releases the captive precursor Juno.
Assassin's Creed: Liberation (Game)
Year: 1765
Setting: New Orleans
Assassin Aveline battles against Templar forces in post-French and Indian War New Orleans, where she uncovers a First Civilization site and an ancient artifact known as the Prophecy Disc.
In the present, Abstergo Entertainment seeks to make interactive versions of Assassin memories, censoring out the parts that put Templars in a negative light, starting with the story of Aveline. However, before the game is officially released a hacker group makes the uncensored version of the game public.
Assassin's Creed Unity (Game)
Year: 1789
Setting: The French Revolution
Arno Dorian joins the Assassin order to uncover the mystery behind the murder of his adoptive father, eventually battling the sage and Templar leader Germain, who sought to purge the Templar Order.
In the present, the "Initiate" plays a genetic sample provided by the modern-day Assassins on the Helix game console, a device created by Abstergo that allows users to explore genetic memories. The Assassins sought to learn the location of Germain's body to prevent the sage's DNA from falling into Templar hands.
Assassin's Creed: Brahman (Comic)
Year: 1839
Setting: India during the Sikh Empire
Assassin Arbaaz Mir seeks to control the Piece of Eden known as the Koh-i-Noor diamond, an artifact said to have the power to bind together all other Pieces of Eden. When the Piece of Eden is activated by Pyara Kaur, a precursor appeared to tell Pyara that the Templars and Assassins must unite in order to defeat Juno.
In the present, programmer Jot Soora learns his fiancee is a descendant of Arbaaz Mir, and that Abstergo has been distributing Helix consoles across India in an attempt to find Mir's ancestor and discover the location of the Koh-i-Noor.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India (Game)
Year: 1841
Setting: India during the Sikh Empire
Arbaaz Mir attempts to discover the truth behind a mysterious item brought to India by a Master Templar.
Assassin's Creed: Underworld (Novel)
Year: 1862
Setting: England's Industrial Revolution
Master Assassin Henry Green, son of Arbaaz Mir and Pyara Kaur, battles the Templar corruption in London before the events of Assassin's Creed Syndicate.
Assassin's Creed Syndicate (Game)
Year: 1868
Setting: England's Industrial Revolution
Jacob and Evie Frye battle corrupt Templars in Lodon while looking for a Piece of Eden referred to as "The Shroud." The artifact is said to have the ability to heal any wound. Though the Templars manage to find the Shroud first, the twins defeat them and return the Shroud to its hiding place.
In the present, the Initiate relives the memories of Jacob and Evie using the Helix. Once the location of the Shroud is discovered, the modern-day Assassins seek to recover it, but are beaten to it by the Templars. The Templars make off with the artifact, planning to use it to create a living precursor.
Assassin's Creed: The Fall (Comic)
Year: 1888
Setting: The Russian Revolution
Russian Assassin Nikolai battles Templars for a Piece of Eden, resulting in various events such as the Borki train disaster and the Tunguska event.
In the present, descendant Daniel Cross learns more about the Assassin order and eventually meets their leader. It is then revealed that Cross is a Templar sleeper agent, indoctrinated from age seven to attempt to murder the mentor of the Assassins should the opportunity present itself. Cross succeeds in his task before escaping and returning to Abstergo.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia (Game)
Year: 1918
Setting: The Russian Revolution
Nikolai wants to leave Russia with his family, but is required to perform one last mission for the Assassin Order. He must infiltrate the house where the Tsar's family is being held by the Bolsheviks, and steal an artifact that has been fought over by Assassins and Templars for centuries. While doing so he witnesses the massacre of the Tsar Nicholas II's children, but manages to save the princess, Anastasia.
Assassin's Creed: The Chain (Comic)
Year: 1919
Setting: United States
Nikolai and his son live secluded in the American wilderness after having abandoned the Assassin order. When an Assassin arrives in an attempt to force Nikolai back into service, Nikolai kills him. He then begins training his son for when more Assassins inevitably arrive. Eventually they do, and though the two manage to kill their attackers, Nikolai is killed.
In the present, Daniel Cross ascends the Templar ranks and personally raids an Assassin library, in the process learning about the message that was delivered from Minerva to Ezio.
That's all for now, but there will be plenty more Assassin's Creed to come, including a possible game set in ancient Egypt.
