Playing the long-running Ubisoft stealth franchise can feel like decoding a temporal puzzle. With nearly two decades of releases spanning Ancient Greece to Victorian London, working out how to tackle the series requires a clear strategy.
You can play through the historical sagas using either publication sequence or internal timeline placement. Both paths offer entirely different ways to experience the overarching conflict between the Assassins and the Templars.
Release Order vs. Chronological Order
Choosing how to experience the games depends entirely on whether you want to trace technical evolution or follow the absolute history of the universe.
Release order lets you experience the mechanical upgrades naturally. You watch the parkour system, combat engines, and open-world design mature from the 2007 original into massive modern role-playing epics.
Chronological order rearranges the interactive history books by the year in which the historical simulation takes place. Starting with Ancient Greece and moving forward through centuries of human conflict flips the narrative pacing completely. Modern-day framing sequences can feel jarring when you jump backward across hardware generations, but history buffs often prefer tracing the timeline sequentially.
The Complete Release Order List
Following the publication sequence remains the safest route for first-time players. It ensures that control schemes don't suddenly feel outdated and keeps modern-day plot twists intact.
- Assassin's Creed (2007) - Set in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade.
- Assassin's Creed II (2009) - Moves to Renaissance Italy, introducing Ezio Auditore.
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010) - Continues Ezio's story in Rome.
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011) - Concludes Ezio's trilogy in Constantinople.
- Assassin's Creed III (2012) - Shifts to Colonial America with Connor Kenway.
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013) - Explores the Golden Age of Piracy with Edward Kenway.
- Assassin's Creed Rogue (2014) - Follows a Templar turncoat in North America.
- Assassin's Creed Unity (2014) - Brings parkour to revolutionary Paris.
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015) - Introduces industrial-era London and twin protagonists.
- Assassin's Creed Origins (2017) - A soft reboot exploring Ptolemaic Egypt.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey (2018) - Expands into a massive RPG set in Ancient Greece.
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2020) - Depicts the Viking expansion into England.
- Assassin's Creed Mirage (2023) - Returns to stealth roots in ninth-century Baghdad.
- Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025) - Features dual protagonists in Feudal Japan.
The Chronological Timeline
If you want to experience the historical timeline without jumping back and forth across centuries, rearrange the core games by their primary setting dates.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey (431 BCE – 422 BCE) - Ancient Greece
- Assassin's Creed Origins (49 BCE – 44 BCE) - Ptolemaic Egypt
- Assassin's Creed Mirage (861 CE – 870 CE) - Baghdad
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla (872 CE – 878 CE) - Dark Ages England
- Assassin's Creed (1191 CE) - The Third Crusade
- Assassin's Creed II (1476 CE – 1499 CE) - Italian Renaissance
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (1499 CE – 1507 CE) - Rome
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (1511 CE – 1512 CE) - Constantinople
- Assassin's Creed Shadows (1579 CE) - Feudal Japan
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (1715 CE – 1722 CE) - The Caribbean
- Assassin's Creed Rogue (1752 CE – 1760 CE) - Seven Years' War North America
- Assassin's Creed III (1754 CE – 1783 CE) - American Revolution
- Assassin's Creed Unity (1789 CE – 1794 CE) - French Revolution
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (1868 CE) - Victorian London
How the Gameplay Evolved Across Eras
The franchise didn't stay tethered to its initial rooftop-stalking roots. Over the years, structural shifts completely transformed how you interact with the game world.
The Classic Stealth Era (2007–2015)
The early entries relied heavily on social stealth, urban exploration, and structured assassination puzzles. You spent hours blending into crowds of scholars, tailing targets through cobblestone streets, and executing hidden blade attacks from above. The open worlds served primarily as backdrops for traversal and mission hubs rather than massive sandboxes filled with loot.
The Massive RPG Pivot (2017–2020)
Starting with Origins and peaking in Odyssey and Valhalla, Ubisoft transformed the franchise into sprawling action-role-playing games. Linear mission designs gave way to level-gated regions, dialogue choices, massive gear inventories, and damage-number combat systems. Climbing towers remained, but map sizes expanded exponentially to accommodate dozens of hours of open-world exploration.
The Hybrid Approach (2023–Present)
Recent releases like Mirage and Shadows lean into a hybrid design philosophy. Mirage condensed the scale back down to a tight, urban stealth experience reminiscent of the early entries. Meanwhile, Shadows blends traditional shinobi stealth mechanics with full-scale open-world progression, giving players distinct playstyles tailored to different protagonists.
Common Mistakes When Playing the Series
- Skipping the Ezio Trilogy: Many players try to jump straight from the first game to modern entries. Missing Ezio's arc means missing the emotional heartbeat and lore foundation of the entire franchise.
- Treating Side Content as Mandatory: In the massive RPG entries like Valhalla and Odyssey, trying to clear every single map icon will cause severe burnout. Focus on main narrative arcs and explore organically.
- Ignoring Modern-Day Context: While modern-day segments can disrupt historical immersion, skipping them entirely makes later plot developments involving the Isu civilization confusing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to play the games in order to understand the story?
Not entirely. Each historical setting features a standalone plot involving local historical figures and conflicts. However, the overarching science-fiction framing story involving modern protagonists and ancient artifacts builds continuously across releases.
Which game is the best starting point for beginners?
Assassin's Creed II remains the classic entry point for the traditional style, while Assassin's Creed Origins works best if you prefer modern open-world action RPGs.
Are the spin-off and handheld titles necessary?
Games like Liberation, Freedom Cry, and the Chronicles trilogy offer great side stories and mechanical twists, but they are entirely optional for understanding the main narrative arcs.
How long does it take to beat every game?
If you rush through the main stories of every mainline title, you're looking at well over 300 hours of gameplay. Fully completing every entry can easily exceed 600 hours.
