Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the latest installment in the beloved series, takes players to feudal Japan, placing it at the midpoint of the series' historical timeline. Unlike many franchises that follow a linear progression, Assassin’s Creed jumps back and forth through time, delving into pivotal historical moments from the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece to the eve of World War I.
With 14 mainline games and counting, the Assassin’s Creed timeline has grown increasingly intricate. IGN has meticulously analyzed every piece of lore to unravel this centuries-spanning saga, presenting a comprehensive timeline that organizes all key events in chronological order.
The Isu Era
75,000 BCE
To understand the Assassin’s Creed timeline, we must start with the lore of the Isu, an advanced civilization that once ruled the Earth. These god-like beings enslaved humanity, controlling them with powerful artifacts known as the Apples of Eden. However, humans, led by Eve and Adam, rebelled by stealing an Apple, sparking a war against the Isu. This conflict lasted a decade until a catastrophic solar flare decimated the Isu, allowing humanity to rise and claim the planet.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
431 to 422 BCE - Peloponnesian War
Set during the Peloponnesian War, players follow Kassandra, a mercenary who uncovers the Cult of Kosmos, a secretive group manipulating the conflict. Her journey reveals that her brother, Alexios, was kidnapped by the Cult and transformed into a weapon due to their shared descent from the Isu through their grandfather, King Leonidas. Kassandra's mission to dismantle the Cult involves destroying an Isu device used to predict futures, and she is later entrusted with the Staff of Hermes, granting immortality, by her father Pythagoras, to guard Atlantis.
Assassin’s Creed Origins
49 to 43 BCE - Ptolemaic Egypt
In Cleopatra's Egypt, the Order of the Ancients kidnaps Bayek and his son, seeking to unlock an Isu vault using Bayek's bloodline. After his son's accidental death, Bayek, alongside his wife Aya, vows vengeance against the Order, which manipulates Egyptian politics and religion using the Apples of Eden. Their fight against the Order leads to the founding of The Hidden Ones, a group dedicated to opposing such tyranny, which later spreads to Rome.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
861 - Islamic Golden Age
A century after Origins, The Hidden Ones have established bases worldwide, including Alamut in Iran. Basim, a former street thief from Baghdad, becomes an assassin and uncovers the Order's plan to access an Isu temple beneath Alamut. Inside, he discovers a prison once holding Loki, an Isu god, and learns he is Loki's reincarnation, setting him on a path of revenge against his ancient captors.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
872 to 878 - Viking Invasion of England
Basim joins a Viking clan led by Sigurd and Eivor in England, hunting the Order. They uncover King Alfred's tyranny, a member of the Order seeking Christian rule. Sigurd, after discovering an Isu artifact, believes himself a god. Basim reveals Eivor and Sigurd as reincarnations of Odin and Týr, seeking revenge for Loki's imprisonment. Eivor traps Basim in a simulated world, and after defeating King Alfred, leads the clan back to England as a hero.
Assassin’s Creed
1191 - Third Crusade
By the 12th century, The Hidden Ones evolve into the Assassin Brotherhood, facing the evolved Order of the Ancients, now known as the Knights Templar. Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, an assassin, steals an Apple of Eden from the Templars during the Third Crusade. Tasked with assassinating nine Templar leaders, Altaïr uncovers their plan to use the Apple for global control. He ultimately confronts and kills his mentor, Al Mualim, who sought to use the Apple for his own ends, and takes leadership of the Brotherhood.
Assassin’s Creed 2
1476 to 1499 - Italian Renaissance
Ezio Auditore da Firenze, seeking vengeance for his family's murder by the Templars, joins the Assassin Brotherhood. With Leonardo da Vinci's inventions, Ezio battles the Templar-aligned Borgia family, ultimately uncovering an Isu vault beneath the Vatican. Inside, he encounters Minerva, who warns of an impending apocalypse in 2012, hinting at Isu vaults that could be humanity's salvation.
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
1499 to 1507 - Italian Renaissance
After defeating the Pope in a battle, Ezio strengthens the weakened Assassin Brotherhood. They reclaim Rome from the Borgia regime and hide an Apple of Eden in an Isu vault beneath the Colosseum, securing it from Templar reach.
Assassin’s Creed Revelations
1511 to 1512 - Ottoman Civil War
Ezio searches for more Isu secrets, leading him to Altaïr's library in Masyaf. Competing with the Templars, who seek the library's keys, Ezio allies with Ottoman Assassins in Constantinople. Inside the library, he finds Altaïr's remains and an Apple of Eden, which projects a message from Jupiter about data crucial for humanity's survival. Ezio leaves the Apple secured as intended and retires, later dying from his years of service.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
1579 - Sengoku Period
Set during Japan's Sengoku period, Assassin’s Creed Shadows follows Yasuke, an African mercenary turned samurai, and Naoe, a shinobi from the Iga province. Both characters, initially on opposing sides, unite to pursue a common goal amidst Oda Nobunaga's campaign to unify Japan.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
1715 to 1722 - Golden Age of Piracy
Edward Kenway, a pirate, infiltrates the Templar's search for The Observatory, an Isu device capable of spying on anyone. Only the Sage, a reincarnation of the Isu Aita, can unlock it. Edward allies with pirates, including the current Sage, Bartholomew Roberts, but after betrayal, he retrieves the device's key, assassinates the Templar leader, and secures the Observatory, choosing the world's safety over personal gain.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue
1752 to 1776 - French and Indian War
Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin, triggers an earthquake in Lisbon by disturbing an Isu temple, leading to his defection and joining the Templars. Over years, he ascends the Templar ranks, aiming to stop the Assassins from uncovering more Isu temples. Alongside Haytham Kenway, he confronts his former mentor, Achilles, and later suggests sparking a revolution in France in response to the American uprising.
Assassin’s Creed 3
1754 to 1783 - American Revolution
Haytham Kenway seeks to unlock the Isu's Grand Temple, leading him to the American Colonies where he fathers Ratonhnhaké:ton with a Mohawk woman. Years later, after his family's tragic loss, Ratonhnhaké:ton, now Connor Kenway, becomes an Assassin to avenge his mother. Amid the American Revolution, he eliminates Templar influence within the British forces, confronting and killing his father, Haytham, over ideological differences, and secures the Grand Temple key.
Assassin’s Creed Liberation
1765 to 1777 - Spanish Occupation of Louisiana
Aveline de Grandpré, an Assassin in New Orleans, uncovers a Templar plot involving slavery and Isu technology. Her journey leads her to confront her stepmother, a Templar, and use a Prophecy Disk to uncover the story of Eve's rebellion against the Isu.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
1789 to 1794 - French Revolution
Arno Dorian, an orphan raised by a Templar, joins the Assassins to avenge his adoptive father's murder. His quest uncovers a Templar faction aiming to ignite the French Revolution. Alongside Élise, his adoptive sister, Arno confronts the extremist Templar leader François-Thomas Germain, who uses an Isu Sword of Eden. The sword's explosion kills Élise and wounds Germain, who reveals his Sage status before Arno seals his remains away.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
1868 - Victorian England
Twins Jacob and Evie Frye arrive in London to find The Shroud, an Isu device. They combat Templar control over the city, with Jacob focusing on assassinations and Evie on locating The Shroud. After reclaiming it from Templar leader Crawford Starrick, they secure it back in its vault. Later, Evie hunts down Jack the Ripper, and both twins retire to the countryside, raising the next generation of Assassins.
Transition Period
1914 to 2012
The Assassin’s Creed series uses a modern-day framing story, where the Templars establish Abstergo Industries in 1937 to control the world through capitalism. By the late 1970s, Abstergo develops the Animus, a device to explore ancestral memories, aiming to locate Isu artifacts for future control.
Assassin’s Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood, Revelations, and 3
2012
Desmond Miles, abducted by Abstergo, uses the Animus to explore his ancestors' memories, including Altaïr and Ezio, to locate Isu artifacts. With help from Assassin mole Lucy Stillman, he escapes and joins the Assassins. Desmond learns of an impending apocalypse and, after exploring Ezio's memories, sacrifices himself to activate Isu technology, preventing the disaster but releasing the villainous Isu, Juno.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
2013
Abstergo continues its search for Isu technology using Desmond's DNA, assigning "The Noob" to explore Edward Kenway's memories. Amidst corporate espionage and the discovery of the modern-day Sage, John Standish, Abstergo's plans are disrupted, leading to Standish's death.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
2014
Abstergo releases Helix, allowing public access to genetic memories. An Assassin initiate, guided by Bishop, explores Arno Dorian's life to locate the Sage François-Thomas Germain's remains, ensuring they remain out of Abstergo's reach.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
2015
The initiate explores Jacob and Evie Frye's memories, learning of The Shroud's location. Abstergo retrieves it first, planning to create a living Isu, while Juno manipulates events to sabotage their efforts.
Assassin’s Creed Origins
2017
Layla Hassan, an Abstergo researcher, develops a new Animus version and explores Bayek and Aya's memories, uncovering the origins of The Hidden Ones. She later joins the Assassin Brotherhood, recruited by William Miles.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
2018
Using DNA from the Spear of Leonidas, Layla relives Kassandra's memories, discovering Atlantis and meeting the immortal Kassandra. Kassandra, recognizing Layla's role in balancing the Assassin and Templar forces, gifts her the Staff of Hermes and dies.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
2020
Layla and the Assassins investigate magnetic field disturbances linked to Desmond's actions in 2012. Exploring Eivor's memories, Layla discovers the Yggdrasil computer and enters its simulation to stabilize the magnetic field. She works with Desmond's consciousness, "The Reader," to prevent future apocalypses, while Basim escapes and joins the Assassins, beginning his search for Loki's children.
