Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed is a massive historical action-adventure video game franchise.

Developed primarily by Ubisoft Montreal, it uses the Anvil engine to create vast worlds. The series explores a fictional, millennia-old conflict between two secret groups. The Order of Assassins fights for the values of peace and free will. In contrast, the Knights Templar seek peace through total order and control. This struggle blends historical fiction with science fiction elements. Players often experience this conflict through two different timelines simultaneously.

To understand the gameplay, one must look at how players interact with the world. Most titles use a third-person view within an open world.

Players use parkour, which is a method of navigating environments by climbing and jumping, to move through cities. Combat and stealth are central to the experience. Some games even feature naval combat, where players command ships on the open sea. Missions are divided into main objectives and side activities. These activities often include finding collectibles or uncovering secrets within the environment.

The narrative structure is built around the concept of genetic memory. This idea allows characters to access the memories of their ancestors.

In the modern-day setting, characters use a machine called the Animus to relive these past events. This technology helps them search for powerful artifacts known as Pieces of Eden. The series has moved through three distinct story arcs. The first five games follow Desmond Miles, a descendant of important Assassins. The second arc involves employees of Abstergo Industries using Helix software to find artifacts. The third arc follows Layla Hassan on a quest to save humanity from disaster.

The history of the franchise began with an idea for a Prince of Persia sequel. The developers wanted to move away from royal characters toward someone who must work for their position. They drew heavy inspiration from the 1938 novel Alamut by Vladimir Bartol. This book was based on the historical Hashashin sect of medieval Iran. The first game launched in 2007, and the series has since released fourteen main installments. The most recent entry is Assassin's Creed Shadows, released in 2025.

Ubisoft has organized the series into three distinct periods of design philosophy. Period one focused on single-player action-adventure and stealth.

This era included titles like Assassin's Creed II, which introduced social stealth. Social stealth allows players to hide within large crowds to remain unseen. Period two began with Assassin's Creed Origins and introduced heavy role-playing elements. These games offered much longer playtimes and different mission structures. Period three began with Assassin's Creed Shadows. This period uses an Animus Hub system to let players share achievements and content.

The commercial success of the franchise is immense. It has sold over 200 million copies worldwide. This makes it the best-selling franchise for Ubisoft and one of the top-selling series in gaming history. The games have earned many awards, including multiple Game of the Year honors. While the main games are for consoles and desktops, spin-offs exist for mobile and handheld platforms. The franchise has also expanded into comics, novels, art books, and a 2016 live-action film.

Assassin's Creed connects deeply with real-world history and various media fields. It uses specific historical settings, such as the American Revolution or the Viking Age. By blending these eras with science fiction, the series creates a unique way to explore the past. The evolution of the gameplay shows how video game technology can change. From simple climbing to complex role-playing systems, the series reflects the growth of the entire gaming industry. It remains a major part of modern digital storytelling.