Ubisoft's long-running stealth series has been popular since the first installment launched in 2007. The Assassin's Creed franchise has spawned twelve major titles over the years, as well as a film, multiple books, comics, and even board games. The Assassin's Creed series has had many different protagonists, covered multiple time periods and settings, and seen some fundamental updates to gameplay and core mechanics. It covers the millennia-long battle between the Assassins, who favor peace and fight for free will; and the Templars, who seek peace through control and order.
The vast and expansive storyline has threaded its way through a multitude of games and across several continents, but while the Assassin's Creed franchise has featured some extensive worldbuilding and engrossing plots, it does have one big problem. The series may have found a way to keep a connecting line in each of its titles, but by continuing on for so long does mean that there has never really been a satisfying conclusion. With Assassin's Creed Rift reportedly in development and the potential for many more Assassin's Creed titles after that, there isn't an end in sight either.
The Story Of Assassin's Creed So Far
With so many games and a seemingly endless stream of protagonists in both the past and the future, the overarching narrative of the Assassin's Creed franchise can be a little overwhelming, particularly for players who are jumping in on later installments. In short, the games usually span two different time periods – one futuristic setting where characters use an Animus to access their DNA and live out the lives of their ancestors, and one historic setting that follows an Assassin and their exploits. This split storyline allows the Assassin's Creed games to explore historical events and regions while still advancing the overall plot in modern sections. The Animus is later updated into a machine called the Helix that allows anyone to relive past lives, even if they are not a DNA match.
Across the centuries, a war is waged between the Assassins and the Templars, with each vying for control of Precursor artifacts commonly known as the Pieces of Eden. These powerful objects were used by an early race of humanoids called the First Civilization (AKA the Isu, Precursors, or Those Who Came Before). They created humans with these objects, designating them a subservient class, but a global cataclysmic event wiped out this First Civilization and left only humans behind.
The conflict between the Assassins and the Templars is the central crux of the overall series, although the organizations appear in various guises and are represented by an ever-shifting roster of characters. The Templars come to control the multinational corporation called Abstergo and attempt to build their perfect world order through the company. Each game deals with a different struggle both specific to the historical character and their own time period, as well as another intersecting with the characters in the modern setting, offering a new turn in the winding story of every installment.
The Issue With The Franchise's Overarching Narrative
While the formula that the Assassin's Creed games employ has many advantages, there is also a glaring problem. The developer can keep creating games that are even tangentially related and have the same grounding in an established lore. Each one still has the freedom to explore whole new storylines, time periods, and locations while fitting the basic mold. This works particularly well for the historic sections of the games, but often means that the modern parts fall flat and feel less vital, even if they're important to the overall story of the Assassin's Creed series. This can lead to the games feeling very unbalanced, as the historical sections are much more interesting both from a narrative and gameplay perspective.
But the main issue is that because there are so many games, and because the formula that Ubisoft employs is so iterative, there is never really an end to work toward. There are smaller resolutions in each game, and the major installments are roughly split into three arcs. The series first follows Desmond in the original five games, then the Assassins and Abstergo employees as they use Helix to explore the past and find Pieces of Eden. Assassin's Creed Origins, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Assassin's Creed Valhalla then follow ex-Abstergo employee Layla Hassan as she tries to save humanity from yet another disaster. These more focused mini-narratives that exist within the greater story resolve some of their own loose ends, but there is never one final, all-encompassing resolution.
The longer the series goes on, the more the overarching narrative gets diluted and feels less important compared to the earlier entries. In a tighter, more traditional series like Mass Effect, the trilogy works toward a specific goal even while smaller conflicts take place. While Mass Effect 3's ending proved controversial with fans, at least it signaled the end of a multi-game story arc and concluded the main challenge at the heart of the narrative. With the Assassin's Creed series, things also inevitably get more convoluted as some aspects are resolved, but additional challenges, protagonists, and antagonists need to be introduced to add a new crisis to overcome. With no conceivable end in sight, the story stakes don't feel very meaningful.
Where Assassin's Creed Could Go Next
With Ubisoft pumping out Assassin's Creed games for 15 years already, the developer doesn't show any signs of stopping, and it's possible that players will be enjoying the series for many years to come. With the latest entry Assassin's Creed Valhalla signaling the first time a game in the series has crossed the $1 billion dollar mark, it doesn't make sense for Ubisoft to let up either. The next game in the series, reportedly codenamed Assassin’s Creed Rift, already has several rumors swirling around it. It supposedly has a Baghdad setting and will feature a returning character from the previous game: Basim.
Assassin's Creed Rift is apparently a repurposed piece of Valhalla's DLC and will be on a smaller scale, plugging the gap between the previous release and the upcoming Assassin's Creed Infinity, announced in 2021. Assassin's Creed Infinity will be a different beast entirely, copying popular titles like Fortnite as an online live-service title with continual updates, a variety of locations, and multiple time periods. While this sounds like an exciting prospect for some and could usher in a completely new phase for the franchise, it will most likely not resolve the storytelling issue that has plagued so many previous installments.
The next Assassin's Creed game is reportedly in development.