Assassin's Creed: Full Timeline Revealed

Assassin’s Creed Shadows marks the latest installment in the expansive Assassin’s Creed series, set during the intriguing period of feudal Japan. This setting places it squarely in the middle of the series’ sprawling historical timeline, which doesn't follow a straightforward chronological progression. Instead, the franchise jumps across centuries, from the ancient Peloponnesian War in Greece to the cusp of the First World War, weaving a rich tapestry of historical events and narratives.

With a total of 14 mainline games and counting, the timeline has become increasingly intricate. To help fans navigate this complexity, IGN has meticulously analyzed the lore to construct a comprehensive timeline that organizes the series’ events in chronological order. This detailed timeline encompasses all key moments in the Assassin’s Creed universe, providing clarity on the overarching narrative and how each game interconnects.

The Isu Era

75,000 BCE

To fully appreciate the Assassin’s Creed timeline, it's essential to understand the lore of the Isu, an advanced civilization that once ruled Earth. The Isu created humanity as their servants, controlling them with powerful artifacts known as the Apples of Eden. However, the rebellion led by Adam and Eve, who stole an Apple, sparked a decade-long war between humans and the Isu. This conflict ended abruptly with a catastrophic solar flare that wiped out the Isu, allowing humanity to rise and inherit the Earth.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

431 to 422 BCE - Peloponnesian War

Set against the backdrop of the Peloponnesian War in Greece, Kassandra, a skilled mercenary, uncovers the sinister Cult of Kosmos. This shadowy group has been manipulating the war from behind the scenes. Kassandra learns that her brother, Alexios, was abducted by the Cult and transformed into a powerful weapon due to his lineage from the legendary Spartan King Leonidas, an Isu descendant. Kassandra's mission to dismantle the Cult leads her to destroy an Isu device that predicts future outcomes, thus ending the war. Her journey also reconnects her with her father, Pythagoras, who entrusts her with the Staff of Hermes, granting immortality, and tasks her with safeguarding Atlantis.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

49 to 43 BCE - Ptolemaic Egypt

In the time of Cleopatra, Bayek, a peacekeeper, and his son are kidnapped by the Order of the Ancients, a group connected to the Cult of Kosmos. The Order aims to unlock an Isu vault using Bayek's bloodline, but he fails, inadvertently causing his son's death during their escape. Driven by vengeance, Bayek and his wife, Aya, dismantle the Order's influence in Egypt, discovering its global reach and ambitions to control using the Apples of Eden. In response, they establish the Hidden Ones, a secret society dedicated to opposing the Order's tyranny.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

861 - Islamic Golden Age

A century later, the Hidden Ones have expanded globally, including a stronghold in Alamut, Iran. Basim, once a street thief from Baghdad, is trained as an assassin and tasked with investigating the Order of the Ancients' activities. His discovery of an Isu temple beneath Alamut leads to a battle against the Order, where he finds a prison containing Loki, an Isu revered as a god by the Norse. Basim, realizing he is Loki's reincarnation, seeks revenge against those who imprisoned him in his past life.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

872 to 878 - Viking Invasion of England

Basim joins a Viking clan on their quest to England, targeting members of the Order of the Ancients. The clan's leaders, Sigurd and Eivor, navigate the political landscape to establish their settlement, Ravensthorpe. They uncover King Alfred's tyranny, a leader within the Order seeking to impose a Christian regime. Sigurd's visions, triggered by an Isu artifact, reveal that he and Eivor are reincarnations of Isu gods Odin and Týr, targeted by Basim for revenge. Eivor traps Basim in a simulated world, and after defeating King Alfred, returns to Ravensthorpe as a hero.

Assassin’s Creed

1191 - Third Crusade

By the 11th century, the Hidden Ones have evolved into the Assassin Brotherhood, facing off against the newly formed Knights Templar, the evolved form of the Order of the Ancients. During the Third Crusade, assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad seeks to reclaim an Apple of Eden from the Templars. Tasked with assassinating nine Templar leaders to atone for his arrogance, Altaïr uncovers a plot involving the Apple. He learns that his mentor, Al Mualim, betrayed the Templars to control the Apple and impose peace through force. Altaïr ultimately kills Al Mualim and takes over the Brotherhood.

Assassin’s Creed 2

1476 to 1499 - Italian Renaissance

During the Italian Renaissance, Ezio Auditore da Firenze joins the Assassin Brotherhood to avenge his family, killed by the Templars. Armed with his father’s equipment and innovations from Leonardo da Vinci, Ezio battles the Templar-aligned Borgia family. His quest leads him to an Apple of Eden and an Isu vault beneath the Vatican. Inside, Ezio encounters Minerva, who warns of an impending apocalypse in 2012 and reveals the existence of Isu vaults that could save humanity.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

1499 to 1507 - Italian Renaissance

After defeating the Pope in combat, Ezio must reclaim the Apple of Eden stolen by the Papal Army. He strengthens the Assassin Brotherhood, dismantling the Borgia regime in Rome and securing the Apple in an Isu vault beneath the Colosseum, out of the Templars' reach.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations

1511 to 1512 - Ottoman Civil War

Seeking more knowledge about the Isu, Ezio travels to Masyaf to investigate Altaïr's library. The Templars, also after the library's secrets, have begun collecting keys to unlock it. Ezio allies with the Ottoman Assassins in Constantinople to thwart the Templars and secure the keys. Inside the library, he discovers Altaïr's remains and a message from Jupiter about data crucial for humanity's survival. Understanding this knowledge is for a future observer, Ezio leaves the Apple secured as intended and retires, eventually succumbing to his accumulated injuries.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

1579 - Sengoku Period

Set in feudal Japan during the Sengoku period, Assassin’s Creed Shadows follows an African mercenary and a Jesuit missionary who arrive in Japan. The mercenary, Yasuke, becomes a samurai under the powerful lord Oda Nobunaga, who is unifying Japan's warring clans. Yasuke's path intersects with Naoe, a shinobi from the Iga province, and together they pursue a shared goal amidst the political turmoil.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

1715 to 1722 - Golden Age of Piracy

During the Golden Age of Piracy, Edward Kenway becomes entangled in a Templar plot to control the Observatory, an Isu device capable of spying on anyone. The Templars seek the Sage, a human reincarnation of the Isu Aita, to unlock it. Edward, initially motivated by profit, allies with pirates to find the Sage, Bartholomew Roberts. After a betrayal by Roberts, Edward retrieves the Observatory's artifact, assassinates the Templar leader, and seals the device away, choosing the world's safety over personal gain.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue

1752 to 1776 - French and Indian War

Shay Patrick Cormac, tasked by the Assassin Brotherhood to retrieve an Isu artifact, inadvertently triggers a devastating earthquake in Lisbon. Guilt-ridden, Shay defects and steals the Assassins' map of Isu temples. Rescued by the Templars, he rises through their ranks, targeting Assassins to prevent further disturbances. His quest leads him to confront his former mentor, Achilles, and suggest a Templar-led revolution in France in response to the Assassins' actions in America.

Assassin’s Creed 3

1754 to 1783 - American Revolution

Haytham Kenway, a Templar, seeks to unlock the Isu Grand Temple but fails, later fathering a child, Ratonhnhaké:ton, with a Mohawk woman, Kaniehti:io. After his mother's death and the burning of their village, Ratonhnhaké:ton, now called Connor, joins the Assassins to seek vengeance. Amidst the American Revolution, Connor eliminates Templars within the British forces and confronts his father, Haytham, over their conflicting visions for America. Connor ultimately kills Haytham, securing the Grand Temple key and thwarting the Templars' plans.

Assassin’s Creed Liberation

1765 to 1777 - Spanish Occupation of Louisiana

Parallel to Connor's story, Aveline de Grandpré uncovers a Templar plot in Louisiana to control the region using slaves to unearth an Isu temple. Her journey leads her to confront the 'Company Man', revealed to be her stepmother, who had been grooming her for the Templars. After defeating her, Aveline activates an Isu device, the Prophecy Disk, which recounts the tale of Eve's rebellion against the Isu.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

1789 to 1794 - French Revolution

Orphaned Arno Dorian, raised by the French Templar Grand Master, is framed for murder and imprisoned. He joins the Assassin Brotherhood to uncover the truth behind his adoptive father's death, discovering a Templar schism led by François-Thomas Germain. Amidst the French Revolution, Arno and his sister Élise pursue Germain, who attempts to use a Sword of Eden to kill Arno. The sword's explosion kills Élise, and Arno seals Germain's remains in the Paris Catacombs, preventing Templar access.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

1868 - Victorian England

In Victorian London, twin assassins Jacob and Evie Frye seek the Shroud, an Isu device. They uncover the Templars' control over the city through industry and crime. While Jacob assassinates Templar leaders, Evie races to find the Shroud. The Templar leader, Crawford Starrick, steals the Shroud from Buckingham Palace, but the twins assassinate him and return the Shroud to its vault. Later, Jacob leads the London Assassins, and Evie tracks down Jack the Ripper, raising her daughter Lydia as an Assassin.

Transition Period

1914 to 2012

The Assassin’s Creed series is framed by a modern-day narrative, with the Templars establishing Abstergo Industries in 1937 to control the world through capitalism. Abstergo develops the Animus in the late 1970s, a machine that allows users to explore ancestral memories, aiming to control the future by understanding the past.

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

2012

In 2012, Desmond Miles is abducted by Abstergo to locate Isu artifacts through his ancestors' memories. With help from an Assassin mole, Lucy Stillman, Desmond escapes and joins the Assassins. Exploring Ezio's memories, Desmond learns of the impending apocalypse and the need to find the Apples of Eden. He locates an Apple hidden beneath the Colosseum, but Juno, a malevolent Isu, possesses him, forcing him to kill Lucy. Desmond awakens from a coma to find the Grand Temple, sacrificing himself to prevent the apocalypse and release Juno.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

2013

Abstergo continues using Desmond's DNA to explore Edward Kenway's memories in search of the Observatory. An Abstergo researcher, dubbed "The Noob," is manipulated by John Standish, the modern-day Sage, to hack Abstergo's systems. Standish's plan to host Juno fails, and he is killed by Abstergo security.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

2014

Abstergo releases Helix, allowing the public to experience genetic memories. An Assassin initiate explores Arno Dorian's life, locating the Sage François-Thomas Germain's remains in the Paris Catacombs, keeping them safe from Abstergo.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

2015

The initiate searches for the Shroud through the memories of Jacob and Evie Frye, learning its location beneath Buckingham Palace. Abstergo retrieves the Shroud first, planning to create a living Isu, while Juno manipulates Abstergo employees to sabotage their efforts.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

2017

Layla Hassan, an Abstergo researcher, develops a new Animus to explore memories directly from DNA samples. In Egypt, she uses Bayek and Aya's DNA to uncover the origins of the Hidden Ones. William Miles recruits her into the Assassin Brotherhood.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

2018

Using DNA from the Spear of Leonidas, Layla relives Kassandra's memories, locating Atlantis. Kassandra, having lived for centuries with the Staff of Hermes, explains the need for balance between the Assassins and Templars, entrusting Layla with the Staff before passing away.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

2020

Layla investigates magnetic field fluctuations, exploring Eivor's memories to find the Yggdrasil computer. Inside the simulation, she works with Desmond's consciousness to prevent future apocalypses. Meanwhile, Basim escapes the simulation, claims the Staff of Hermes, and joins the Assassins to search for Loki's children.