• • • November 13, 2007 October 27, 2017 Assassin's Creed is a franchise centered on an video game series developed. It depicts a centuries-old struggle pitting the, who fight for peace and free will, against the, who believe peace comes through control of humanity. The series features mixed with real-world and. The series took inspiration from the novel by the Slovenian writer, while building upon concepts from the series.

The franchise began in 2007 with the release of. The main video game series consists of ten entries, developed by (single-player) and (multiplayer), released on,,,,,, and platforms. Many spin-off games have been made for,,,,,, and platforms. Fifth Business Audiobook more. The handheld versions are developed by and Gryptonite Studios, with additional development by Ubisoft Montreal.

The Assassin’s Creed 5 location and time period have finally been revealed with the first actual screenshots a gaming site obtained secretly from an anonymous source.

The series has been well received by critics, and has sold over 100 million copies as of September 2016, becoming Ubisoft's best selling franchise and one of the. The video game series has been expanded into a, comics and; all of which take place within the same continuity as the main video games series. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Premise The Assassin's Creed games primarily revolve around the rivalry between two ancient secret societies — the and the — and their indirect relation to an, referred to within the games as 'those who came before', whose society, along with much of Earth's biosphere, was destroyed by a massive thousands of years before the games. The games' real-world chronological setting begins in the year 2012. Within the franchise, Abstergo Industries is a with multiple branches, secretly run by modern Knights Templar. The company is the present-day main antagonist of the franchise.

Abstergo secretly created the 'Animus', a device that allows its users to 're-live' and experience the memories of their genetic ancestors within their bloodline through a virtual simulation. Overexposure to the animus causes the 'bleeding effect', which results in giving the user skills and abilities of his ancestors, but is also dangerous for the user as it can damage their mind, causing symptoms such as,,. Abstergo is seeking to discover the location of several historical artifacts, known as the 'Pieces of Eden'. Such artifacts hold great power, and are capable of controlling. Abstergo seeks to use them to remove free will and bring humanity into one single unified group, while the Assassins oppose them. In order to find the Pieces of Eden, Abstergo is abducting people whose ancestors are suspected to have had historically confirmed or suspected interactions with such devices, forcing the kidnapped person into the Animus and searching for clues on their ancestors' memories within the Animus.

Main article: Lucy returns and breaks Desmond out of Abstergo, taking him to an Assassin safehouse to work alongside Shaun, a historian, and Rebecca, their technical support. Using an improved version of the Animus, Desmond takes witness to Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young nobleman from the late 15th Century in, shortly before the execution of Ezio's father and brothers by order of a corrupt official working for the Templars. He, his mother, and sister take to hiding at the Monteriggioni villa owned by his uncle Mario, who helps to train Ezio in the ways of an Assassin. Ezio and Mario discover that Rodrigo Borgia is the figurehead of a number of Templars all who were accomplices in the execution of his family, and with help of allies like, methodically assassinate the lower-ranked Templars, while learning that Borgia has acquired a Piece of Eden called the Apple. Eventually, Ezio corners Borgia, who hands over the Piece and flees; Ezio is inducted into the ranks of the Brotherhood and believed to be a prophet based on their codex. A decade later, the Brotherhood learns that Borgia has since become, using the Church's influence to strengthen the Templars. Ezio invades and confronts Borgia, discovering that the Papal staff is also a Piece of Eden.