Assassin's Creed: Full Timeline Revealed

Assassin’s Creed Shadows marks the latest installment in the acclaimed series, set in the intriguing backdrop of feudal Japan. This setting places it at the midpoint of the Assassin’s Creed timeline, which doesn't unfold chronologically. Instead, the series jumps through history, from the ancient Peloponnesian War to the cusp of the First World War, allowing players to explore pivotal moments across centuries.

With 14 mainline games and counting, the Assassin’s Creed timeline has grown increasingly intricate. IGN has meticulously analyzed the lore to create a comprehensive timeline that arranges all key events in chronological order, helping fans understand the overarching narrative and how each game fits into the saga.

The Isu Era

75,000 BCE

To understand the timeline, it's essential to delve into the lore. In the distant past, a technologically advanced civilization known as the Isu ruled Earth. They engineered humanity as their servants, controlling them with powerful artifacts called the Apples of Eden. However, humans, led by Eve and Adam, rebelled by stealing an Apple, sparking a revolutionary war. This conflict lasted a decade until a catastrophic solar flare wiped out the Isu, leaving humanity to inherit the Earth.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

431 to 422 BCE - Peloponnesian War

During the Peloponnesian War in Greece, mercenary Kassandra uncovers the Cult of Kosmos, a secretive group orchestrating the conflict. Her journey reveals that her long-lost brother, Alexios, was abducted by the Cult and transformed into a formidable weapon. The Cult targeted Alexios due to his lineage from the legendary Spartan King Leonidas, a descendant of the Isu. Kassandra's mission to dismantle the Cult leads her to destroy their Isu device used to predict future events. She reunites with her father, Pythagoras, another Isu descendant, who entrusts her with the Staff of Hermes, granting immortality and the role of eternal guardian of Atlantis.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

49 to 43 BCE - Ptolemaic Egypt

In Cleopatra's Egypt, the Order of the Ancients, another shadowy group linked to the Cult of Kosmos, kidnaps peacekeeper Bayek and his son, believing Bayek's bloodline can unlock an Isu vault. After his son's accidental death during the escape, Bayek vows vengeance. Together with his wife Aya, they dismantle the Order, which controls Egypt through its puppet Pharaoh Ptolemy and allies like Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Discovering the Order's global conspiracy to control politics and religion using the Apples of Eden, Bayek and Aya form The Hidden Ones, a network of spies and assassins to counter the Order's oppression.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

861 - Islamic Golden Age

Nearly a century later, The Hidden Ones have established strongholds worldwide, including Alamut in Iran. Here, Basim, a Baghdad street thief, is trained as an assassin to investigate the Order of the Ancients. He discovers their plan to seize an Isu temple beneath Alamut, which contains a high-tech prison once holding Loki, an Isu revered as a Norse god. Basim learns he is Loki's reincarnation and seeks revenge on his ancient captors.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

872 to 878 - Viking Invasion of England

A decade later, Basim travels with a Viking clan to England, hunting members of the Order of the Ancients. Viking leaders Sigurd and Eivor seek allies to establish their settlement, Ravensthorpe, while combating the tyranny of King Alfred, an Order member aiming to impose a Christian regime. After discovering an Isu artifact, Sigurd experiences visions of divinity. Basim reveals that Eivor and Sigurd are reincarnations of Odin and Týr, Isu who imprisoned Loki. Eivor traps Basim in a simulated world created by the Isu's Yggdrasil computer. Traumatized, Sigurd cedes leadership to Eivor, who returns to England to defeat King Alfred and solidify his status as a hero.

Assassin’s Creed

1191 - Third Crusade

Over the next three centuries, The Hidden Ones evolve into the Assassin Brotherhood, while their adversaries, the Order of the Ancients, become the Knights Templar, still aiming to establish a new world order. During the Third Crusade, assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad works to steal an Apple of Eden from the Templars. His mission involves assassinating nine Templar leaders, revealing a conspiracy to misuse the Apple. However, Altaïr discovers his mentor, Al Mualim, planned to use the Apple to impose peace forcibly. Altaïr kills Al Mualim and assumes leadership of the Brotherhood.

Assassin’s Creed 2

1476 to 1499 - Italian Renaissance

In the Italian Renaissance, Ezio Auditore da Firenze joins the Assassin Brotherhood to avenge his father and brothers, killed by the Templars. Armed with his father's equipment and innovations from Leonardo da Vinci, Ezio battles the Templar-aligned Borgia family. He gains possession of an Apple of Eden, leading him to a secret Isu vault beneath the Vatican. Confronted by the Isu Minerva, Ezio learns of an impending catastrophe in 2012, with Isu vaults worldwide holding the key to humanity's survival.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

1499 to 1507 - Italian Renaissance

Despite defeating the Pope in combat, Ezio's mercy allows the Borgia's Papal Army to besiege his villa and steal the Apple of Eden. In response, Ezio rebuilds the weakened Brotherhood, becoming the leader of the Italian Bureau. They dismantle the Borgia regime in Rome, reclaiming the Apple and securing it in an Isu vault beneath the Colosseum, away from Templar hands.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations

1511 to 1512 - Ottoman Civil War

Seeking more Isu knowledge, Ezio journeys to Masyaf to explore Altaïr's library. The Templars are already there, hunting for the library's keys. Ezio allies with the Ottoman Assassins in Constantinople to thwart the Byzantine Templars and secure the keys. Inside the library, he discovers Altaïr's remains and an Apple of Eden. A message from the Isu Jupiter reveals that crucial data for surviving the apocalypse is stored in the Grand Temple. Understanding the message is for a future observer, Ezio leaves the Apple locked away as intended and retires, succumbing to injuries sustained over his long career.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

1579 - Sengoku Period

Set in 16th-century Japan, Assassin’s Creed Shadows follows an African mercenary who arrives with a Jesuit missionary and meets Oda Nobunaga, a lord unifying Japan's warring clans. Named Yasuke, he becomes a samurai and joins Nobunaga’s campaign to invade Iga province. Here, he encounters Naoe, daughter of shinobi master Fujibayashi Nagato. Despite their opposing sides, Yasuke and Naoe unite for a common cause.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

1715 to 1722 - Golden Age of Piracy

During the Golden Age of Piracy, rogue Edward Kenway infiltrates a Templar meeting after killing an Assassin. He learns of their quest for The Observatory, an Isu device capable of spying on anyone, with the goal of blackmailing world leaders. The Observatory can only be unlocked by the Sage, a reincarnation of the Isu Aita. Edward allies with pirates to find the current Sage, Bartholomew Roberts, and disrupt the Templars. After a falling out, Roberts betrays Edward, but Edward escapes, tracks down Roberts, and retrieves the skull-shaped artifact powering The Observatory. He assassinates Templar leader Laureano de Torres y Ayala, seals the skull away, and returns home to England, living out his days with his children, Jennifer and Haytham.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue

1752 to 1776 - French and Indian War

Assassin Shay Patrick Cormac is sent to retrieve an Isu artifact from a Lisbon temple, inadvertently causing an earthquake that destroys the city. Guilt-ridden, Shay deserts the Brotherhood and steals their map of Isu temples. Rescued by the Templars, he rises through their ranks, killing prominent Assassins. His quest leads him to the Arctic, where he and Haytham Kenway, Edward's son, confront Shay's former mentor, Achilles, preventing further Isu temple excavations. In 1776, Shay suggests starting a revolution in France in response to the American uprising.

Assassin’s Creed 3

1754 to 1783 - American Revolution

The Templars seek to unlock the Isu's Grand Temple. Haytham Kenway obtains the key in London and travels to the American Colonies, where he falls in love with Mohawk woman Kaniehti:io and fathers Ratonhnhaké:ton. Abandoned by Haytham, Ratonhnhaké:ton, renamed Connor Kenway, trains as an Assassin to avenge his mother's death and the destruction of his village. During the American Revolution, Connor eliminates Templars within British forces, eventually confronting Haytham. Their conflicting visions lead to a tragic confrontation, with Connor killing his father and burying the Grand Temple key, thwarting the Templars' plans.

Assassin’s Creed Liberation

1765 to 1777 - Spanish Occupation of Louisiana

In parallel to Connor's journey, New Orleans assassin Aveline de Grandpré uncovers a Templar plot to control Louisiana. Her investigation reveals a broader conspiracy led by the 'Company Man,' who uses slaves to unearth an Isu temple. Aveline collects components forming the Isu 'Prophecy Disk' and discovers her stepmother is the Company Man, grooming her for the Templars. Aveline kills her stepmother and activates the Prophecy Disk, learning the story of Eve's rebellion against the Isu.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

1789 to 1794 - French Revolution

Orphaned Arno Dorian, taken in by Templar Grand Master François de la Serre, grows up alongside his new sister, Élise. Framed for de la Serre's murder, Arno joins the Assassin Brotherhood to clear his name. They uncover a Templar schism led by François-Thomas Germain, who aims to overthrow the French monarchy. Arno and Élise track Germain to a Templar crypt, where he tries to kill Arno with a Sword of Eden. The sword explodes, killing Élise and wounding Germain, who reveals himself as the current Sage. Arno seals Germain's remains in the Paris Catacombs, keeping them from the Templars.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

1868 - Victorian England

In 1868, twin assassins Jacob and Evie Frye arrive in London to find The Shroud, an Isu device. They discover the Templars control the city through industry, politics, and crime. Jacob assassinates Templar leaders while Evie races to find The Shroud. Templar leader Crawford Starrick locates The Shroud beneath Buckingham Palace, but Jacob and Evie kill him and return it to its vault. Jacob becomes head of the London Assassins, and Evie later tracks down and kills Jack the Ripper. During World War I, their daughter, Lydia, investigates a Templar spy facility in London, killing the latest Sage.

Transition Period

1914 to 2012

While each Assassin’s Creed game is set in a historical period, the series also features a modern-day framing story. During this transition period, the Templars establish Abstergo Industries, a pharmaceutical company aimed at controlling the world through capitalism. In the late 1970s, Abstergo develops the Animus, a virtual reality machine that allows users to explore their ancestors' memories, hoping to control the future through the past.

Assassin’s Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood, Revelations, and 3

2012

In 2012, Desmond Miles, a bartender, is abducted by Abstergo to locate Isu artifacts through his ancestor Altaïr's memories. Aided by Assassin mole Lucy Stillman, Desmond escapes to a Brotherhood safehouse. There, he explores Ezio's memories, learning of an impending apocalypse. Using Ezio's memories, Desmond finds an Apple of Eden beneath the Roman Colosseum, but it possesses him, forcing him to kill Lucy. In a coma, Desmond relives Ezio's final memories, discovering the Grand Temple's existence. Upon awakening, Desmond sacrifices himself to activate the Temple's technology, preventing the apocalypse but releasing the Isu Juno.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

2013

Using samples from Desmond's body, Abstergo continues searching for Isu technology through Edward Kenway's memories. Assigned to this task, "The Noob" is manipulated by Abstergo's IT head, John Standish, who is the modern-day Sage. Standish plans to use The Noob as a host for Juno but is killed by Abstergo security before his plan can succeed.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

2014

Abstergo releases "Helix," allowing the public to experience genetic memories. Guided by Assassin Bishop, an initiate explores Arno Dorian's life to find the remains of Sage François-Thomas Germain, sealed away in the Paris Catacombs, safe from Abstergo.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

2015

The initiate searches for The Shroud in London through Jacob and Evie Frye's memories. Abstergo retrieves The Shroud before the Assassins, planning to use it to create a living Isu. Juno manipulates Abstergo employees to sabotage these plans.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

2017

Layla Hassan, an Abstergo researcher, develops a new Animus that can explore memories via DNA samples. In Egypt, she uses Bayek and Aya's remains to uncover the origins of The Hidden Ones. Layla is then recruited by the Assassin Brotherhood.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

2018

Using DNA from the Spear of Leonidas, Layla relives Kassandra's memories, discovering Atlantis. Kassandra, kept alive by the Staff of Hermes, reveals the need for balance between the Templars and Assassins and entrusts Layla with the Staff before passing away.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

2020

Layla investigates magnetic field fluctuations using Viking remains to explore Eivor's memories, uncovering the Yggdrasil computer in Norway. The disturbances are linked to the Isu technology Desmond activated. In the Yggdrasil simulation, Layla works with Desmond's manifestation, "The Reader," to prevent future apocalypses. Basim escapes the simulation, claiming the Staff of Hermes, which contains Aletheia's consciousness, and joins the Assassin Brotherhood to search for Loki's children.