The Assassin’s Creed series is one of Ubisoft’s most popular franchises, but as the story has continued, the series has not been without its holes in the timeline. After all, it jumps hundred of years sometimes, but there's one big one where a lot of unexplained events just have to be accepted.
Assassin’s Creed 3, Assassin’s Creed Rogue and Assassin’s Creed Unity establish facts about the timeline of the Assassin’s Creed universe which leave a glaring hole in the timeline with each new game that is announced. And while fans can easily expect the time difference to explain this, knowing how would be nice.
The Assassins and the Templars
In Assassin’s Creed 3, Rogue, and Unity, the Assassins come out on top by the end of the games' stories, but this leaves a few big holes in the timeline that need to be filled.
By the end of Assassin’s Creed 3, for example, it is clear that the Assassins have the upper hand over the Templars when it comes to their control of North America, while the events of Unity establish that the Templars still have significant holdings in mainland Europe, though their plans like the plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise are foiled by the Assassins in that game as well. And even though Rogue sees players dismantle the colonial Assassins, Shay is told that Connor Kenway and the American Assassins have undone all their work.
However, by modern times, it is clear that the Assassins have been forced back into the shadows while the Templars have not only retaken control of North America but have a public face in the form of Abstergo Industries and their video games division. It is even claimed that Connor’s actions during the American Revolution destroyed Templar influence in the US entirely, raising the question of how they were able to return. With 200+ years between these games and the modern-day story, that's a huge unexplained gap that should be explored.
Filling in the Timeline
One constant that the Assassin’s Creed series has is that the Assassins and Templars binary established in the first game has had to be carried forward to all subsequent points in the timeline. This essentially means that very little meaningful change can ever take place in the balance of power between the two organizations, at least without big explanations. For a while, the games crept closer and closer in time to the present day, necessitating a turn to the distant past for Odyssey and Valhalla.
However, it would be interesting for Ubisoft to explore some areas in the Assassins’ Creed timeline when the power balance between the Templars and the Assassins is more upset. It could be interesting, for example, to play at the time that the Templars begin to rebuild their power in North America, explaining the rise of Abstergo and the modern Templars and why and how the Assassins were able to blow their lead.
Furthermore, a game set nearer to the present day is more feasible than it was back during the first 3 Assassin’s Creed games. Rogue saw the franchise’s combat mechanics become something more closely resembling the combat in Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham series, suggesting that the games could deal with guns and modern weaponry in a way that is more in-line with the core design philosophy of Assassin’s Creed. Ubisoft wants to avoid cutting too close to the modern era with its assassins, but a story set in the 1800s that set up the rise of the Templars in North America would be a welcome fill-in.
It is established that the Templars had hands in some of the biggest events and Assassin's Creed conspiracy theories in 20th century history, such as the assassination of President Kennedy. They were even powerful enough to start World War 2, begging the question of when in the late 19th or early 20th century the order was able to regain its power. Again, while this is believable due to the huge gap in time, seeing it filled in somehow or somewhere would make for an impressive cohesiveness.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla launches November 17 for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.