All Assassin’s Creed Games in Order – A Complete Guide
This post was last updated on: September 1, 2023
In the vast world of video games, a franchise can only hope to slip into gamer’s hearts and become a household name. From Mario’s plucky gang chasing mushrooms to racing around to “catch ’em all,” every decade has unleashed only a few select games that stand the test of time.
The Assassin’s Creed series is marked among them. With over twenty games – both new and remastered – there are not many gaming universes with a mythos as grand as Ubisoft’s award-winning Assassin’s Creed.
Say goodbye to humdrum and hello to parkour-style tricks as you slip into the past where two age-old factions clash for freedom and control. The battle of good versus evil pits ancient secret societies against each other.
When Prince of PersiaSands of Time needed a sequel, running around protecting the valiant prince and saving the world through ninja moves and historical plots could be the only answer.
The universe unravels actual historical figures and events in real places with a dash of science fiction and a heavy dose of butt-kicking as players race to stop the present-day Knights from their goal. In this story, assassins are heroes, killing those who risk freedom throughout history.
Hiding under the guise of Abstergo Industries, the Knights Templar built the Animus – a machine that uses ancestral DNA to send a subject into an assassin’s mind to learn the secret location of the Pieces of Eden, artifacts with which one could control people’s minds.
Armed with nothing more than memories, subjects take a journey to the past in each game. A little stealth and a lot of parkour, thanks to technology from the Animus, and the race is on regardless of what side the subject plays on.
Decide for yourself which is the best – there’s no Knights Templar here, you’ve got your freedom. In case you don’t have access to an Animus, here’s a complete and definitive guide to jog your memory of Ubisoft’s award-winning franchise.
Assassin’s Creed Game Order: The Main Series
Let’s take it all in, the Assassin’s Creed games in order, with no commercial breaks—short setting insights, gameplay spoilers, and all the summary you need.
Assassin’s Creed (Nov., 2007)
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows
The game that launched a thousand ships—or at least a couple thousand missions to save history. Unique goals, brilliant visuals, and a storyline meant for the silver screen made for the perfect start to the series.
While Desmond Miles is aware he’s undergoing a series of trials, he doesn’t know the truth. He’s in for the ride of his life. Forced into a machine to explore the memories of Altaïr ibn-La’Ahad, he finds himself transported back during the third crusade.
Gamers learn Altaïr botched his mission. To regain his honor, players go on a whirlwind of tasks to assassinate the bad guys. To what end? The location of an artifact the Templars want and are using Desmond to get.
At the game’s end, those behind the controller learn along with the protagonist as he gets the truth—a mole inside the operation vanishes, and a cataclysmic event that will destroy the world is revealed.
Specialized gameplay, such as parkour fights and Eagle Vision, allow users to identify those in their world, and an open map aids discovery of crucial elements that landed this franchise in the realm of success.
Assassin’s Creed II (Nov., 2009)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, and OS X
Saved by assassins, Desmond learns they have their own version of the Animus and want him to learn the ins and outs of being like his forefather’s thanks to the “bleeding effect.”
Sexier than it sounds, this effect allows people in the present to absorb skills from the past and train their way through the Brotherhood (AKA join the assassins)—a much-needed superpower for what he’ll face as the story unfurls.
A rather large time hop lands Desmond in the memories of Ezio Auditore de Firenze, alive during the Italian Renaissance. A dashing Leonardo da Vinci makes for the perfect companion as they race to uncover the secret ingredient – a Piece of Eden.
Corrupt memories are found, and won’t be revealed to avoid spoilers, but with all the running around in these games, we know memories will be jogged! When the Templar’s find them, they’re kicked out of their home like an eighteen-year-old off to college, but they’ll be back and ready in no time.
The first game put the series on the map, but the second is arguably what made it fans go-to RPG. Stronger visuals pulled players even further off their couches while introducing a much more appealing combat style and better controls.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Nov., 2010)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and OS X
Desmond and Ezio are back, but they’re not alone! Tighter combat styles, new game modes, historical inventions, and the introduction to multiplayer mode took Desmond and Ezio Auditore da Firenze’s journey into a whole new world. Now, players can build their Brotherhood.
There’s a bit more time dusting about in 2012, but once the Brotherhood is up and running in its new locale, players are back with what many deem the favorite assassin. Leonardo is out, and Machiavelli is in as a pivotal piece to the historical story.
With a little help from their assassin friend, the 2012 team head to where they need to go to stop the end of the world. Only, things couldn’t go exactly as planned, or we couldn’t have the final act with the beloved protagonist.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (Nov., 2011)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and OS X
What’s a little history between friends? The Ezio trilogy came to an end with this game, marking the end of one story arc. So long Italy, hello Constantinople. Guess it’s not true what they say, you can go back, you just need an Animus!
The game starts with Desmond meeting another subject of Abstergo. As fan favorites search for a way to end the war between factions in the past, Ezio relieves Altaïr’s memories.
Enter the final stage of Ezio’s tale in 1511. The search for a library and books leads the hero to relive key moments in Altaïr’s life. Ezio continues his journey, wreaking havoc over a series of years all while learning more about the very first assassin.
The mission comes to an end only when he finds the man he sought through the keys – and one final key along with a Piece of Eden. Due to some Animus glitches, Ezio and Desmond essentially meet, triggering the end of one story.
For Desmond, he awakens and learns of yet another world-ending event he must work to stop.
The gameplay is similar, but on Red Bull, with everything players loved, amplified. New environment events in the past add a layer to the standard missions.
Assassin’s Creed III (Oct., 2012)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch
Let’s do the time warp again! Jumping ahead to the American Revolution, the game even set sail for naval battles.
This time, Ratonhnhaké:ton [Connor] takes the helm as the lead playable assassin. Half-British, half-Mohawk, his history and story are unique. His
From Boston to New York, Conner moves through the colonies and finds himself framed. Only when he meets with his father is an alliance born that may undo the Templar’s and their current plan.
Unlike others thus far, Conner struggles mentally with performing his tasks. A rift with an alternate timeline, the Boston Tea Party, and helping revolutionary figures succeed in the war lead him to kill a historical figure for a key make for a grand adventure in the colonies. The same key Desmond needs to continue his mission in the twenty-first century.
Desmond learns of the solar flare that could come, the post-apocalyptic world it will bring, and his part to play in all of it.
A change in scenery is nice, but not all this game has to offer. Weather patterns, the need for food, and new weapons added a fun new layer to the installment, all while keeping the mythos at hand and favored styles from past games.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Oct., 2013)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Wii U
Shiver your timbers and head into the wide-open sea in the eighteenth century! Often hailed as the best in the main series, the missions spread across the land and ocean while getting to live a pirate’s life! Ironically set before Assassin’s Creed III, Black Flag lands you on the high seas.
Edward Kenway, a privateer-turned-pirate like all good pirate origins, soon becomes a member of The Brotherhood. His mission goals will lead him to the Observatory. In the here and now, Desmond’s DNA samples are used to explore more of his past.
Blackbeard, James Kidd, and others enlist Edwards to help to create a pirate paradise where they can be free to do as they wish. Things are not what they seem, and the Templars soon move in. It is up to Edward to stop them in true assassin fashion.
Meanwhile, back at home, Abstergo has a defector– man who encourages the subject to poke around for more details than they receive from the memories. Hacks to the machine endanger everything, and secret identities change the game at the end of this game.
Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry (Feb., 2014)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows
Set twenty years after Black Flag, a slave turned assassin, Adéwalé, made for a killer new hero. Once Edward’s first mate, he’s now his own man. A shipwreck off Haiti keeps the game set in the Caribbean.
While there, Adéwalé uncovers the French government’s conspiracy and experiences the horrors of the current slavery situation. While he explores the oceans, he does so to break the bonds holding those like him held hostage.
What was once just DLC got a full game a year later. No new mechanics came with this installment, but players delved into a new time, a new hero, and continued their mission against the Knights Templar while giving voice to slavery for the first time in the franchise.
Assassin’s Creed: Rogue (Nov., 2014)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 260, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows
It’s good to be bad! For the first time, the Templars had their hand in the protagonist box. It was assassin hunting season in this installment. Shay Cormac switched sides in the war and leads the game during the Seven Year’s War as seen in New York City.
While trying to access the memories, a virus hits Abstergo’s HQ in Montreal. Instead of destroying them for safety, they were kept, and the story begins as a new subject steps in.
Tying in events with Freedom Cry, the story moves along with Shay working with friends to take down his Templar target. Gaining the artifacts he needed, Shay journeys to Sleepy Hollow and meets Benjamin Franklin.
When Shay trades sides, he begins to murder those closest to him in the name of the knights. Suddenly working against the nights, the subject’s control over things shifts as do the weapons and fighting. He pushes the Templar to their own revolution.
The analyst receives a choice – Templars or death.
The gameplay remains mostly similar to Black Flag and Freedom Cry with naval battles and exploration playing prominent roles. Hazards similar to the weather addition in previous games, appear in the form of poison gas adding a new level of difficulty to missions.
Assassin’s Creed: Unity (Nov., 2014)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows
The modern-day Brotherhood steals a memory sequence and “the initiate” urging them to join their side. The memory starts in Paris, circa the French Revolution. Including none other than Napoleon Bonaparte.
Back to the cityscapes, Arno Dorian, Parisian Assassin, takes players through the French Revolution. His world is full of subterfuge and murderous plots best left to unfold during gameplay, as a revolution is the end game of the actions.
The result leads Arno to usher in a new interpretation of the creed after what he witnessed and ultimately did. With the help of the French leader, he finds the artifact required and ends his memory set.
This single-player story featured overhauled techniques in movement and combat. Characters were heavily customizable in this installment as well as introducing cooperative play–perfect for date night!
Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (Oct., 2015)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows
Look out, ladies—this one is for you! For the first time, players could play as both genders through twins Jacob and Evie. Syndicate likely drew entirely new audiences to the already enchanted franchise. Victorian London never looked finer – especially if you got a little thievery in.
The same subject from the prior game, still known as the Initiate, is once again asked to go into memories to find the artifact missing in London while the rest of the crew work on a little sneaking around themselves at Templar meetings.
In perhaps one of the most thrilling history-filled installments, the twins work to stop the Templar’s influence over Britain. From experiments on the Pieces of Eden to mysterious syrups, there are many mysteries to unfold this time around.
Darwin, Jack the Ripper, Arthur Conan Doyle, and others find themselves weaved into the memories. Jacob creates a mess that his sister must clean up before the story can get to its end with new assassins ready for the fight.
With knowledge of the Shroud, the twenty-first-century Brotherhood sets out to take on the knights.
New ways to travel, better developed fighting styles and sequences, and strongly woven main and side quests keep Syndicate enjoyable.
Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Oct., 2017)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows
The Medjay, Bayek of Siwa, and his wife Aya take center stage in Origins as the game travels to Egypt, and perhaps the furthest back, to 49 – 47 BCE. Bayek fails to save his child, sending him on the path of an assassin as he engages with some of Egypt’s most famous historical figures, including Cleopatra.
It is Cleopatra who works as the assignment giver, telling Bayek who he must kill to avenge his sons. Sound like a familiar task system? It should!
Death, rage, and Egyptian lore weave together the origin story of the Brotherhood, once known as the Hidden Ones. As an origin story, some traveling points are left unsaid to ensure the journey that created The Brotherhood goes unspoiled.
This time, an Abstergo employee, Layla, is at the helm once she turns on them. Her storyline is quiet until the memories are done and she awakens to Desmond’s father. She agrees to join him, and the pair leave for Alexandria.
Two years off did the games good! Hitboxes allowed for damage to multiple characters at once, and the enemy could team up on the player. Eagle Vision is replaced by an actual eagle serving as a companion. Overall, the wait was worth the spoils.
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Oct., 2018)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows
Watch out for horses! This latest installment transports gamers all the way back to Ancient Greece. Bulging muscles, living life to fight a war, and maybe even a beautiful woman to destroy it, all awaited players during the Peloponnesian War.
The Spear of Leonidas allows Layla from Origins to pull the DNA of the siblings, Kassandra and Alexios. Their DNA fires up the machine to locate one more Piece of Eden.
The selected siblings’ memories unveil the tragedy an oracle brought to the children. One that leads them to a different life than they might have had. An assassination request on The Wolf of Sparta sets the sibling on their own Brotherhood-style journey.
A war must be averted. A cult must be stopped before it can grow, and a magical world lost in the same era must be sealed away. The journey ends, leading Layla to another mythical world, proving there is more to come in the franchise.
By choosing a character, players were able to select their gender. RPG elements are aplenty, more weapons, and a skill tree are just some key pieces of this gameplay. Plus, fan-favorite naval combat makes its return.
Additional DLC adds more story to the game but is not yet a separate game.
Order of Assassin’s Creed Games: Spin-Offs
Spin-offs—the games gamers play that aren’t canon. Simpler, often smaller and almost always for handheld gameplay.
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Android, iOS, WebOS, Symbian, Java ME, and Windows Phone
The OG assassin gets some time in the limelight during the first spin-off game, once again back in the 1100s. Journey along with Altaïr as he crosses over Jerusalem, Tyre, and other notable Middle East locations in search of a chalice.
Will he succeed in putting an end to the Knights once he finds the Chalice? Well, of course not, there are more games and lifetimes of assassins after this one!
Technically the series prequel, open-world gameplay bit the dust in favor of mini-games and few stealth missions were to be seen. However, new skills – like pick-pocketing – bring a new range of fun into the game’s assignments.
Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines (Nov., 2009)
Platforms: PlayStation Portable
Starting at the moment game one left off, we get more time with Altaïr.
Altaïr is off to the island of Cyprus. Acting much like a villain, he steals the love interest of a head Templar. From there, he is off to gather intel for The Brotherhood. Learning of an archive, Altaïr does what he needs to do while slowly forming a relationship with the woman he took captive.
Together, Altaïr and the woman take on the Templar’s to find the archive and destroy their ranks.
Unlike other games, players are never introduced to the subject strapped into the Animus. It could have been any of the original sixteen, or even Desmond.
Returning to popular styles, Bloodlines worked at feeling more like the first game while tying up story bits between the first two games. The platform packed more power allowing the game to feel more like the main series works than the first spin-off journey.
Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery (Nov., 2009)
Platforms: Nintendo DS and iOS
Once more back to the side-scroller and the likable Ezio.
Players find themselves once again in Ezio’s memories. While he staves off assassination attempts of others, he moves through history following through with his own missions. However, danger to a group of his kind derails the search for a Piece of Eden.
Throughout Discovery, Ezio hunts for the Spanish Assassins while completing the tasks set before him. He must make difficult choices when it comes down to the Templars he sought to end.
Despite the side-scroll style that failed to impress, Discovery made leaps and bounds in the handheld gameplay. Ezio’s stealth and parkour skills are much increased, and memory-specific missions instructed how a user can play in this side story.
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation (Oct. 2012)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation Vita
Booze and beads weren’t the only things waiting in New Orleans during the French and Indian War. Armed with the first person of color at the helm, as well as a female lead, the city wouldn’t know what hit it.
Abstergo is up to no good when they release Liberation, a video game documenting the life of Assassin Aveline de Grandpré – all while holding details back. It is only when the player gets involved the truth is unraveled.
Disobeying her mission sets the stage and tone for the game that follows. She’s committed to freeing slaves and helping in the fight against the British. Situations unfold in her favor, and she’s able to sneak her way into the enemy’s stronghold.
This installment kept open-world gameplay, advanced graphics and the full combat system that drove these games to the awards they were beginning to win.
Assassin’s Creed: Pirates (Dec., 2013)
Platforms: iOS and Android
It’s a pirate’s life again! Plus, a break in format. Like Rouge, players get a different perspective – that of a captain who belongs to neither faction. Additionally, the goal isn’t quite the same, with the only goal being to destroy the boats for Captain Alonzo.
The story strays completely from our beloved heroes and focuses only on helping Alonzo reign terror on the open waters.
Unsurprisingly, Pirates released shortly after Black Flag. Another simple game, the focus is like Battle Ship as players aim to take down vessels. Battles are easy and so different from the other games. It’s often hard to remember this stays in the universe.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China (Apr., 2015)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation Vita
The first in a brand new series set the stage for a new story in the popular world.
Shao Jun spent her time training under Ezio. Her mission is simple. Take revenge on those who destroyed the Chinese Brotherhood. She must complete her assassinations not to find a Piece of Eden but bring comfort.
Realistic graphics take a backseat for a solid animation style. This picks up after the events of the movie Embers, instead of events from a prior game. Gameplay in all the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles is simple, yet reminiscent of the main games.
Assassin’s Creed: Identity (Feb., 2016)
Platforms: iOS and Android
There’s a mystery to solve this time around. Straight-forward quests await the unnamed hero. The story is a secret, or else the mystery unravels.
Identity went back to the basics. A little Rome, some parkour, a bit of character customization, and a lot of stealth required. Mission type is varied, and players can stretch their legs a bit compared to some other spin-off play types.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia (Feb., 2016)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation Vita
The final line of the newest story arc, Russia ends the Assassin’s Chronicles. Players are granted access to the story closest to present times by a journey to Russia in 1918. Nikolai Orelov is back from the comic book he started.
One last mission stands between Nikolai and his last tie from the life he’s tired of. Steal back an artifact, save Anastasia who shares a fun link to a previous game, and his mission will end.
Electricity as a combat weapon makes an appearance in this chronicle, adding a unique and sometimes amusing method of fighting.
Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion (Nov., 2018)
Platforms: iOS and Android
There’s nothing like a little rebellion to get you out of bed in the morning! Though, this one isn’t so little. Some of the best assassins in the franchise are back for some Spanish Inquisition missions, this time building up a headquarters–something not done before–while fighting off the standard Templar baddies.
Solidly rooted in the RPG game standards, rebellion sets off for the Spanish Inquisition with a cast that features all the best from the wide world of Assassin’s Creed. The Brotherhood HQ allows gamers to build a team unlike any game prior.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India (Jan., 2019)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation Vita
While connected to the previous game, this time we’ve jumped forward to 1841 India with the hero from a graphic novel, Arbaaz Mir. Set amidst a war, the Master Templar brings with him an item that once belonged to the assassins that they need to take back.
Assassin Creed Games in Order: Remastered
As with all good things, they must be remastered as newer technology, and different platforms become available. Immerse yourselves in favorite worlds all over again.
Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD (Oct., 2014)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 260, and PC
Get ready for better graphics and new gaming units with this HD remastered title. It’s like surround sound, but for your eyes!
Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection (Nov., 2016)
Platforms: PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
The perfect bundle of the first full story arc in the creed universe. This remastered work includes Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed Revelations all in one convenient bundle.
Assassin’s Creed: Rogue Remastered (Mar., 2018)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch
Often hailed as the darkest story in the franchise, Rogue is back and ready with 4k graphics sure to make you drool over historical sites and action-packed battles.
Assassin’s Creed III: Remastered (Mar., 2019)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch
The revolution is back and in stunning clarity. Plus, get all DLC content right from the start!
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch
So good, it had to be remastered a second time!
All Assassin’s Creed Games in Order: In Closing
Whether you grab a bottle of rum and set sail with Assassin’s Creed IV or gawk at the beauty of the Italian Renaissance as seen through the eyes of Ezio, there’s a creed for every dream.
Some gamers turn their nose up at the rapid annual releases, which, at times, left many installments “glitchy.” Others live to “fall off the map” and experience the true life of an assassin who never knows what comes next!
Now is the perfect time to decide: Which side of history are you on?
