Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed is a historical action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patrice Désilets, Jade Raymond, and Corey May, the series depicts a fictional millennia-old struggle between the Order of Assassins, who fight for peace and free will, and the Knights Templar, who desire peace through order and control. The series features historical fiction, science fiction, and fictional characters intertwined with real-world historical events and historical figures. In most games, players control a historical Assassin while also playing as an Assassin Initiate or someone caught in the Assassin-Templar conflict in the present-day framing story. Considered a spiritual successor to the Prince of Persia series, Assassin's Creed took inspiration from the novel Alamut by the Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol, based on the historical Hashashin sect of medieval Iran.

The first Assassin's Creed game was released in 2007, and the series has featured fourteen main installments in total, the most recent being Assassin's Creed Shadows in 2025. Main games are set in an open world and played from the third-person view. Gameplay revolves around combat, stealth, and exploration, including the use of parkour to navigate the environment. The games feature both main and side missions, and some titles also include competitive and cooperative multiplayer game modes.

A new story and occasionally new time periods are introduced in each entry, with the gameplay elements also evolving. There are three overarching story arcs in the series. The first five main games follow Desmond Miles, a descendant of several important Assassins throughout history, who uses a machine called the Animus to relive his ancestors' memories and find powerful artifacts called Pieces of Eden in an attempt to prevent a catastrophic event, referencing the 2012 phenomenon. From Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag to Assassin's Creed Syndicate, players assume the role of Abstergo Industries employees who record genetic memories using the Helix software. The next three games, Assassin's Creed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, follow ex-Abstergo employee Layla Hassan on her own quest to save humanity from another disaster.

The main games have received generally positive reviews for their ambition in visuals, game design, and narratives, with criticism for the yearly release cycle and frequent bugs, as well as the prioritising of role-playing mechanics in later titles. The series has received multiple awards and nominations, including multiple Game of the Year awards. It is commercially successful, selling over 200 million copies as of September 2022, becoming Ubisoft's best-selling franchise and one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. While main titles are produced for major consoles and desktop platforms, multiple spin-off games have been released for consoles, mobiles, and handheld platforms. A series of art books, encyclopedias, comics, and novels have also been published. A live-action film adaptation of the series was released in 2016.[edit]

Core gameplay centers on third-person open-world exploration, parkour-based free-running, stealth, and combat. Players navigate historical cities and landscapes, scaling buildings and performing acrobatic assassinations. The series introduced the Animus device, allowing modern-day characters to relive genetic memories of ancestors. Starting with Assassin's Creed Origins in 2017, the series shifted toward RPG mechanics, including leveling systems, skill trees, loot-based gear, and dialogue choices. Key elements include Eagle Vision (a sensory ability to identify targets), social stealth (blending into crowds), and the iconic hidden blade. Later games use the AnvilNext engine, supporting dynamic weather, day-night cycles, and massive draw distances.[edit]

The overarching narrative spans a millennia-old conflict between the Assassin Brotherhood, fighting for free will, and the Knights Templar, seeking order through control. The first five main games follow Desmond Miles, a modern-day bartender and descendant of several historical Assassins, who uses the Animus to locate Pieces of Eden to avert a catastrophic event tied to the 2012 phenomenon. From Black Flag to Syndicate, players assume the role of Abstergo Industries employees recording genetic memories via Helix software. The next arc, spanning Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, follows Layla Hassan, a former Abstergo employee, on her quest to prevent another disaster. Each main game is set in a distinct historical period: the Third Crusade, Renaissance Italy, the American Revolution, the Golden Age of Piracy, the French Revolution, Victorian London, Ptolemaic Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Viking-era England. The most recent mainline entry, Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025), is set in feudal Japan.[edit]