You know that feeling when you dive into a game and realize the world is way bigger than you thought? That’s basically the entire vibe of the assassin's creed games in order of release. It started as this weird, experimental stealth thing in 2007 and somehow turned into a massive, sprawling RPG monster that covers everything from Viking raids to the Peloponnesian War. Honestly, if you try to jump in at the middle, you’re going to be totally lost because the modern-day plot—the stuff with the Animus and the Isu—gets incredibly messy.
The Beginning of the Hood
It all kicked off with the original Assassin's Creed back in 2007. Looking back, it’s kinda clunky. You play as Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad during the Third Crusade. Ubisoft was basically showing off their new parkour tech. It was repetitive—go to a city, save a citizen, pickpocket a guy, stab a Templar—but the atmosphere was unmatched. Then 2009 happened. Assassin's Creed II didn't just improve on the formula; it blew the doors off. We met Ezio Auditore da Firenze. He’s the reason most people love this franchise. We watched him grow from a cocky teenager in Florence to a Master Assassin.
Ubisoft realized they had a goldmine with Ezio, so they gave him a trilogy. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood in 2010 added the mechanic of recruiting your own crew, and Assassin's Creed: Revelations in 2011 wrapped up his story in Constantinople. It was a lot of games in a very short time. People started getting "AC burnout," but the sales didn't slow down.
Ships, Revolutions, and a Lot of Sea Shanties
The year 2012 brought Assassin's Creed III. It was divisive. Some people hated Connor (Ratonhnhaké:ton) because he wasn't Ezio, but the American Revolution setting was gorgeous. More importantly, it introduced naval combat. Ubisoft saw how much people loved the boats, so in 2013, they dropped Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
It’s barely an Assassin game, let’s be real. It’s a pirate simulator. You’re Edward Kenway, a guy who steals an Assassin's outfit because he wants to get rich. It’s arguably the most fun game in the series. Then things got weird in 2014. They released two games at once: Assassin's Creed Unity for the new consoles and Assassin's Creed Rogue for the old ones. Unity was a buggy mess at launch, which is a shame because Paris was stunning and the parkour was the best it’s ever been. Rogue was basically "Black Flag but you're the bad guy," playing as a Templar named Shay Cormac.
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Then came Assassin's Creed Syndicate in 2015. Victorian London. Two protagonists, Jacob and Evie Frye. It was good, but the "yearly release" fatigue had finally peaked. Ubisoft took a break. They needed to rethink what assassin's creed games in order of release actually meant for the future of the brand.
The RPG Pivot
When they came back in 2017 with Assassin's Creed Origins, everything was different. They went to Ancient Egypt. They turned it into a full-blown RPG with levels, loot, and a massive open world. Bayek of Siwa is easily one of the best-written characters in gaming history.
They doubled down on this in 2018 with Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It’s huge. Like, "take 100 hours of your life" huge. You play as Alexios or Kassandra in Ancient Greece. There’s magic, there’s mythical beasts, and the "Assassin" part of the title starts to feel a bit like a suggestion rather than a rule. Some fans hated the shift, but the numbers don't lie—people loved the freedom.
Then we got Assassin's Creed Valhalla in 2020. Vikings. England. It was the "everything and the kitchen sink" entry. It’s heavy, it’s long, and it leans hard into the sci-fi Isu lore. By this point, the list of assassin's creed games in order of release had become a timeline of how gaming trends shifted from stealth-action to massive "map-clearing" simulators.
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Getting Back to Basics (Sorta)
In 2023, Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed Mirage. It was marketed as a "return to roots." It’s shorter, set in 9th-century Baghdad, and focuses on Basim. It felt like a love letter to that original 2007 vibe, just with better graphics and less repetitive missions. It was a palate cleanser before the series headed back into the massive RPG territory with Assassin's Creed Shadows, which finally brings the series to feudal Japan—something fans have been screaming for since the Obama administration.
The Full List of Main Games
- Assassin's Creed (2007)
- Assassin's Creed II (2009)
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010)
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011)
- Assassin's Creed III (2012)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013)
- Assassin's Creed Rogue (2014)
- Assassin's Creed Unity (2014)
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015)
- Assassin's Creed Origins (2017)
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey (2018)
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2020)
- Assassin's Creed Mirage (2023)
- Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025/2026)
What Most People Get Wrong
There’s a huge misconception that you have to play every single game to understand what’s happening. You don't. Honestly. If you want the "classic" experience, play the Ezio Trilogy. If you want a massive world to get lost in, go for Odyssey. If you want the best story, Origins is the winner.
The modern-day plot is the biggest hurdle. From Desmond Miles to Layla Hassan, it’s a lot of corporate espionage and "end of the world" tropes that sometimes feel like they’re getting in the way of the cool historical stuff. But the beauty of the assassin's creed games in order of release is that each entry reflects the era it was made in. You can literally see the evolution of game design just by moving through the years.
How to Actually Tackle This Series
If you’re looking to start now, don't try to marathon them all in order. You’ll burn out by the time you reach the American Revolution. Instead, pick an era you actually care about. Love pirates? Start with Black Flag. Interested in the French Revolution? Go with Unity.
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The most "efficient" way to catch up on the lore without losing your mind is to watch a "story so far" recap for the modern-day segments and then just play the games that look cool to you. The historical stories are mostly self-contained anyway.
Moving forward, the series is moving into a platform called Assassin's Creed Infinity, which is supposed to be a hub for all future experiences. It's a weird time for the franchise, but considering it's survived for nearly two decades, it's clearly not going anywhere.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check for Sales: These games go on deep discount constantly. Never pay full price for the older titles; they are often bundled for under $20 on Steam or the PlayStation/Xbox stores.
- Prioritize the "RPG Trilogy" if you have limited time: Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla are the most "modern" and provide the most content per dollar, even if they drift away from the original stealth mechanics.
- Enable Cloud Saves: If you’re switching between consoles or PC, Ubisoft Connect is actually pretty decent at keeping your progress synced, which is vital for games that take 80+ hours to finish.