The Definitive Chronological Playing Order Of The Assassin’s Creed Games

From Altair to Bayek, we have you covered.

The Assassin’s Creed saga is the most epic historical tourism porn you’ll ever see. Sure, there’s a whole plot filled with ancient civilizations, forgotten technology, and shadow organizations making power plays… but most of us are really just in it for the character stories and historical settings.

But how does these stories all tie into each other? Many of the characters are interconnected, and several of the releases are out of order which means their stories are fragmented. If you’re just starting the series, you may be a little lost. So, if you want to experience the games for the first time and get the complete story or are playing them again with a twist we wanted to give you the option of playing through the games from the earliest story to the latest… in chronological order.

Now, many of the games, especially Revelations, jump around the chronology. So, we’re going to be listing them by the main timelines they cover. We’re also keeping this to on screen canon, as the rest is subject to be overwritten. So, you’ll only see games and movies here. Enjoy!

[Update] Thanks to the help of our readers, we’ve added Assassin’s Creed: Lineage and Assassin’s Creed: Ascendance on the timeline below!

[Update] Assassin’s Creed: Origins has been added.

Assassin’s Creed: Origins (49 BCE)

Origins takes us back much earlier than any previous game in the series, exploring the beginnings of what would become the Assassin Brotherhood.

Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles (1190 AD)

A DS and mobile game following Altair before his dishonor in the first game. His quest for a sacred object known as “the Chalice” leads him across the Middle East and into the heart of the Templar order.

Assassin’s Creed (1191 AD)

After a botched assassination, Altair Ibn-La’Ahad is demoted and given a list of targets to dispatch if he is to regain his position. As he works to fulfill his mission, he soon learns all is not as it appears to be and that his goals may clash with corruptive forces both outside and within the Assassin Order.

Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines (1191 AD)

Taking place directly after the first Assassin’s Creed, Altair strikes back at the Templar Order following the events of the first game.

Assassin’s Creed: Lineage (1476 AD)

A series of three shorts detailing the exploits of Ezio’s father, the assassin Giovanni Auditore.

Assassin’s Creed II (1459-1500 AD)

Set during the Italian Renaissance, nobleman Ezio Auditore da Firenze must embrace the role of an assassin in order to avenge the death of his family at the hands of the Templar Order. Widely considered the best game in the series.

Assassin’s Creed Movie (Late 15th century)

Set during 15th Century Spain, the film will mostly likely focus on an assassin fighting against the Spanish Inquisition. For more information, check out our in depth FAQ.

Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery (1491 AD)

Set during the events of Assassin’s Creed II, this DS/mobile game is a side story follows Ezio as he assists the Venetian Thieves Guild with a threat from the Spanish Inquisition.

Assassin’s Creed: Ascendance (1500 AD)

A short film bridging the story between Assassin’s Creed II and Brotherhood, that follows Ezio and his friend Leonardo DaVinci as they seek information on the Borgia’s rise to power.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (1500-1507 AD)

Taking place directly after the end of Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood shows Ezio moving to Rome to take the fight to the Borgia family while he rebuilds the assassin ranks.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (1511 AD)

The final game featuring Ezio. He travels to Constantinople searching for Altair’s secret library and in the process uncovers the story of his final days.

Assassin’s Creed: Embers (1524 AD)

A short CGI film set during Ezio’s twilight years, as he trains perspective student Shao Jun and lives out his final days with his family.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China (1526 AD)

A downloadable game about Ezio’s student Shao Jun as she returns to China during the fall of the Ming dynasty.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (1712-1722 AD)

Set during the Golden Age of Piracy as the pirate Edward Kenway sets off to make his fortune… only to be pulled into a conflict between the Assassins and the Templars over an ancient artifact called “The Observatory.”

Freedom Cry (1735-1737 AD)

A standalone expansion to Black Flag following Edward’s former First Mate Adewale as he engages on a quest to free slaves and disrupt the slave trade in the Caribbean.

Assassin’s Creed: Rogue (1752-1760 AD)

A revenge story following Assassin-turned-Templar Shay Cormac as he hunts down his former breatheran. Many characters in this game, such as Edward’s son Haytham Kenway and Achilles Davenport, are major players in Assassin’s Creed III.

Assassin’s Creed III (1754-1783 AD)

The story of Haytham’s son Conner, also known as Ratonhnhaké:ton, as he assists the American Revolution in order to save his Native American tribe from the Templar Order.

Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation (1765-1777 AD)

A mobile game set in the Louisiana Bayou that shows the efforts of African-French assassin Aveline de Grandpre as she battles the Templars in New Orleans at the end of the French and Indian War

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Aveline DLC (1784 AD)

A standalone mission for Black Flag taking place in Rhode Island following Aveline’s mission to recruit an escaped slave into the Assassin order.

Assassin’s Creed Unity (1776-1808 AD)

Set in Paris during the French Revolution, Unity features the assassin Arno Dorian as he seeks to expose corruption behind the Revolution.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India (1841 AD)

And upcoming downloadable game following the assassin Arbaaz Mir as he attempts to recover the Koh-i-Noor diamond during the turmoil of a war between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (1868 AD)

The latest big release, Syndicate tells the story of twins Jacob and Evie Frye, who must unite the factions or organized crime in Victorian London in order to fight the Templars.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Jack The Ripper DLC (1888 AD)

Taking place 20 years after the main campaign, Evie is after famed murderer Jack the Ripper, who has “embarked on a brutal reign of terror that shocks London to its core and threatens the very existence of the Brotherhood of Assassins.”

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia (1918 AD)

A downloadable game featuring Russian assassin Nikolai Orelov in 1918, just after the October Revolution.