The Assassin’s Creed series has been around since 2007, and one of its most impressive aspects is how the events told in each game are all woven into one timeline. The series has a huge number of entries, with various main and spin-off releases, but they are all canon and fit into the timeline.

The games have historically been released in the wrong order, so making sense of the timeline can be quite difficult, but it’s even more satisfying to see how it all fits together in the end. So what is the chronological order in which the Assassin’s Creed games unfold?

The Isu

Most titles in the Assassin’s Creed series take place in a set time and are based on our version of history, but the earliest events are the closest to fantasy. We are introduced to a race called the Isu, but they have other names throughout history.

They are an ancient intelligent species created by humanity themselves to work for them and build an empire. Not only did they create humanity, but they also created powerful artifacts called “Pieces of Eden”. These eventually appear throughout the timeline and cause unrest throughout history. These artifacts can control humanity in various ways using neural transmission, but some people are immune to them.

Some people rebel (Adam and Eve are the first to resist) and conflict ensues between the Isu and the races they created. The war ends with an apocalyptic event known as the Cataclysm. A massive solar flare wipes out the Isu, leaving only a few alive. Some of the Isu, namely Minerva, Jupiter and Juno, saw this coming.

They saw the event coming using a device called the Eye, but realized they would not survive and instead worked on warning humanity about the second solar flare predicted for 2012 A.D.

Juno, however, had evil intentions and planned to use the Eye to take control of the world, but was discovered by the others and trapped inside the Eye, but had manipulated the Eye beforehand to be released at the next activation.

Before the end of the Isu era, it is worth noting that the Isu paved the way for many religions in the Assassin’s Creed timeline, especially the Norse Gods. They were all Isu who uploaded themselves into the Tree of Life to be reincarnated as humans. Loki was supposed to be exempt from this, but ended up killing one of the others and taking his place.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

After the events of Ith, we first play through Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in chronological order, taking place between 452 and 422 BC. Played by Chr.

However, as the game progresses, we learn that there are several events that connect the era of Ith to Odyssey, most notably the founding of the Elder Order. The order emerged around the 14th century BC. It was founded in Egypt by a strongman who used a piece of Eden to control the population and spread his understanding of Ith’s ideology. This group eventually gave rise to the Templars, rivals to the Assassins.

The first Hidden One and wielder of the Hidden Blade was Darius, who killed a corrupt Persian king, but we don’t know the name of the Hidden One until they are officially established in Origins with Bayek and Aya. The canonical events of The Odyssey follow Cassandra the Eagle-Bearer’s battle with the Cult of Cosmos, which is manipulating the Peloponnesian War.

Notable events in the timeline include Cassandra’s meeting with her estranged father Pythagoras in the hidden city of Atlantis, and her inheritance of the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, an ancient Isu artifact that grants immortality to its owner (and coincidentally houses the conscience of Loki’s wife Aletheia), and the birth of Elpidios to Darius’ son.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

Centuries later, it places the events of Origins between 49 BC and 38 BC. You play Bayek and his wife Aya, descendants of Elpidios in Egypt during the Christian era. In the game, the two form the Hidden Ones to avenge their son Khem, who was killed by members of the Elder Cult who forced the opening of the Temple of Isu. The two take on Julius Caesar, a member of the cult, and kill him, but his power and wealth increase the influence of the cult. After avenging their son, they part ways. Aya travels to Rome to expand the influence of the Hidden Ones, while Bayek remains in Egypt.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

Mirage jumps to 852 AD and follows the story of Basim and his journey to become one of the Hidden Ones in the city of Baghdad. During his journey to confront the Cult’s influence in the city, Basim learns more about the spirits that tormented him and reunites with an estranged childhood friend.

Through his interactions with the Cult and the Hidden Ones, Basim realizes that he is the reincarnation of Ith-Loki and that both his childhood friend and his soul are projections of this side of him, and after this realization, he merges with that side. The game ends with him remembering his strained relationship with the other gods and looking forward to reuniting with them.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Set primarily in England between 872 and 889 AD, the events of Valhalla follow the Viking Eivor and her journey with other assassins such as Hytham and especially Basim.

During her journey, she has visions of Ragnarok, which is actually a cataclysmic event, and eventually tracks down Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life supercomputer into which the Nordic Isu tribe uploaded themselves to be reborn. She visits the simulation of Valhalla, but leaves after a clash with Basim, who ultimately takes on the role of Loki.

She manages to end the conflict by uploading it to Yggdrasil. Valhalla also depicts the transition from the Elder Knights to the Templars through the actions of their leader at the time, King Alfred. Eivor’s story ends with her accepting her role as the reincarnation of Odin, followed by a DLC adventure in Scotland where the immortal Cassandra makes a cameo appearance.

Assassin’s Creed

The first Assassin’s Creed game depicts the ruthless assassin Altair during the Middle East Crusades from 1191 to 1193 AD, his battles with the Templars and his discovery of the conspiracy that controlled his Brotherhood of Assassins, as well as the first appearance of the official Brotherhood of Assassins in the timeline.

Eventually, Altair discovers the Apple of Eden, which his former leader used to control the other Assassins, and in an attempt to destroy it activates it instead, giving him information about the location of the chair and other artifacts. In Revelation, we also learn more about the end of Altair’s life, especially how he founded the Brotherhood in Constantinople and died hiding the knowledge and the Apple of Eden in a hidden library.

Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Trilogy

The most popular period of Assassin’s Creed follows Ezio’s adventures through most of his life from 1476 to 1512. His story begins when he witnesses his father Giovanni being killed by the Templars. He soon learns that his father was an assassin and takes over as his successor.
Two tells the story of how Ezio dismantles the Templar conspiracy that controls the Italian upper class and how he finds Rodrigo, the then leader of the Templars, who uses the Papal Scepter and Chair artifacts to seize control. At the end of Two, Ezio uses the Apple of Eden to find a hidden crypt beneath the Vatican, from which he reaches a hologram of Minerva, who warns of a second cataclysm.
Brotherhood depicts how Ezio soon regrets his decision to keep Rodrigo alive when his son Cesare leads the Templars to kill most of Ezio’s group of assassins. However, over the course of Brotherhood, Ezio manages to get revenge on Cesare (who has already killed his father at this point) and recover the Apple of Eden used by the Templars.

In the final part of Ezio’s story, “Apocalypse”, he seeks the knowledge he needs to advance the Brotherhood by exploring Altair’s hidden library.

He eventually manages to find her and follows the advice of the now deceased Altair not to follow his own path and not to become attached to knowledge. Ezio also manages to activate Altair’s Apple of Eden, which contains a message from Jupiter about the Second Cataclysm.

There is a short story called “Assassin’s Creed: Embers”, which depicts the final moments of Ezio’s life in 1524. Ezio retreats to the vineyards of Tuscany, only to die when he encounters the traveling assassin Xiao Jun, who has since returned to China to meet with him.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China

The first chronological entry in the Chronicles subseries follows Xiao Jun’s return to China and his battle with the local Templars, the Eight Tigers.

The group manages to steal a mysterious box from Xiao Jun, a key item in the subseries, but manages to kill all of its members over the course of the game and re-establish the Brotherhood in China. Unfortunately, she is unable to retrieve the box.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag And Freedom Cry

Black Flag follows Edward Kenway from 1712 to 1722. It follows his journey to becoming an Assassin and his journey to find the Observatory before the Templars do. He is eventually betrayed by his partner Bartholomew Roberts, who aided the Templars.

He returns to Wales upon learning of his wife’s death, and also learns of the birth of his son, Haytham Kenway. Taking place immediately after Black Flag, the events of Freedom Cry follow Adwale, Edward’s quartermaster, between 1735 and 1737.

We follow his adventures as part of the West Indies Brotherhood and his alliance with Bastienne, a brothel owner who helps him subvert the local slave trade. Adéwald also finds a mysterious box stolen from Xiao Jun centuries ago, which he entrusts to Bastienne.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue

Rogue stands out because it follows Shay Cormac, an assassin who becomes disillusioned with the Brotherhood and eventually defect to the Templars, killing most of them, including Adéwald, between 1752 and 1760.

He teams up with Edward’s son Haytham, who also joined the Templars. The two try to stop Achilles, the leader of the Brotherhood whom Shay abandoned, in order to force him to stop operating the Precursor site.

They fail to stop him, and his entire group dies. Achilles is the only survivor Shay allows to live. The game ends with Shay later in life killing French assassin Charles Dorian.

Assassin’s Creed 3 And Liberation

Assassin’s Creed III and Liberation are both set simultaneously between 1760 and 1784 in North America, but with different protagonists. The third installment follows Ratonhake Tong, popularly known as Connor, who joins the Colonial Brotherhood under the tutelage of Achilles.

He joins the war against the British Empire, attacks the Templars to avenge his mother, and even meets his estranged father, Haytham Kenway, at this point an Arch Templar whom he eventually kills.

He also kills the new Templar leader Charles Lee, leaving a strong impression, but regrets not being able to do more while he was alive. Liberation follows Aveline’s childhood in the Louisiana bayou. After her biological mother mysteriously disappears, she lives with her wealthy father and stepmother. She also lives a double life as a socialite and murderer.

She finds out that her mother is in fact alive and that the local Templars have been controlling the excavation site in order to control the area. It turns out that her stepmother was the leader of the local Templars and was grooming Aveline to take over the leadership of the Templars, but her plan goes awry and Aveline succeeds in murdering her instead.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

Unity takes place between 1776 and 1803 and follows Arno Dorian, the son of Charles Dorian (Shay’s victim at the end of Rogue), through the French Revolution. As Arno begins to follow in his father’s footsteps as an assassin, infighting breaks out among the Templars, leading to the death of Arno’s adoptive father, the former leader of the French Templars.

Arno’s journey as an assassin begins with the storming of the Bastille and eventually becomes embroiled in the French Revolution and the intrigues of the French Templars under their new leadership.

His journey ends when François, the current leader of the Templars, kills Arno’s partner Elise while attempting to use the Sword of Eden.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India

The second chapter of the Chronicle is about Albaz Mir in 1841, working against the British Templars, who were using the Anglo-Sikh Wars to expand their influence.

Sleeman, leader of the Templars who are at odds with Arbaaz, is after an artifact called the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, using the same mysterious box previously in Bastienne and Xiao Jun’s possession.

After escaping from his captors, Arbaaz manages to secure the Koh-i-Noor diamond and kills Sleeman, but unfortunately fails to secure the mysterious treasure chest. After Arbaaz presents the diamond, it falls into the hands of Ethan Frye.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

Set in the British Industrial Revolution era between 1868 and 1916, Syndicate follows Ethan Frye’s recently orphaned children, twins Jacob and Evie Frye. The pair rebel against Crawford Starrick, the leader of the Knights Templar who controls London life and links London’s criminal underworld to a group called the Rooks. The pair team up with Albers’ son Henry Greene and work together to find the Shroud of Eden. They are successful in achieving this goal and are eventually knighted by Queen Victoria. Part of the game shifts focus to Jacob’s granddaughter Lydia Frye, who works with Churchill to eliminate Templar spies during World War I and meets the Wise Man, a reincarnation of Juno’s husband, Ita.

However, there is a DLC expansion that takes place before that, putting the original Fry twins on the trail of Jack the Ripper, a former assassin now seeking revenge. She kidnaps Jacob, and it is Evie who ultimately hunts him down.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia

The final game before the modern era is Chronicles of Russia, which follows Nikolai Orelov’s final mission in 1918. The exhausted assassin is tasked with finding the mysterious Precursor Box, which leads him to team up with Xiao Jun and Anastasia, a surviving member of the Romanov family who has ties to the box itself.

Anastasia lends Xiao Jun her abilities so she and Nikolai can take down the Templars. After returning to the Assassins who try to experiment on her due to his connection with Xiao Jun, Nikolai eventually defected and helps her escape the country.

Modern Era

Desmond Miles

The first chapter of the modern era follows Desmond Miles over several months in 2012. He is a modern day Assassin held captive by the modern day Templar front Abstergo, who use the Animus to search and explore the memories of his descendants to find the Isu Relic.

He is eventually freed and joins forces with other members of the Brotherhood, Lucy, Rebecca and Sean, who have their own animosities to use against Abstergo.

During this journey, after activating the Apple of Eden, Desmond is possessed by Juno, who uses it to kill Lucy. Shocked, his comatose body enters the Isu Temple to explore Haytham and Connor’s memories and stop the impending solar flare.

However, Juno’s efforts are ultimately rewarded, because to use the device, Desmond must sacrifice himself at the same time as freeing Juno. However, he is determined to save the world from disaster, and unfortunately his body falls into the hands of Abstergo.

Abstergo In Between

After Desmond’s death, we see certain Abstergo employees exploring Desmond’s memories, recreating the events of games such as Black Flag, Unity and Syndicate.

During these events, we learn through the eyes of various Abstergo employees how Juno’s conscience became entangled in Abstergo’s system, while also reuniting with Desmond’s old friends Rebecca and Sean, who are still working to take Abstergo.

At the end of these events, Rebecca and Sean succeed in assassinating Isabelle, the current leader of the Templars, but then discover that the Templars are now fully cooperating with Juno.

Layla Hassan

In Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla, Layla Hassan is portrayed as an Abstergo employee searching for Bayek’s body. She eventually defectes and is recruited by Rebecca and Sean’s assassin friend William.

After reliving Cassandra’s memories, she finally meets her in the city of Atlantis, inherits the Staff of Hermes, becoming immortal herself, and ultimately causing Cassandra’s death. Layla also meets Loki’s partner Aletheia, who awakens through the staff and helps Layla learn to use it.

In Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla, Layla Hassan is depicted as an Abstergo employee searching for Bayek’s body. She eventually defected and was recruited by Rebecca and Sean’s assassin friend William.

After reliving Cassandra’s memories, she finally meets her in the city of Atlantis, inherits the Staff of Hermes, becoming immortal herself, and ultimately causing Cassandra’s death. Layla also meets Loki’s partner, Aletheia, who awakens from the staff and helps Layla learn to use it.

This eventually leads them to Yggdrasil, where Layla enters the computer, where it turns out that Basim sent a signal to the Animus from within. Eventually Basim and Layla switch places, and Loki is reunited with Aletheia, who is still in the Staff of Hermes.

Layla now lives in The Grey, Yggdrasil’s digital afterlife, with Desmond, whose conscience was uploaded by Abstergo after his discovery.

With Basim in the modern world, the remaining Assassins are naturally hesitant to trust him. With this, he attempts to gain their trust by having them relive their previous memories during the Mirage.