Assassin’s Creed Games in Order (2026): 3 Eras, 10 Worth Playing, 5 You Can Skip — and Where Black Flag Resynced and Hexe Fit

Play Assassin’s Creed in release order, and skip five of the fifteen games if you care more about the story than completion. That’s the short answer. The series now has 14 original mainline games (2007–2025) plus Black Flag Resynced, a ground-up remake that launched on July 9, 2026 — and order matters more than most lists admit, because the modern-day plot moves in release order while the historical settings jump across more than 2,000 years.

This hub gives you the full release-order table, the three design eras that explain why the games feel so different, the four modern-day story arcs, a ranked skip list backed by Metacritic scores, and where Black Flag Resynced and the unreleased Hexe fit. Individual game guides branch off from here. Verified on October 2, 2026 against Ubisoft’s own announcements and Metacritic’s PC listings.

Quick Start: Pick Your Path in 60 Seconds

Most people need one of these six routes, not the whole franchise.

1. Want the whole story? Play release order and use the 10-game route in the skip section below.
2. Short on time? Start with Origins (2017). It opens a brand-new modern-day arc, so it needs no prior knowledge.
3. Want old-school stealth? Assassin’s Creed II then Brotherhood, then III. Those carry Desmond’s arc to its end.
4. Pirate fan? Black Flag Resynced (2026) is the modern way in. The 2013 original is the alternative.
5. Only want the RPG games? Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, in that order.
6. Waiting on something new? Don’t. Hexe has no release date yet, and the details below separate what Ubisoft confirmed from what leakers claim.

All Assassin’s Creed Games in Release Order

There are 15 games to place: 14 original mainline entries and one remake. The table lists each by release year with its setting, protagonist and PC Metascore, which is the one score every game on the list has.

The takeaway: the Ezio games and Black Flag are the classic era’s high points, and Odyssey (86) matches AC II on PC. Console scores run higher for the oldest games — AC II and Brotherhood hit 91 and 90 on PS3 — so treat the PC column as a consistent yardstick, not a ceiling.

The 3 Design Eras That Explain the Timeline

The franchise has three distinct design eras, and knowing which one a game belongs to tells you more about how it plays than its subtitle does. The eras are our grouping, drawn from how each game’s combat and progression are described in the sources below.

The RPG era is the highest-rated stretch on PC, and its lowest score (Valhalla, 82) still beats six of the nine classic games. The averages are our calculation from the PC Metascores above, and with only three and two games in the newer eras, treat them as a pattern rather than a law.

Classic stealth: eight games in seven years

From AC II in 2009 to Syndicate in 2015, Ubisoft shipped eight games in seven years. That cadence explains the era’s wobble: Unity launched buggy, Syndicate sold about 5.5 million copies and underperformed, and Ubisoft ended the annual release cycle. The next game, Origins, took two years.

Action RPG: the combat rebuild

Origins dropped the old paired-animation combat for a hitbox system with enemy levels, loot and skill trees split into Hunter, Warrior and Seer branches. Odyssey added dialogue choices and the Mercenary system, where bounty hunters chase you for crimes. Valhalla pushed scale hardest, and reviewers pointed to its length and repetition. If you’re coming from FromSoftware, expect the opposite philosophy: these games reward level and gear over dodge timing, and our Elden Ring beginner’s guide shows the other end of the action-RPG shelf. When the RPG trilogy hooks you, our ranked list of the 20 best action RPGs of 2026 is the next stop.

Hybrid: Mirage and Shadows

Mirage began life as a Valhalla expansion and became Ubisoft Bordeaux’s first lead-development game, with a deliberate return to stealth and parkour. Shadows solved the stealth-versus-combat tension by splitting it across two protagonists: Naoe the shinobi for stealth and agility, Yasuke for direct combat. It also introduced the Animus Hub, which its executive producer called a “new design philosophy” for the series.

Why Release Order Beats Chronological Order

Release order keeps the four modern-day story arcs intact, and that is the whole argument against chronological order. Each arc has its own present-day protagonist and ends with a payoff, and the historical settings are only the wrapper around them.

The chronological sequence, for reference, runs Odyssey, Origins, Mirage, Valhalla, AC1, AC II, Brotherhood, Revelations, Shadows, Black Flag, Rogue, AC III, Unity, Syndicate, a span the Esports.net list puts at 431 BC to 1918. Play that way and you finish Layla’s whole arc before you’ve met Desmond, drop from 2020-era design to 2007 mission design, and play Mirage — whose story critics said leans on earlier games — before the Valhalla it follows. We’d only recommend it for a second playthrough.

Every Game in Order, With a Verdict

Each entry below gives what the game adds, how it was received, and whether to play it. Sales figures are Ubisoft-reported, as collected on each game’s Wikipedia page.

Assassin’s Creed (2007): play it as a prologue

Altaïr’s Third Crusade game sold 8 million copies by April 2009 and holds an 81 on PC. Critics loved the recreated Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus and disliked the repetitive mission structure. It introduces Desmond and the Animus, so play it for context, not for fun.

Assassin’s Creed II (2009): the first must-play

Ezio’s Renaissance Italy is where the series found its footing, with a PS3 Metascore of 91, the highest on this list. It sold 1.6 million copies in week one and 9 million by May 2010, and it plants the First Civilization hook the Desmond arc runs on.

Brotherhood (2010): the best-rated classic entry

An 88 on PC and 90 on PS3. Rome is rebuildable, you recruit and deploy your own assassins, and multiplayer debuted here. It shipped 7.2 million copies by May 2011. Play it.

Revelations (2011): the contested one

Ezio’s final chapter, with Altaïr flashbacks and Desmond’s separate sequences. Scoring 80, it drew criticism for tower defense, bomb crafting and Desmond platforming that felt disconnected. It still sold 7 million copies in three months. See the skip section for why we rank it as the riskiest skip.

Assassin’s Creed III (2012): Desmond’s ending

Colonial America, with Haytham in the opening hours and Connor after. It sold 12 million copies by February 2013 and scored 85 on PS3 and 80 on PC. Reviewers praised the naval missions and disliked the uneven mission design and pacing. Play it for the modern-day finale.

Black Flag (2013): the series’ best seller

Edward Kenway’s Caribbean made naval combat central for the first time and has sold about 15 million copies, the franchise high. It scored 84 on PC and 88 on PS3. Its present-day layer, an Abstergo Entertainment office you explore without combat, is gone from the remake. Details below.

Rogue (2014): the Templar side

Shay Cormac defects from the Assassins to the Templars. It scored 74 on PC; critics liked the twist and found the play too close to Black Flag. It was a PS3 and Xbox 360 release first, with PC following in March 2015, and it bridges III and Black Flag.

Unity (2014): the bug-plagued Paris game

Arno Dorian in Revolutionary Paris scored 70 on PC. Ubisoft Montreal’s CEO apologized for launch bugs and gave the Dead Kings expansion away free. Ubisoft added a 60 FPS patch for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on March 5, 2026, so it plays far better today than its Metascore suggests.

Syndicate (2015): the Fryes in London

Twins Jacob and Evie take London from Templar control in 1868. Critics praised the combat fluidity and the map’s beauty and criticized repetitive gameplay and the vehicle handling. It scored 74 on PC.

Origins (2017): the reinvention

Bayek of Siwa in Ptolemaic Egypt, a hitbox combat system, and the start of Layla Hassan’s arc. It scored 84 on PC, has sold over 10 million copies, and later gained a combat-free Discovery Tour mode with 75 guided history tours. Play it.

Odyssey (2018): the biggest of the RPG trio

Alexios or Kassandra, Spartan mercenaries in the Peloponnesian War. At 86 on PC it’s the era’s best-rated game. Critics objected to the XP-boost microtransactions and called it bloated, but praised the choices and the Mercenary system. The Atlantis expansion folds in Greek mythology.

Valhalla (2020): Layla’s ending

Eivor builds a settlement in Anglo-Saxon England. It scored 82 on PC and earned over $1 billion in revenue by February 2022. The modern-day plot ends here with Layla’s choice, and Basim’s artifact sets up the Hub era. Length and repetition are the usual complaints.

Mirage (2023): the throwback

A shorter stealth game set in 9th-century Baghdad: lead producer Fabian Salomon put an average playthrough at 20–23 hours, per Hitmarker, against roughly 100 hours for Valhalla‘s main and side quests. It scored 76 on PC and reached 10 million players by November 2025. Critics found Basim uninspired and the story reliant on earlier games, which is why we’d play it after Valhalla, not before.

Shadows (2025): the newest mainline

Launched March 20, 2025, with more than one million players on day one and three million in a week. It scored 79 on PC. Yasuke’s role as a lead sparked online backlash; scholar Thomas Lockley, quoted on the game’s Wikipedia page, said no reputable Japanese historian had questioned Yasuke’s samurai status. The Claws of Awaji expansion arrived September 16, 2025.

Which 5 Assassin’s Creed Games to Skip

You can skip Syndicate, Unity, Rogue, the original Black Flag (if you play Resynced) and, with a real cost, Revelations. This is our editorial call, built on three tests: does a later game’s modern-day plot lean on it, how did it score, and has Ubisoft since fixed what went wrong?

Syndicate, Unity and Rogue sit lowest because the Abstergo and Helix arc is the one later arcs don’t pick up: the Layla arc starts fresh with Origins, and as far as the published arc summaries show, no Layla-era game needs it. Revelations is the opposite case. It concludes the Ezio trilogy and advances Desmond’s story, so skipping it means reading a plot summary for one of the series’ most-loved characters. The remaining play list is ten games: AC1, II, Brotherhood, III, Black Flag Resynced, Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, Mirage and Shadows.

Where Black Flag Resynced Fits

Black Flag Resynced is the first ground-up remake of a numbered Assassin’s Creed game, and it fits in three places at once. Ubisoft Singapore built it on the current Anvil engine with no code carried over from 2013, and it launched July 9, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

• Release order: it is the newest game, after Shadows.
• Chronology: it keeps the original’s 1715–1722 slot with Edward Kenway.
• Modern-day layer: it replaces the Abstergo office sections with four optional Animus Rifts, “what if” scenarios run by an AI called EGO. Creative director Paul Fu told VGC the team chose to go “in the direction of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows.” Nerdschalk lists the Rifts as Wayward Souls, Wayward Desires, Wayward Minds and True Purpose.

Because the Rifts borrow Shadows’ structure, our reading is that Resynced’s meta-story belongs to the Animus Hub arc even though its history is 2013-era. That’s why the infographic places it in the Hub row.

The remake adds new missions and chapters, rebuilds combat around parries and takedowns, and has new music from Woodkid, per NME. Multiplayer and the original DLC are not included. Reviews are strong: Metacritic’s PC listing shows 84 and the PS5 page 83. Ubisoft’s Vantage Studios reported more than three million copies sold in the first week. Play Resynced if you want the modern version of the story, and keep the original only if you want its multiplayer or the Abstergo layer.

Where Hexe Fits (and What Isn’t Confirmed)

Hexe has no announced release date and no confirmed setting. Ubisoft first teased it in 2022, and its own March 2026 roadmap post says only that the team will “be quiet for a little longer.”

The takeaway: treat anything about 2027 as a rumor. If Hexe lands as described, it would open a new modern-day arc, but nothing official says so. Alongside it, Ubisoft lists Invictus, a PvP multiplayer game from For Honor veterans, and Jade, an open-world mobile project with no timing. If you’re building a 2026–27 open-world calendar, the date everyone measures against is GTA 6 on November 19, 2026, which our tracker lists as console-only at launch.

Which Path Fits You

The right route depends on what you want from the series, and the advice differs more than a single “play in order” rule suggests.

FAQ

What order should I play the Assassin’s Creed games in?

Release order is the default, because the four modern-day arcs resolve in that sequence and chronological order scrambles them. The one honest exception is Origins, which starts a new arc and works as a standalone entry.

Do I have to play every Assassin’s Creed game?

No. We’d skip Syndicate, Unity and Rogue, and the original Black Flag if you play Resynced. Each game’s historical setting is self-contained, so the cost of skipping is the present-day framing, not the history.

Should I play Black Flag or Black Flag Resynced?

Resynced for most players: it has rebuilt combat and new missions, and it matches the original’s 84 on PC, though the original’s PS3 score was higher at 88. Pick the original for its multiplayer, its DLC and the Abstergo office layer the remake removed.

Is Assassin’s Creed Revelations worth playing?

Only if you want Ezio’s ending. It is the weakest-reviewed of the three Ezio games and the tower defense and bomb crafting draw most of the criticism, but it closes his story and uses Altaïr flashbacks to connect back to the first game.

When is the next Assassin’s Creed game coming out?

No new game has a confirmed date. Hexe, Invictus and Jade are all in development at various stages, and the 2027 Hexe dates you may see online come from leakers, not Ubisoft.

Which Assassin’s Creed is best for beginners?

Origins, because it starts the Layla arc and uses modern combat with levels and loot. If you want shorter and stealthier, pick Mirage instead.

Sources

1. Ubisoft. Assassin’s Creed: Into 2026 (March 4, 2026). Ubisoft News
2. NME. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced remake release date, price and more revealed (April 23, 2026). NME
3. Video Games Chronicle. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced creative director explains why the modern-day scenes are gone (May 21, 2026). VGC
4. Nerdschalk. All Animus Rifts in Black Flag Resynced. Nerdschalk
5. Wccftech. Assassin’s Creed Hexe June 2027 launch leak (July 15, 2026). Wccftech
6. MP1st. Assassin’s Creed Hexe could launch in late 2027 (July 28, 2026). MP1st
7. Hitmarker. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is only 20 to 30 hours long, says Ubisoft. Hitmarker
8. Retrogems. Assassin’s Creed Hexe may launch six years after reveal, Ubisoft confirms. Retrogems
9. Esports.net. All Assassin’s Creed games in order of release and chronology. Esports.net
10. Metacritic. PC critic-review pages, checked October 2, 2026: Assassin’s Creed, II, Brotherhood, Revelations, III, Black Flag, Rogue, Unity, Syndicate, Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, Mirage, Shadows. Metacritic
11. Wikipedia. Game articles used for release dates, sales and reception summaries: series overview, Assassin’s Creed, II, Brotherhood, Revelations, III, Black Flag, Rogue, Unity, Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, Mirage, Shadows, Black Flag Resynced. Wikipedia

Michael R.

I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.