Assassin's Creed is one of Ubisoft's longest running franchises (if not the longest running), and as such, it's natural to see patterns and connections. Sometimes, these are apparent with each name, but other times, it comes long after the fact like how Origins' Amunet was originally in AC2. But perhaps one of the most unique trends is interesting because of when, and on whom, they diverge.
In short, Assassin's Creed characters have their lives explored in the franchise. For Ezio, AC2, Brotherhood, Revelations, and Embers brought him from his teens to the end of his life. Assassin's Creed 3 saw Connor's journey to the brotherhood and his resurrection of it. Other games, like Assassin's Creed Unity, explore its main character in a vacuum but often with long-reaching influences. But in general, Ubisoft has left most deaths up in the air, but those with described deaths actually serve a common purpose.
Assassin's Creed Characters: The Unknown Deaths
Prior to Assassin's Creed Valhalla and disregarding the spin-off titles, there are 10 main characters in the franchise when counting Alexios/Kassandra as 1 character due to its approach but Jacob/Evie as 2 due to its dual character approach. Slightly more than half of these characters have undescribed deaths, although a couple are more than uneventful.
It is known that at some point Connor marries and has children, but this was initially painted to where Connor lost them. There are game files that suggest Connor died alone, but it is eventually confirmed that this is Abstergo propaganda. While many assume he died happy, the exact details around his death remain unknown. The next pair with unknown deaths are Jacob and Evie Frye, as although there were some close calls with Syndicate's Jack the Ripper DLC, nothing about their actual deaths are known.
Shay Patrick Cormac (Assassin turned Templar), Arno Dorian, and Bayek join these characters as those with unknown fates. Out of 10 main characters in Assassin's Creed, 6 share the morbid curiosity of unresigned fates. Arguably, it is the 4 with know deaths that are all the more interesting, though.
Assassin's Creed Characters: The Known Death and Modern-Day Storyline
This means that out of the main characters, only four have known deaths: Altair, Ezio, Edward, and Alexios/Kassandra, all of which share a common thread. Interestingly enough, each of these deaths furthered the modern-day storyline of Assassin's Creed, regardless of when they specifically happened.
Altair died when he hid the Apple of Eden in the Masyaf Vault, just to be discovered a couple of hundred years later by Ezio. In turn, Ezio's death is revealed via the Assassin's Creed Embers film where he has a heart attack after helping Shao Jun. Centuries later, Edward is killed by Templar Grand Master Reginald Birch's mercenaries to acquire the Journal. And finally, Alexios or Kassandra die in the modern-day story when they pass the Staff of Hermes to Lydia.
Altair's death led to Ezio's discovery, which led to Ezio communicating with Desmond and bringing him back from is unconsciousness. This directly set up Assassin's Creed 3. Ezio's death is a little less obvious, but his instructions for Shao Jun were vital. It led to her restoring the Assassin presence in China, making her an important assassin to the modern-day Abstergo. This would eventually manifest in the modern-day storyline with the Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun comic. Since the events of Juno's death are in comics, the connection seems valid.
Edward's death got Haytham to America where he eventually had his son, Connor, who was vital to Desmond's exploration of the NYC Grand Temple. Finally, Alexios or Kassandra lived for 1000s of years to pass the Staff onto Lydia, in which the real consequences will likely be explored in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla releases November 10 for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. PS5 releases November 12.