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Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 7th to 18th October Community Share 8 Dec 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Renzo Back To Database Welcome to the biweekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from the AC Partnership Program. Every two weeks we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. This theme has been run by the TOWCB VP team. We have been monitoring the hashtag and the community hub to see all your wonderful shots. Keep an eye on the site as more shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to #ACFirstCivVP for a chance to be featured. Theme: Halloween Spirit Slayer Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @Its__Gurly The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: @TuridTorkil Turid I was immediately captivated by the composition of this shot. The combination of tattoos, clothing and weapons make a dark warrior out of Eivor, and you can sense that he is not afraid of the monster that lurks in the dark. Smoke and fog create an eerie mood, perfect for our theme this week. Aaron One of my favourite games to play in October is Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, especially the Wrath of the Druids DLC. The mood and tone of that expansion perfectly lends itself to the spooky vibes. The hallucinations Eivor experiences such as in this creepy capture from Mel really added a new element to the game. The shadowy figure looks so ominous, while Eivor stands there with axe and flail in hand. I think his dark hair and tattoos add to that eerie feel. Everything kind of aligns in this shot to make it a worthy winner for our Halloween theme. The Mask Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @Cll3ar Selected by @Falconswift87 Spooky theme weeks always offer up some inventive photography. I think Raven’s VP style fits effortlessly with this. Once again, the variety of outfits in Valhalla help to cater for all types of shots. Here I am getting some real Order of the Ancient vibes with the white mask on Eivor’s face. The hood is so large that it is resembling the grim reaper. I am such a fan of the foggy white background as it marries beautifully with the blacks. The feather like features that are entering the shot from the right make me think of Odin. Maybe Eivor is Odin’s messenger of death. Draugr Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @m_nt_13 Selected by @_VirtualTourism Once again, we find ourselves in Valhalla but this time it is the Draugr who have been sent to haunt us. These creatures of Norse mythology don’t have a huge part to play in the story but the outfit for Eivor is a real fright. This disturbing shot of the Draugr appearing in the darkness brings the scares for sure. I love the lighting here, the bones on the arm and the teeth coupled with those freaky yellow eyes work so well together. You can really see that this creature is not of this world, I would have very much liked to see Eivor face off against this beast. Ghost Ship Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @Yumejin2416 Selected by @TuridTorkil Assassin’s Creed Odyssey isn’t really known for its spooky nature, although you do come up against some mythical creatures. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed the ship in this shot wasn’t from Valhalla. I adore the composition of this photo, especially the placement of the ship in relation to the moon, and how the light is reflecting on the water adding to the mood. The eeriness brought on by the ship's silhouette and the bluey/purple fog make for a very atmospheric photo. It reminds me a little of the pirate movies where the ship just appears out of nowhere. Frozen Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @WonDerNooB_VP Selected by @CapturesByRenzo There is nothing like a bit of Greek mythology to bring the spooky. This shot gives me massive Jason and the Argonauts vibes. At the same time, it is going to expose my age, sorry everyone. Once again, the use of fog is so critical creating that creepy atmosphere. I think the orange and black tones, along with the architecture make this feel like a graveyard. Furthermore, the people frozen as statues elevate the sinister sensations. It is when you wander through this section of the game that you realise how impressive the level design is. RS has showcased that so well here. Mists Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @ cyriellevp.bsky.social Selected by @CapturesByRenz o I have spoken before about how great the fog function is in the Assassin’s Creed photo mode. By adding it you can immediately change a photo's style and feel. This capture by Cyrielle is so hauntingly beautiful. It reminds me of the concept art you see, mostly due to the composition and the placement of Alexios. The path disappearing into the water and the marsh land that surrounds it gives off immense ghostly vibes. The trees covered in fog help to bring a sense of impending doom. I am not sure what Alexios is walking into, but it gives me the creeps. Skull Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @saskiaemmischVP Selected by @Falconswift87 Everyone knows I am a massive fan of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and especially the portraits that you can produce. Added to that the game lends itself perfectly for the Halloween theme. Here Saskia has knocked it out of the park with this super ominous shot of Eivor in the Druid mask. I just love how the white of the mask pops, and with the dark hood it looks so cool. Eivor has the appearance of one of Odin's undead horseman sent to collect souls of the unworthy. It even appears like the fog is exiting the eye hole, giving a real menacing aura to the portrait. I would not immediately think this is from Valhalla and that is a testament to how good the shot is. And that sums it up for this Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out the photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next time keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Succeeded… What Now For Ubisoft? Analysis Share 5 Jul 2025 Written By: Edited By: Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon) Gargudon Back To Database Three months’ time ago now, after two delays and one of the most intense and controversial marketing campaigns in gaming history, the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed Shadows was finally released, at last taking us to a fan favourite location over many years. Maybe, maybe not against all odds, it quickly turned out a massive success, ultimately having one of the best releases in the history of the franchise, reaching 1 million players in less than 24 hours, that number only growing exponentially. Despite this and the critical acclaim though, it is no secret a lot was hanging on this game for Ubisoft, the future of the very company itself possibly having been decided by it. This was mostly the result of a heavily financially disappointing 2024, plummeting stock prices and a potential company buyout, but the perception of the studio among fans and the public is not what it used to be either, after years of beloved flagship franchises undergoing heavy change, internal conflicts and more. So now that the fateful new instalment of the studio’s most iconic franchise turned out a massive success after all, what is next for the company, and how can they rise up again to their former glory? We will be exploring this in the following article, diving into the future of their flagship franchises, other outlets, fan relations and more. Focus On Key Franchises, Drop One-Off Games As mentioned, 2024 was one of if not the most financially disappointing year for Ubisoft ever, with both major releases of theirs that year heavily underperforming; the return to the golden age of piracy in Skull & Bones, and a new adventure in the galaxy far, far away in Star Wars Outlaws. To this day, both games have only sold around 1 million copies, which may necessarily not sound like a small number, but for an AAA studio of that size is. But were these two titles even necessary and the right output? One was a game that ultimately felt like nothing more than a failed second crack, at what is one of the company’s most successful and iconic titles even 12 years later; 2013’s legendary Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag. Secondly, should Ubisoft even have taken on a brand like Star Wars? Something which has already proven super successful in recent years with another studio - EA - 2019’s Jedi Fallen Order, and the 2023 Survivor sequel, proving some of the best and most beloved Star Wars games since the days of Battlefront II 20 years ago. If Ubisoft wants to avoid sales fiascos like this again, one obvious and easy move would potentially be as simple as this; drop one off games like these two “failures”, and instead continually focusing on their key franchises, that remain iconic and always only seem to get bigger - Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy’s. Additionally if not already, give up on franchises that once were great and promising, but dug themselves into ground with the years, best example being Watch Dogs. A franchise that started out with a bang, in a way being a new version of Grand Theft Auto… But with hacking, making for a fun twist and unique, new experience. While its 2016 follow-up more or less performed as it should, and was met with critical acclaim, for some it was also missing an array of the elements that made the original great, making players, including myself, kinda fall off. By the time the third instalment - Legion - was announced, many players just didn’t really care simply said, possibly also giving the shall we call it aimless direction of the game, for example being able to play as ANY NPC in it, signalling a lack of narrative. Fan Relations & Listen To Player Feedback Disappointing sales numbers aside, Ubisoft’s relations with players and fans has taken many hits in recent years due to a number of reasons. From solely a gaming perspective, the two mentioned beloved flagship franchises underwent stylistic changes to different degrees in the late ’10’s, clearly not to everyone’s liking. Assassin’s Creed (in)famously took a more loose RPG oriented approach with 2017’s Origins, and 2021’s Far Cry 6, were missing elements that made previous instalments as iconic as they were, survival and skill progression being at the very core of them. Following AC Origins that introduced this different style, an array of fans were begging for a return to roots… Only for the next two games to crank the RPG elements up to 11, almost completely ditching the classic Assassins VS. Templars aspects and narrative. Despite its perhaps smaller scale and some lore elements from this new era being carried over, 2023’s AC Mirage was as much a return to roots as possible, bringing back classic Assassins VS. Templars, (improved) stealth, and a gameplay formula reminiscent of the classic 2007 original. And then once again, AC Shadows re-introduced some of these RPG leaning elements. Can the AC franchise survive with all this push and pull, for one period of time more or less completely ditching the elements that made it what it is, then having it make a comeback, then for it all to come to a mix? Sure, games and franchises need to evolve, and a good example of a game that went against everyone’s expectations yet turned out a massive success - if not one of the all time greats of video game history overall - was Black Flag. But when the criticisms begins to outweigh the positives, it changes company dynamics, is it a sign Ubisoft needs to start listening to player feedback more than has been the case in recent years, and set aside any artistic decisions that may not turn out as thought? At this point, when AC fans say they want a more linear story and classic Assassins VS. Templars, it’s because they want it and to stay. When Far Cry fans criticised Far Cry 6 of feeling overloaded and long, lacking skill progression and a terrifying and deep villain on the level of Vaas Montenegro, they meant it. Another noteworthy aspect of this is following trends. Everyone in the gaming industry does it, Rockstar Games often having set the standard with every new game of theirs, more or less shaping the open-world genre single handedly. A wide array of elements from the first couple AC games can be traced back to GTA, Far Cry was inspired by classic FPS games but put its twist on it, and when a game in 2015 came out called The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt, it revolutionised the RPG genre, hence it makes sense Ubisoft would take note of that, and try to put their twist on that. As we well know though, this mostly only caused polarisation amongst fans, and Ubisoft seemed to fail at capturing the RPG feeling in the same way. Despite the success of The Witcher 3, was that really meant to be the game that would lay out the blueprint for the next decade of gaming, everyone trying to replicate that style since it clearly worked on one of the most iconic games of the ‘10’s? Since that, there have been many other landmark games that didn’t follow that RPG formula, so why are Ubisoft still clinging onto a blueprint that was last trending 10 years ago now? Ubisoft Television One wouldn’t necessarily know it, but for years Ubisoft have had a television division, the CEO of being Yves Guillemot’s brother, Gérard. In recent years, their most popular output has probably been producing the Apple TV+ original comedy show Mythic Quest, which despite recent cancellation, ran for four successful seasons over five years, to critical and fan acclaim. A number of projects based on Ubisoft titles are currently also in development; from a Tom Clancy’s The Division live action film set to star Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain, and to be directed by David Leitch - known for John Wick, Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Hobbs & Shaw among others - a Just Dance and Rabbids project, and of course the Netflix Assassin’s Creed live action series. But will these films and shows prove successful, and can this TV division do enough to keep the company afloat? The Assassin’s Creed series is highly anticipated among fans, and recently announced its writers room lineup, including several writers and producers who have worked on some of the most high profile shows in recent years. Otherwise much still isn’t known about any of these upcoming projects, and only time will tell as to their success a lot potentially could be hanging on. Despite anticipation and mixed reviews from fans, Ubisoft Television’s first big film - 2016’s Assassin’s Creed - wasn’t necessarily a success, mostly receiving negative reviews among critics and underperforming at the box office, but there is always room for improvement and the Tom Clancy projects could turn the tide. Additionally, we live in a time where the “video game adaptation” curse has at last mostly been lifted, with shows like The Last Of Us for HBO and Fallout for Amazon receiving almost nothing but praise. So if executed right, Ubisoft Television’s projects in development have the potential to take the company to completely new heights. Internal Company Healing Last but not least, Ubisoft has a great deal of internal fixing and healing to do, after years of internal scandals and their handling of, massive layoffs, rumours of toxic work culture and more. Many probably remember the summer of 2020, where a dark side of the gaming industry as a whole was exposed, Ubisoft being hit HARD, with different beloved community icons of many years inside the company, finding themselves with heavy allegations of sexual misconduct made against them. This was probably the proper beginning, of the mistrust towards the company among many, that’s then only grown with the years. About a year later, it was revealed that little if anything, had really been done internally to handle this conflict, once again enraging and saddening many fans. As a result of Ubisoft’s mentioned tightening financial situation, in the last year alone, hundreds of employees have also been let go, following the closure of multiple Ubisoft studios in an attempt to cut costs and stabilise the company. Last year the online game XDefiant was infamously shut down, causing just under 300 people to lose their jobs. In January this year, three more studios - Leamington, Düsseldorf and Stockholm were also shut down, resulting in an additional 200 people being let go. This could be the start of a dangerous pattern. The company does indeed need to stabilise, to keep its studios up and running and people’s livelihood intact, also maximising work and company efficiency. Finally, following the announcement of AC Shadows last year and the controversies that followed, rumours started circulating of toxic company work culture, and them prioritising DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) over hiring the most competent workers. While Ubisoft never made any direct comments on this nor confirmed or denied anything, comments made by AC Shadows’ Senior Writer - stating how "There’s more than enough games out there with white men as the only playable characters" - as well as a photo of the “diverse” team working on the game could be interpreted the wrong way. Whether anyone working on the game were hired directly for their skills or just to meet “diversity” quotas or not, controversies like this are best avoided in the future. All this aside, there is no doubt parts of the AC Shadows promotional campaign were actually controversial, insensitive and a result of bad company management. One notable example of this was the Yasuke action figure with a one legged Torii gate, which could be seen as a mockery of the iconic Sanno Shrine in Nagasaki, that was destroyed following its destruction by nuclear bomb in 1945 after World War II, a deep trauma in collective Japanese culture and history. Overall, Ubisoft have a lot of work to do, if they want to fix their company, and restore it to one of the leading elite video game studios it once was, putting out hit after hit, making big money, and helping setting the standard for the video game industry. How this is going to be accomplished we don’t know if anyone really does, if there is one formula for it. By redirecting focus to hit franchises that despite change and criticisms, only seem to get bigger still accumulating new players, and dropping one off games that are likely to turn out fiascos, getting Ubisoft Television up and running like never before, keeping relationships with fans healthy and alive, and doing everything they can to internally heal, it is certainly possible they can go a long way. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Ubisoft can rise up to their former glory again, and how do you think this can be achieved? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and stay tuned for more articles like this! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Gustav / Gargudon is an active community member, who started out in podcast hosting in 2016, but today mostly specialises in video creation, interviews & composing. By joining The Ones Who Came Before in 2019, originally reviving 'The Memory Corridor' podcast, which had been offline for nearly a year, he has had the opportunity to expand his audience and further develop his skills.

 His unique skill set made him the perfect candidate for our team. Among other things, he is known in the community for the Sounds Of History project - an original Assassin’s Creed inspired instrumental music project, featuring five tracks inspired by as many different games - other original fan themes plus covers of iconic AC tracks, as well as video interviews with a number of high profile names in the world of AC, from Roger Craig Smith, Jesper Kyd and more. Fun fact, among his growing colourful tattoo collection, Gustav is the only member of our team to have the TOWCB logo inked. Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon)

Journey Through History: TOWCB’s Timeline of the Assassin’s Creed Universe - 2023 Edition Breakdowns Share 29 Jun 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Banner by Thea Marie Rivedal (Moonchildgecko) from TOWCB Art Team. It's time for an update to the timeline I released last year here on The Ones Who Came Before for the Genetic Memory Timeline for the entire Assassin’s Creed Universe (or at least what I find to still be relevant). To get started, please download a copy of the following Google Sheet that I am sharing in a View Only format to avoid unapproved changes to the timeline. You can download a copy of the timeline here . As you read through the timeline, you can check off what items you own and which ones you have completed on one or both timelines. Links are provided for discontinued services that will redirect you to another site that has documented the content of these entries to read over. Overall, these timelines are a great way to explore the Assassin’s Creed universe. Not every single item that Ubisoft has branded will be included such as the companion apps for games or the old mobile versions of titles that would have been played on non-smartphone devices. However, I scoured the internet from AC Wiki, Access the Animus, Wikipedia, and other sources to gather as much lore that I could and put it in on the timeline. In total there are over 250+ items within the Assassin’s Creed timeline so there will be plenty to choose from. The original Genetic Memory timeline is organized by Century (both BCE and CE) from ancient content to modern day, but the new addition for this year’s timeline is the Release Date Timeline; organized by the date of release based on the information that I was able to locate. This timeline is divided by Release Year from 2007 - 2023, with a TBA section at the end for content that has been announced but not yet provided a release date. Unlike the GM timeline, certain transmedia such as the Echoes of History podcast are not divided into individual episodes within the RD timeline, but grouped as one item to be enjoyed all at once. This is also something that you will notice with similar data points being merged together in each column to make it easier to read (at least it is to me). If you do not find this useful, once you download the spreadsheet, you will be able to edit it to your personal preferences. If a piece of content is available in a non-English language, it will be notated in parenthesis. Beginning with the Genetic Memory Order tab, I will walk through each Century and provide a small explanation of what you will find in each section. With the dates for each historical period, you will find the range of when the content took place and find that some items may start at a similar point in time or even during the same time period as another (such as the Assassin’s Creed movie and Assassin’s Creed II). The earlier start date will take precedence over the other, so you can image this as a “Elsewhere this was happening” when moving through the recorded history. Periods that had no major event taking place are labeled with the area that the content takes place. Additionally you will find the GM character (such as Kassandra, Eivor, or Ezio) and then the Modern Day time period and respective character if available. If you have interest in following the MD story in order, see the Release Date Order tab for that option. However as we progress to the 21st Century, the GM periods will fill more with N/As and be replaced with more detail in the MD period and character. The format that you will see for the majority of the main games in the series as it is meant to be an option of how you want to enjoy the story, is that the novelization and game are next to each other in order. I suggest going back to the one you didn’t start with (book or game) once you finish the first to get the full experience. You will also find that the supplemental content for the games in the form of strategy guides, art books, and soundtracks are grouped with their game to provide that full content line. If you would rather explore the timeline in Release Date order, you can select the tab and just read top to bottom as it is organized by dates and doesn’t need any additional explanation. 6th Century BCE From the Facebook application Project Legacy (courtesy of Access the Animus’ recording of the site data) we have a single entry for the period showing how Pythagoras received the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus via the story of his companion Kyros of Zarax. 5th Century BCE Assassin’s Creed Odyssey resides in this Century and all of the content for the story of Kassandra will be located here (minus the Valhalla end of the Crossover Story with Eivor in the 9th Century CE). Starting with the Behind the Legend episode from Echoes of History, fans can learn more about Kassandra’s grandfather, King Leonidas I of Sparta before moving into either the novelization or the videogame for AC Odyssey. Fans will continue with the game’s DLC with a few items mixed in and follow this with the Discovery Tour, and close with the various VR offerings that are available either commercially (at a VR business) or on the Meta Oculus Quest. 3rd Century BCE Assassin’s Creed: Codename Jade is the exclusive entry for this century. It is set in the Qin Dynasty and will be coming to mobile devices in the future. 1st Century BCE Assassin’s Creed Origins is the focus of the 1st Century BCE. Starting with the prequel novel and another Echoes of History episode to set fans up for the main game and its additional content. Much like Odyssey, this will be followed with the Egyptian Discovery Tour and end with the Origins comic that takes place after the story of the game. 3rd Century CE Moving into the Common Era, The Ankh of Isis Trilogy will be next on the checklist. Now while the Modern Day adaptation of Desmond Miles’ story is not considered canon to the universe, the Genetic Memories are as there are references to this transmedia piece in later content. 7th Century CE The first book in the Imperial Jade Seal series will take place in 660 CE following Chinese Assassin, Zhangsun Qi. This book, Assassin's Creed: Chang'an Wang (Prophecy of the Emperor) is available exclusively in Chinese and has no current information available for additional languages. 8th Century CE The Tang Dynasty continues with Assassin’s Creed: Dynasty in five volumes (6 volumes in France). 9th Century CE This century is the one that many fans will currently be in or waiting for as both Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Valhalla take place here. With Valhalla you will see multiple DLC and content updates listed individually as they have major plot points and was the first game to offer a 2-year content schedule. If you do not see a particular content update listed, it was not added as it was assumed that you will play with the main story (such as the festivals). 10th Century CE Another century with a single entry, The Last Descendants - Fate of the Gods. A good way to wrap up the Viking stories as we move to the original game. 12th Century CE Assassin’s Creed (2007), the original game is the focus of this century. Starting with the DS game Altaïr's Chronicles and The Secret Crusade (Spoilers: This will cover content that you won’t play until the 16th Century as it is about Altaïr's life). The main game and Bloodlines will follow and wrap up with the historical podcast about the overall Assassin’s v. Templars in Echoes of History. I added this podcast after the original game and not in the 11th Century as I felt that it was better fitting to listen to after playing the first game as story elements of the game are covered within. 13th Century CE Mongolia is a key location in the 13th Century as we start with the final content for Altaïr and his family, following with an Echoes of History episode on Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, and wrapping up with the second book of the Last Descendants trilogy, Tomb of the Great Khan. An additional YA novel takes place in Scotland with AC Fragments - The Highlands Children. 14th Century CE The sequel to the Ankh of Isis Trilogy (3rd Century CE) is next with The Hawk Trilogy of books. Either the individual books or the combined trilogy will be acceptable here as it will get read all together. Of all the AC content that I have interacted with so far, this trilogy is my least favorite. 15th Century CE Ezio Auditore takes over in the 15th Century after fans read AC: Heresy by the awesome Christie Golden. Assassin’s Creed II will be the majority focus this century, but will intertwine with the Assassin’s Creed movie as well. 16th Century CE This is the second largest century for content with 41 items to read & play. AC Brotherhood, AC Revelations, and AC Chronicles: China are the major players as Ezio’s story continues and he passes the torch to Shao Jun. 17th Century CE Do you know what the 17th Century has that the others don’t? Witches! Three of the four content entries in this century are about the witches in the US (Trial by Fire comic), France (The Witches of the Moors YA novel), and Germany (AC Hexe, not-confirmed). This century also includes the audiobook, AC Gold, that follows the blind Assassin Omar Khaled during The Great Recoinage in 1696. 18th Century CE The Kenway Saga is the anchor for the 18th Century. Edward Kenway leads with AC IV: Black Flag & the currently running Forgotten Temple manga on Webtoon. His Quartermaster Adéwalé continues our time in the Caribbean with the DLC add-on, Freedom Cry (also available as a standalone game).Edward’s son Haytam is the transition with AC Forsaken (novel) into the Templar led AC Rogue, and then into his son Ratonhnhaké:ton’s (Connor Kenway) game Assassin’s Creed III. AC Liberation adds Aveline de Grandpré to the cast of Assassins and wraps the America’s story before rewinding to a character fans met in Rogue, Arno Dorian. The French Assassin takes us to the French Revolution for the next 16 years of the series and the collection of media based around this release from 2014. 19th Century CE A century of revolution and civil war. Assassin’s Creed India and Syndicate provide plenty of gaming options while The Engine of History trilogy provides amazing stories in novel form from author Kate Heartfield and Aconyte Books. Lots of time will be spent in the UK and Europe this century and covers a vast amount of historical time periods. 20th Century CE The comic lines of the Assassin’s Creed universe take over from here as the games have not continued past the 19th Century, with the exception of Assassin’s Creed Russia. The Russian Civil War, World War II, and the Vietnam War all occur this century. This is also the century that Abstergo Industries was founded (the modern day Templar Order) so fans will get to explore the history of the organization via websites and multiplayer-files from previous games. 21st Century CE We come full circle with more information about Abstergo Industries, including the Employee Handbook and the final volume of the original Assassin’s Creed comic line from Titan Comics. Fans can also continue into the future with the non-canon story of Assassin Darcy Clarkson in the DLC update for Watch Dogs: Legion if they choose to do so. Additional Data (Multiple Time Periods) In this section, I positioned alphabetically the content that covered too many time periods or content that was made for the Assassin’s Creed audience and not the story itself. This includes “The Network Podcast” which I have singled out in this explanation as one of the hosts, Andrien (@EscoBlades) was reported in 2020 for abuses against women. While TOWCB do not support this man in any form, the podcast which was also hosted by Stephen O'Neill (@SickSteeny) & Gabe Graziani (@GabeGraziani) who I feel should not be shadowed by this person. Reference Books If you want to deep dive into the series or get a quick overview of the story, this is the section for you. The Encyclopedias, The Essential Guides, The Official Collection magazine series, and other similar materials are all included here. I could have divided the magazines into their respective time periods, but there are 80 issues and I don’t have them to do that. Maybe if I can ever get my hands on them I will divide them, but it's best to keep them together for now like the Encyclodpia’s various pages on each Assassin and time period. Announced Titles Any and all titles and projects that have been announced by Ubisoft and the Assassin’s Creed Brand that do not have enough information to be placed in the timeline are here. These will be added once more information is provided. But it's a nice way to see what is around the corner for us to explore when the time comes. I hope that this timeline helps all of you organize your plans to explore the Assassin’s Creed universe. If you happen to find an issue with the timeline (as I have found a few typos or copy/paste issues that I have corrected), or if you have additional content that you think fits in the timeline, please reach out to me on this site in the comments or on Twitter @thelordreylus and I will look into it further. I plan on updating this article at least once a year, but with the spreadsheet, I will attempt to keep it updated as I update my personal copy. So go forth and explore this historical playground that we all enjoy and I will see you online to discuss your favorites! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith

Vikings in Ireland: A History Breakdown Share 19 Feb 2021 Written By: Edited By: Lauren Harris Ashlea Blackett Back To Database The first story DLC for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Wrath of the Druids, is due to release in the near future and it will see Eivor travelling to Ireland to battle a druidic cult known as the Children of Danu. As such, it is a great time to explore the history of the Vikings and their adventures in Ireland. The First Viking Age in Ireland is generally considered to be between 795 CE and 902 CE. The first recorded Viking raids on Irish soil happened in the year 795 CE on the islands of Rathlin and Lambay. It is likely that the invaders were from Norway, just like our good friend Eivor. For the next 40 years, towns, farms, and monasteries were frequently looted and destroyed by Viking warriors. As this was occurring, the Viking settlers were also integrating themselves into Irish society. The Norse warriors attacked the St. Columba monastery on Iona in 795 CE and burned St. Patrick’s Island to the ground in 798 CE. They returned to Iona in 802 and 806 CE, murdering 68 of the island’s residents and devastating the community. The Norse were not ones for large battle fleets. Instead, only a handful of ships – often less than three – would dock at the shores and offload a group of Vikings. Once the pillaging was complete, the warriors would return to their ship and depart, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. Eye-witness accounts from the time refer to the Viking invaders as “faceless wraiths”, strangers who left as quickly as they arrived with the only evidence that they were ever there being the smouldering embers of the towns they passed through. Wrath of the Druids is the first downloadable content expansion for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and is set to launch Spring 2021. The Irish did not take the attacks lying down, however. The Annals of Irish history mention that in 811 CE, the people of Uliad managed to kill a fleet of Viking invaders who arrived on their land. A year later in 812 CE, another fleet was killed in Umall, known today as County Mayo. It was clear to the Viking warriors that their small fleets of only a few longships were no longer working. For one, their men were being slaughtered by the Irish. More than that, though, was that there was only so much loot the Vikings could plunder and bring back to Scandinavia in such small ships. As a result, the invaders decided to upscale their operation in the 830s. The invaders travelled to Ireland with a fleet of between 50 to 100 ships and set up camp. This allowed the Vikings to raid the countryside and bring the loot back to their campsite. In 836 CE, they pillaged Uí Néill. In 837, they carried out river raids on the Boyne, Liffey and Shannon rivers. The Annals of Ulster recorded that sixty ships arrived on the Boyne, with another sixty on the Liffey. They approached Brega and Liffey and plundered everything in sight. In 840, the Vikings attacked Lough Neagh and the surrounding monasteries for most of a year. Their conquest grew in 841 when the warriors set up fortified camps at County Louth and Dublin. The Norse Vikings had a new problem to contend with in 849 CE when more invaders arrived on the shores of Ireland. These settlers were not Norsemen but Danes, and their arrival created a power struggle within Ireland’s Viking communities as the two groups began to fight each other. This distraction gave the Irish nobility time to plan how to deal with the invader armies. However, just as the Irish were building their defences and planning to strike, the Viking raids seemed to stop. 851 CE saw the last major attack of the time as the warriors crossed the sea to begin their invasion of Britain. With the warriors gone, the only Vikings left on Ireland were the settlers who were more concerned with building a life for themselves than attacking other communities. Some of the most prominent Norse populated towns in the late 800s were Dublin, then known as Dubhlinn, Cork, Youghal, and Waterford which became Ireland’s very first city. We know from the events in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla that the game takes place from 873-878 CE. As such, it should be relatively peaceful by the time Eivor arrives in Ireland. There will be a significant Norse population for Eivor to meet and interact with, but there should not be a lot of raiding and pillaging happening. This would allow for the Children of Danu to take centre stage within the narrative, as there will likely not be as much political intrigue happening on the isle at the time. The Children of Danu are inspired by the supernatural race in Irish mythology known as Tuatha Dé Danann which translates to “the folk of the goddess Danu”. Whether this cult will be supernatural in nature or just a group who worship the mythological race remains to seen. One interesting fact about the Tuatha Dé Danann is that they had four magical treasures that they brought to Ireland – a cauldron, a spear, a stone, and a sword. Is it possible these objects are connected to the Isu? Whilst Viking activity in Ireland was mostly peaceful for the latter half of the 800s, that calm was short lived. The Second Viking Age began in 914 CE when a large fleet of Viking ships docked in Waterford harbour to recapture their old settlement which had been reclaimed by the Irish. The raids and pillaging resumed with great force. The Vikings were determined to win back the land that they lad lost to the Irish, including the thriving town of Dubhlinn. That was the last straw for Niall Glúndub, King of Uí Néill, who wanted the Vikings out of Ireland. In 917, he led an army against the Viking warriors in Munster. They were ultimately unsuccessful and retreated having achieved little. The King tried again in 919 and the same thing happened – only this time Niall perished in the attack. With the only person truly willing to stand up to the Vikings now dead, the invaders were free to continue their conquest of Ireland. They established a new town called Weisfjord, now Wexford, in 921 and in 922 they created Limerick. Once again, however, the Viking raids calmed and the settlers focused on building their communities. The British kingdoms of Northumbria, East Anglia and Merica had been defeated and united under one Viking kingdom known as the Danelaw. Dubhlinn was also joined with the Danelaw, as it was one of the most significant Nordic cities of the time due to its high volume of trade and slavery. With such a powerful part of Ireland under their rule, the Vikings began taking control of other Irish towns. In 952, however, Dubhlinn split from the Danelaw due to its power and the Vikings established their own dynasty within the city. Concept art for Ireland coming from the Assassin's Creed Valhalla Season Pass Trailer. For the next 20 years, things in Ireland were fairly uneventful – at least where the Viking population were concerned. Amongst the Irish lords, a battle for power was occurring as men competed for the position of High King of their land. It was also during this time that the Norse and Dane population of Ireland began converting to Christianity. Most of the time, the Irish were willing to tolerate the presence of the Viking communities as they were usually peaceful and responsible for much of the country’s trading. However, political turmoil within Ireland’s nobility would soon change this. Mathgamain mac Cennétig, King of Munster from 970 CE was killed in 976 CE by the previous King of Munster, Máel Muad mac Brain. Mathgamain was succeeded by his younger brother Brian Bóruma. Brian wanted two things above all else: revenge for his brother’s death and power over Munster. In 977 CE, Brian attacked the Viking population in Limerick. King Imar and his sons hid in the monastery, believing that a Christian ruler would not desecrate a sanctuary of God. They were wrong. Brian broke into the building and murdered the Vikings inside. In 980, Brian declared himself King of Munster. Brian was not above working with the Vikings when it aided his quest for power. He formed an alliance with the Waterford Vikings so that he could take control of Leinster province. His goal was power and he would do what was necessary to get it. King Brian Boru’s fast-paced rise to power concerned the other Kingdoms in Ireland, particularly Uí Néill. King Máel Sechnaill II tried in vain to take power away from Brian. Realising this was unachievable, the Kings held a meeting and agreed to divide Ireland between them. This was not a move that everyone appreciated, however. Leinster and Dubhlinn were particularly outraged and revolted against the rule of their new leader. Brian was unfazed by this and led his armies into Leinster and Dubhlinn and destroyed them. From there, Brian continued to take control of Ireland’s regions and Kings Silkenbeard and Máel Sechnaill II both surrendered power to Brian. By 1006 CE, Brian Boru had almost claimed the entire country as his own. Brian’s dream of becoming High King of Ireland looked inevitable. No one could stop his conquest. That was until 1013 CE when the people of Ireland turned on their ruler. Brian tried to fight back against the revolts rising up around Ireland, but this time his enemies were stronger and he was forced to retreat. The rebels travelled to Scotland and the Isle of Man to recruit more warriors to their army, and when they returned they were stronger than ever. The foundations for battle were set. The Battle of Clontarf is one of the most famous battles in Irish history as it is seen as the exact moment the Viking rule in Ireland ended. The battle happed in 1014 and one was one of the bloodiest the country had seen. Thousands of men were killed on both sides, and the Vikings retreated to the Isle of Man when it became clear Brian’s army had won. However, Brian’s victory was short lived as he was killed, allegedly having been bludgeoned to death with an axe by a Viking. With the Vikings having left Ireland and regrouped on the Isle of Man, Viking rule in Ireland was over for good. The remaining Vikings were allowed to maintain control over Dublinn until 1074 CE, but in reality the line between Viking and Irishman was becoming blurred. Vikings were now part of the Irish communities they had once raided, and their own culture and heritage had been replaced by Christianity and Irish customs. Over time, there was nothing left of the fierce Norse conquest that had taken hold of the country in the early 800s. Despite the Viking Age ending in 1014 CE, the influence that the Vikings had in Ireland can still be seen today. The Vikings established the first ever Irish city, Waterford, and also created the first naval base within the city. The Vikings were also responsible for introducing Irish currency. Prior to 995, Ireland did not have its own official currency. It was the Viking King Sitric Silkenbeard who created the first Irish coins, which were silver and bore King Silkenbeard’s name. Another interesting fact is that, despite being well known for destroying Christian monasteries during their raiding years, the Vikings are actually responsible for the creation of Ireland’s most famous cathedral. King Silkenbeard was so devoted to his new religion of Christianity that he ordered the construction of Christ Church Cathedral within his city. It is still standing today and as gorgeous as it was in the 10th century. Indeed, even many of the surnames we associate with Ireland today are deviations of the Scandinavian names that the Vikings brought to Irish soil. Having Viking ancestry in Ireland is relatively common due to how the Vikings merged with Irish society and married native Irish people. The reign of Vikings in Ireland may have only lasted for 220 years, but it was a time that was anything but boring. Without those Viking invaders, who knows what Ireland would look like nowadays. One thing is for sure, it would not be the country we know today. That is the beauty of history. For better or worse, our world is defined by the ones who came before us – just like in our favourite video game. Journey to Ireland and unravel the mysteries of an ancient druidic cult. Fight your way through haunted forests and dazzling landscapes while gaining influence among Gaelic kings. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Lauren is a online article writer who joined the program in 2019, which allowed for her work to be viewed by a larger audience. She is especially interested in Assassin's Creed lore, and wrote a number of thought provoking articles which you can find here in the Community HUB. Lauren left the program in 2021 shortly after the 'Assassin's Creed Infinity' announcement, which understandably left many fans feeling uneasy. We wish her the best of luck with her future projects. Lauren Harris

Understanding the Isu Language: The Basics Analysis Share 30 Sept 2024 Written By: Edited By: Edenoi ActualSpider-Man Back To Database If you've been following the Assassin's Creed series recently, you've probably noticed a mysterious language associated with the precursor civilization from which this website gets its name, the Isu. It isn't just gibberish: the Isu language is an actual language with its own grammar and vocabulary, originally created by a developer formerly with Ubisoft named Antoine Henry. Over the past few years, a number of people in the Assassin's Creed fan community have worked to understand the language, including myself (Eden), TOWCB's own ActualSpider-Man , bool0011 on Reddit, Tormis Narno and, most famously, the people over at Access the Animus . This article will serve as a kind of jumping off point for a series of articles examining the Isu language, starting with the fundamentals and including links to further topics. Let's start with some context. If you're reading this article, you're probably aware that in the world of Assassin's Creed, humans did not create the first civilizations on Earth. An ancient, technologically advanced species called the Isu built cities that predate humanity and which lasted until an apocalyptic event wiped out their entire world around 75,000 BC (an event known in the real world as the Toba Catastrophe and supposedly caused by a supervolcano eruption). The Isu, though long gone, left behind many of their near-magical devices (referred to as Pieces of Eden) and lived on in myth as the inspiration for the deities of various religions, such as the Roman Minerva or the Norse Odin. In the real world, many of the languages which originated in Europe and parts of Asia, such as English, German, Spanish, Russian, Farsi and Hindi, evolved from an ancient, lost language known as Proto-Indo-European. There are no surviving examples of Proto-Indo-European, but linguists have worked to reconstruct much of the language by studying and comparing the various languages descended from it. In the world of Assassin's Creed, Proto-Indo-European was itself a descendant of the language of the Isu. What this means in real-world terms is that Antoine Henry created the Isu language by looking at reconstructions of Proto-Indo-European and working backwards to build something that could've changed over time to become Proto-Indo-European. For this reason, you might recognize some of the words in the Isu language. For instance, the Isu word for "mother" is the very similar machtér, and the Isu word for "hidden" is kḷto, which looks a lot like the English word "cult." In this series of articles, I'll include the connections I've identified between Isu and Proto-Indo-European (sometimes abbreviated as PIE). Note that not all linguists always agree on how Proto-Indo-European words should be reconstructed. For the purpose of my own analysis which you'll see in these articles, I've used the reconstructions on Wiktionary (like Wikipedia but a dictionary), which are very consistent with the known Isu lexicon. While the Isu language can be transcribed into the Latin alphabet (the one you're reading right now), the Isu actually wrote in their own alphabet, which you can see here in both a capital and cursive script: Image taken from the Codex Transferendum by Your Friendly Neighborhood Mentor The script I'm referring to as capitals (by analogy with Roman square capitals) doesn't actually have anything to do with uppercase letters, but rather was used by the Isu to inscribe text in stone (or adamant) and can be found at the top and left in the image, whereas the cursive script was used to write manuscripts on soft surfaces such as paper. In fact, one such manuscript exists in the real world: the Voynich manuscript, which contains text in an unknown script and which has never been successfully translated. The Isu alphabet in the Assassin's Creed series is thus based on the letters that appear in the Voynich manuscript. The mysterious text in the Voynich manuscript The Canterbury manuscript from Assassin's Creed: Valhalla written in the Isu language In these articles I will pretty much exclusively write Isu text in the Latin alphabet, for both ease of writing and ease of reading. Look out for more articles in the series, coming October 2024! Related Articles comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Eden is a codebreaker who joined The Ones Who Came Before during the Assassin's Creed Shadows promotional campaign, helping the team to decipher numerous codes and puzzles used for marketing. She is also a high school Maths tutor, and has previously published a few short TTRPG's with more projects in the works. She first started playing Assassin's Creed in 2010, and is especially interested in the glyphs and puzzles, and platforms such as Assassin's Creed Initiates that expand the lore in creative ways. Edenoi

What Netflix can learn from Fallout's Success for Upcoming Assassin's Creed Projects Analysis Share 25 Apr 2024 Written By: Edited By: Finn Fletcher Colum Blackett Back To Database Amazon Prime’s new Fallout show is excellent, and like many people I got a bit addicted and binged the whole thing over the weekend. It's an intriguing, dramatic, action-packed narrative with some really compelling characters and performances. As a fan of the franchise, I felt it perfectly captured the tone that made me love the games, but importantly it was still welcoming to newcomers. This is likely why it's had such critical success, and why all of the games are seeing a massive rise in active players. It's an almost perfect live action video game adaptation, and as we wait for Netflix’s new Assassin’s Creed show, I think there are plenty of lessons that the Netflix production team could take from this success; a few of which I actually think we already got in the Assassin's Creed Movie (2016). While it has its fans, I think the film overall was a failure. It didn't resonate with audiences, and the narrative felt jumbled. But, choosing to create an original story within the world of Assassin's Creed that actively affected canon was the right move. I care about the stories of these games, and while it would be great to see characters show up (you could pull off a pretty cool Kassandra appearance with Melissanthi Mahut), I have no interest in seeing their stories again in live action. If you want to get people interested, show them something new and add to the games. An original story would be a great opportunity to introduce new people to the franchise, while giving hardcore fans something to chew on. With that, I also think that you need to ruffle a few feathers. Some Fallout fans have taken issue with the show’s additions to canon. There's nothing that breaks what came before, but theories and questions were put to bed, while the fate of a major city was decided. It's brave and shows a creative team who weren't willing to do a simple paint by numbers story. There are much easier, less controversial plots that could have been written, but by being bold the show stands out and doesn't feel like a watered down add-on. Even though some fans are annoyed, the decisions were handled well to fit within the narrative of the show (rather than be purely for shock value), by a team of creatives who are clearly fans of the games themselves. If Netflix wants the Assassin's Creed show to work, they need to make some bold decisions. The show could be a perfect opportunity to finally conclude some of the dangling threads left by previous games that Ubisoft no longer cares about answering. We could find out what happened to someone like Bishop and Erudito, get details on the Roman Hidden Ones who Aya led, or even expand on the Juno and Phoenix Project sub-plot which, as far as I know, was quickly resolved in a comic. These are just suggestions, but if you get in a talented team who are also fans, you could pull off something really exciting here. That, I think, was the core problem with the film. The filmmakers were incredibly talented, Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and director Justin Kurzel had just come off making Macbeth (2015), a genuinely brilliant film. There's talent there, but for whatever reason it didn't manifest into a good adaptation of Assassin's Creed. There could be plenty of reasons for that, Kurzel himself admits the film was a mess and struggled with his first jump into Hollywood Cinema, but I would say that a big challenge may have come from his unfamiliarity with the source material. Recounting his involvement in the film, Kurzel explains that it was Fassbender who first informed and drew him into the project He was introduced to the idea as a director, not a fan. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, but if Netflix wants to course correct now I think getting an actual fan who's played the games to show run would be an important first step. Jonathan Nolan, Fallout showrunner and brother of Oscar-winning Christopher Nolan, isn't just a talented individual (with work on Westworld, Person of Interest and many of his brother’s films), he's also a huge Fallout fan. He describes Fallout 3 as ‘consuming a year of his life’. He cared for the source material and made a show he would want to watch. That's the kind of person we need helming Assassin's Creed, someone who can't only prove their talent, but bring in the tiny details that made us all fall in love with the games to begin with. Fallout has given me hope, and I think if done right Assassin's Creed could end up as an amazing show. Sources: Deadline Independent Collider Images via Amazon Prime video comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Finn is a creative writer from Rotherham, UK who has previously supported TOWCB's Fundraising events, and raised awareness surrounding Men's Mental Health. Finn's writing covers a wide scope, with releases including reviews, interviews and stories. He is known in the AC Community for his 'Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game' series, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website! In February 2026, he left the team to focus on real-world opportunities as a journalist, writing for a newspaper! We're thrilled to see Finn using his skills to build a career! Finn Fletcher

This Week in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography: 27th August - 2nd September 2022 Community Share 3 Sept 2022 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography round up hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for capture across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. 1) Ravensthorpe Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Console: PS4 This week’s first capture comes from @ tn_taurus a member of our Assassin’s Creed VP Twitter Community . First up this week we have a wonderful set of shots from Eivor’s Settlement in England. I really enjoyed having a home base in Valhalla, it gave me a real sense of achievement each time I returned. The edit on this set really gives off the sense of a Viking home. Taken during the Sigrblot festival, we are treated to some great shots of a decorated settlement. I particularly like the capture inside the longhouse. Fantastic Scandinavian vibes, reminds me of the Vikings TV series. 2) Lighthouse Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins Photo number two comes from @ warriorqueenvp a member of our Assassin’s Creed VP Twitter Community. Next up we have a fabulous capture of the lighthouse in Alexandria. The saturation of this shot is perfectly executed. I love the orange reflection of the sun on the water and the shadows of the boats as they navigate the waters around the great city. The stand out though has to be the lighthouse, always a great place to take a photo in Origins. The beautiful architecture and the burning light on the top make for such beautiful photo opportunities. Link to set 3) Ready for Battle Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla This week’s third shot comes from @ Ao_sly over on Twitter. I have such respect for this shot as the pose is one I often try to achieve myself. Timing is always critical with these captures as they can look odd if not done correctly. This one, however, is flawless, every little detail has been captured brilliantly. I am impressed with Eivor’s hand reaching for her weapon, but at the same time the hood is raised giving a slight assassin feel. I think the outfit combo works brilliantly, with the stomach tattoo giving the shot that Norse feel. A fantastic capture worthy of the Ragnarok setting. 4) Eivor Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Console: Xbox One X VP number four comes from @ xo_Sweet_Pea over on Twitter. Photo number four continues on from the previous shot with a hauntingly beautiful portrait of Eivor. The decision to go with a black and white photo here is what makes it a winner. It highlights the face tattoo so well, which gives huntress vibes. The look isn’t too dissimilar to Kassandra’s huntress set either. Once again I love the use of the hood which adds to the shadows in this shot. It is also great to see Eivor’s braided hair poking out without any clipping. A truly wonderful capture of our favourite Viking raider. 5) Lion King Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins Console: PS4 The final capture of the week comes from @ SoldjahOfLighta over on Twitter. The final shot of the week is in keeping with my attempts to find great animal shots. This particular photo is from a set that showcases this Lioness exquisitely. I am actually is awe of how good this is, the level of detail on the lion is excellent. Sometimes when taking shots of NPC’s/wildlife the fine points are not as crisp as the main character. When I saw this capture, though, it just reminded me of a wildlife documentary. Link to set And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Where to Start With the Assassin’s Creed Series Guide Share 17 Aug 2024 Written By: Edited By: Edenoi Colum Blackett Back To Database Ubisoft has released a new Assassin's Creed game most years since beginning the series in 2007, with over a dozen games in the main series. This can provide a challenge for newcomers looking to get into Assassin's Creed but not sure where to start. With this guide, we'll go through the series, explaining which games make the best entry points and which should be left for later in your journey into the world of Assassin's Creed. Note that this guide avoids side games such as the 2.5D Chronicles subseries, as these are less representative of the series and are generally not recommended as entry points. Assassin's Creed (2007) - Recommended Unsurprisingly, the very first game released in the series makes a perfectly good entry point. If you already know that you want to experience the entire series, then you can just start right at the beginning and play each game in release order (the same order that they appear in this guide). You'll follow every development and can be sure you aren't missing anything. Assassin's Creed II (2009) - Ideal There are, unfortunately, reasons why beginning with the first game may be untenable. The original Assassin's Creed is the only game from the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era that has not been re-released for later hardware, making it more difficult to play the game than any other if you play games on console. The first game also has essentially no accessibility features, including subtitles, which may make playing it impossible for some. The good news, however, is that the first game is easily skipped. While the modern day storyline of Assassin's Creed II does pick up where the previous game left off, the historical setting which makes up the majority of the game is brand new. Additionally, the plot of the first game is largely dedicated to establishing the basic concepts of the series, which means you really aren't missing too much by starting with the second. Think of it as a story beginning in medias res and you'll be just fine. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010) - Not Recommended Brotherhood is a direct continuation of Assassin's Creed II in both the historical and modern day portions of the plot, and is therefore among the worst entry points to the series. Play Assassin's Creed II first, then move on to Brotherhood. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011) - Not Recommended Like Brotherhood, Revelations is a part of the Ezio trilogy (named for the historical protagonist) as well as the Desmond saga (named for the modern day protagonist) and is best played after Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood. Assassin's Creed III (2012) - Not Recommended Assassin's Creed III (actually the fifth game in the series) features a new historical setting, but it also includes a substantial modern day storyline which serves as the culmination of the series up to that point. The Desmond games (all of the games in the list up to here) are best played in order starting with either the first or second game. Assassin's Creed: Liberation (2012) - Not Recommended Liberation was originally released as a kind of companion to Assassin's Creed III for the PlayStation Vita handheld console and is thus not really part of the main series, but was later ported to major consoles and can easily be mistaken for a main game. Liberation is a decent attempt to make Assassin's Creed work in a handheld format that largely preserves the gameplay of the main series, but it is nevertheless hampered by its handheld origins and is thus not the best representation of the series for someone just getting into it. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013) - Ideal Black Flag is a highly regarded entry in the series which serves as something of a soft reboot for the series. The historical storyline is technically something of a prequel to Assassin's Creed III as it actually stars the grandfather of the latter game's protagonist, but it doesn't assume any knowledge of previous games. The modern day story features a faceless, nameless protagonist controlled from a first-person perspective who knows nothing about Assassin's Creed lore, so you won't be left behind in that regard either. All told, Black Flag is an excellent entry point to the series. Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry (2013) - Recommended Freedom Cry is a standalone expansion to Black Flag starring a major character from the latter game, which might sound like a bad place to start. However, the plot of Freedom Cry is largely unrelated to Black Flag. As it isn't quite a major release, Freedom Cry is perhaps not as good an entry point as Black Flag, but it does the job just fine, especially if you prefer to aid a slave revolt over piracy. Also it does not feature a Modern Day storyline so it is a great place to start for new players. Assassin's Creed: Rogue (2014) - Not Recommended Rogue is a sort of interquel between Black Flag and Assassin's Creed III and has strong ties to both games, including major returning characters. Additionally, the game features a Templar as its protagonist rather than an Assassin and subverts the Assassin's Creed formula in certain ways, which you'll appreciate more once you're more familiar with the franchise. Assassin's Creed: Unity (2014) - Not Recommended Unity is a controversial entry in the series which was widely regarded as a buggy disappointment on release, although it has developed a bit of a cult following since. The game has a new setting and barely any modern day story, which means you won't be missing much in terms of context if you start with Unity, but its generally poor reception compared to the rest of the series makes it hard to recommend as a first encounter with Assassin's Creed when there are other options that are more universally beloved. Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (2015) - Ideal Syndicate, like Unity, features a new historical setting and minimal modern day aspect, which takes place in the form of cutscenes, but it also has the advantage of addressing complaints about Unity. Play it for a mostly light-hearted, steampunk take on Assassin's Creed. Assassin's Creed: Origins (2017) - Ideal Origins acts as another soft reboot for the franchise, introducing not only a new historical setting and a new playable modern day protagonist, but also RPG mechanics. The story of Origins depicts the formation of the society that would one day be known as the Assassin Brotherhood, which makes it a great entry point to the franchise. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (2018) - Recommended Odyssey continues taking Assassin's Creed even deeper into the RPG genre, including male and female character options and romanceable NPCs. The historical portion takes place chronologically earlier than any other game in the series, so early that there aren't actually technically any Assassins in it because those haven't been invented yet. The modern day story does continue following the same protagonist from Origins, but doesn't require any knowledge of the previous game. The main strike against Odyssey as an entry point is that it's so far removed from the other games, it almost isn't an Assassin's Creed game. However, if you want a game that's as much of an RPG as possible, complete with an epic quest and an almost mythical hero, Odyssey is a solid choice. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (2020) - Not Recommended Valhalla's modern day storyline follows on from major events not only in Odyssey and its DLC, but also as far back as the Desmond saga. In addition, while the historical setting of Valhalla is new, the story features important plot points that build on concepts from the previous games that may be difficult to understand without the proper context. Wait for your Viking adventure until you've played the previous Assassin's Creed games. Assassin's Creed: Mirage (2023) - Not Recommended Mirage is a direct prequel to Valhalla and deals heavily with major revelations from that game, leading to an ending that may make little sense if you haven't played Valhalla first. Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (2023) - Not Recommended Nexus is the first virtual reality Assassin's Creed game and though it is not part of the main series, it does replicate much of the traditional Assassin's Creed gameplay with motion controls from a first-person perspective. More than the nontraditional medium, what makes Nexus a less than ideal entry point is the fact that it stars three characters returning from previous games and doesn't do much to bring you up to speed on these characters, their stories or the core concepts of the series. Assassin's Creed: Shadows (2024) - ??? Shadows is still an upcoming release as of this writing. It features an entirely new setting and no modern day aspect in the game itself (although it is set to include a kind of launcher presented as an Animus, the device from the series that allows one to experience others' memories preserved in DNA). This suggests it may be a good entry point for the series, but it's hard to say before the game actually comes out. Best Entry Points Assassin's Creed II - Renaissance Italy Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Golden Age of Piracy Assassin's Creed: Syndicate - Victorian London Assassin's Creed: Origins - Ptolemaic Egypt All games except for the original (and Nexus) are available on recent PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and all of the games (except Nexus) are available on PC. Nexus is available on Meta Quest headsets. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Eden is a codebreaker who joined The Ones Who Came Before during the Assassin's Creed Shadows promotional campaign, helping the team to decipher numerous codes and puzzles used for marketing. She is also a high school Maths tutor, and has previously published a few short TTRPG's with more projects in the works. She first started playing Assassin's Creed in 2010, and is especially interested in the glyphs and puzzles, and platforms such as Assassin's Creed Initiates that expand the lore in creative ways. Edenoi

Events Assassin's Creed Symphonic Adventure London Photo Log 30 May 2024 TOWCB Team Events Read More Wales Comic Con 2024: Wrexham Log 9 April 2024 TOWCB Team Events Read More Event Log: Assassin's Creed Mirage Red Carpet Digital Event 9 November 2023 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More Event Log: Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game Early Access Digital Event 8 November 2023 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More Insomnia #i71 Ubisoft Community Cosplay Competition Photo Log 7 November 2023 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More Assassin's Creed Mirage Photo Experience at Comic Con Cape Town 2023 19 May 2023 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More 878 AD Winchester 6 May 2023 Aaron Young Events Read More Ubisoft UK Community Celebration Awards 2022 Photo Log (Jan 2023) 3 April 2023 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More Wales Comic Con Homecoming (2022) Photo Gallery 7 September 2022 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More The AC Experience: Being a Background Actor in the Assassin's Creed Movie 4 July 2022 Preston Carbonaro Events Read More Assassin's Creed: Dawn of Ragnarok Promo Event: Life-Sized Ice Sculptures 18 June 2022 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok Press Event Round-up 13 February 2022 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More HomeCon 2020: Bringing the Comic Con to your Home 12 April 2020 Lisa Zaman Events Read More How the Community Celebrated AC Day 2019 23 December 2019 Lauren Harris Events Read More Assassin's Creed Movie: London Fan Screening Event 22 December 2016 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More Chester Comic Con Photo Album 25 November 2016 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More Gamescom 2016: Star Player Diary 22 August 2016 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More AC Movie Press Event London (First 20 minutes (From Memory & Notes) 12 May 2016 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More 🔧 Restoration In Progress- Check Back Soon! 19 November 2010 Colum Blackett (Col_96) Events Read More

Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography Hub (2024) Welcome to the Virtual Photography Hub! Here you can find all of our Assassin's Creed weekly VP community showcase articles, written by Aaron Young from our AC Partnership Program! January 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 15th to 26th January Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 1st to 12th January Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 20th to 31st January February 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 5th to 15th February 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 19th to 29th February March 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 4th to 15th March Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 18th to 29th March 2024 April 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 1st to 12th April Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 15th to 26th April 2024 May 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 6th to 17th May Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 20th to 31st May June 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 3rd to 14th June Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 17th to 28th June July 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 1K Celebration September 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 16th to 27th September November 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 18th to 29th November December 2024 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 2nd to 13th December ***RESETTING*** LOADING FIRMWARE... ANIMUS 2.02. SOURCE/AC PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM File: VIRTUAL PHOTOGRAPHY POPULATING

Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography Hub (2025) Welcome to the Virtual Photography Hub! Here you can find all of our Assassin's Creed weekly VP community showcase articles, written by Aaron Young from our AC Partnership Program! January 2025 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 6th to 17th January February 2025 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 17th to 28th February March 2025 Assassin’s Creed Shadows Photo Mode Review Assassin's Creed Shadows: One Week Later April 2025 Assassin's Creed Revelations: a Fitting Finale The Bright Future of Assassin's Creed Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 24th March to 18th April May 2025 June 2025 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 19th to 13th June Assassin's Creed Movie and its Importance July 2025 Why Assassin's Creed Shadows Succeeded August 2025 September 2025 Importance of Assassin's Creed Mirage's Upcoming DLC October 2025 The Potential Of Assassin's Creed Netflix Art Reveal: The Way To AlULa by Serajeddine The Time-Defying Assassin's Creed II Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 22nd to 10th October November 2025 The Perfect Protagonist: Edward Kenway Why Assassin's Creed Returning to Steam is Great December 2025 Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 19th November to 12th December ***RESETTING*** LOADING FIRMWARE... ANIMUS 2.02. SOURCE/AC PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM File: VIRTUAL PHOTOGRAPHY POPULATING

Fall of the Berlin Wall: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game Wishlists Share 28 Jun 2023 Written By: Edited By: Finn Fletcher Colum Blackett Back To Database Assassin's Creed as a series has been able to survive for so long as a franchise because it is so adaptable, and can be moulded into any time period the development team want. The ideological struggle between Assassins and Templar is histori cally malleable, refreshing the series time and time again as it jumps between the pages of documented events. Ever since I fell in love with it back in 2009, I've seen it one way: historical espionage. It's a spy thriller throughout the ages; what if James Bond was in Renaissance Italy. Instead of death rays and future technology, you're facing corrupt Popes and… well future technology. The people will never know your name or mission, but you fight for their safety. There's even an allegory for weapons of mass destruction in it with the Pieces of Eden, that if the Assassins allow to fall into the wrong hands will lead to world destruction! In that vein, and inspired by a tweet from AC: Landmarks , I wanted to return to an idea I've had for sometime, a true Assassin's Creed spy story. How would the series look if you cranked that idea of historical espionage up to 11? What would it look like in the Cold War? Now there are plenty of reasons I think this period could work: it can be charming and flashy as we've seen in the campier spy stories of the past half a century, is so morally complex there's plenty of narrative and philosophical conflicts to explore with the benefit of hindsight and unlike other ideas for titles focused on a contemporary period, the secrecy of the conflict will help avoid the gameplay problem of it simply becoming a shooter. Going guns out simply wasn't an option, can't risk making the Cold War hot after all, so stealth and blades will still be a main approach. The problem then is making a narrative and choosing the specific time and place. The Cold War was BIIIIG, like far too big to ever condense into a single story. Do you want a Cuban missile crisis or a Vietnam War? At first I felt like international 60s exploration would be good, moving from city to city, collecting information on targets, but its scope felt too unrealistic. It's when I settled on what I think to be the perfect setting for this type of game: the fall of the Berlin Wall. For those who don't know (which I assume won't be many people), I'll do a very quick overview of this period in history. After World War 2 Germany was split, with Western Germany going to the Allies and Eastern to the Soviets. This also included the capital city of Berlin, however because the city was located in the Eastern side of the country, Western Berlin was walled off, with the Soviets hoping to stop their citizens fleeing to the West. After two decades of this walled off city, in 1989, the communist leaders were ousted from power and the wall was torn down by citizens and soldiers alike. By many historians, this is seen as the last breath of the Cold War. This will be as modern as the series would have gone, and explore something that people still alive today experienced, maybe even players. This wouldn’t be the first time a game would do this (Call of Duty has used the Cold War as a setting plenty of times), but it is important to show respect to the reality of the suffering. Know that I did my research into the period, and believe if Ubisoft were ever to do this they should consult people who were their to best understand the era. Like Syndicate, the narrative will take place over a single year, as you take the final actions to ensure the wall is destroyed. The player, a German Assassin looking to reclaim her nation, will travel between West and East Berlin, gathering and manipulating information, taking down targets, and setting up the final nail in the coffin of the Cold War. Now I said that this was inspired by a tweet from AC: Landmarks and this is where I’ll tie it back in. Landmarks posted a question, would you like to see another Templar lead Assassin's Creed game, and honestly I think this game would be an excellent opportunity to return to that concept. The protagonist would be an Assassin, but rather than relying solely on the Brotherhood, I imagine this period being an excellent opportunity to return to the ideas of a Templar Assassin unity. Cold War inspired insignia by Reddit user ThatOneEnemy The Cold War was complicated, and the Assassins Creed lore matches that. Templars seemingly had power over Stalin while pushing corporate America through Abstergo. So I’m imagining it as such: Templars attempted to twist Russia into a totalitarian state but it was an experiment that they lost control over, by the 80's when Gorbachov was in power they had no footing in Russia. Meanwhile they were hedging their bets in Abstergo Industries which would become their main operation going forward. Now both Assassins and Templars have a reason to want to bring an end to the Cold War, and annihilate the threat of a nuclear war. You could even have Templar traitors be working with the Soviets, prepared to counteract any Assassin activity. It’s an interesting position to be placed in. The player, a German Assassin named Matilda, simply wants to free her home, while the Assassin Brotherhood is hoping to turn Germany into a new Assassin stronghold after nearly a century of defeats. Abstergo and the Templars offer help, arguing that this is an issue everyone wants to see resolved, but really are just hoping the Assassins will fight their battles for them. Matilda becomes a pawn in all this, pushed and pulled in every direction, her own struggles manipulated by others for their own gain. This can then affect gameplay. While I do love Rogue, it failed to fully capitalise on the “Templar fantasy”. If we’re going to be allied with Templars we should pick up some of their tricks, so missions will not only be focused on eliminating targets but manipulating information. Imagine sequences focused entirely on breaking into military compounds to alter records and data; the player could even be given a selection of choices, with opportunities to alter guard routes, or cause in-fighting. Your goal after all is to destabilise a decades old government, that doesn’t just happen by getting rid of a few people. In this game we'll be pulling the series into the "information age", with 24 hour news, television and mass broadcasting. The manipulation of information was becoming a warfare tactic, one the Soviets had mastered for decades with altered photography and repressed journalists. The gameplay mechanics will reflect this, you're no longer a blade in a crowd but also a pen, ready to tear up falsified "facts" with a single swipe. This could be exemplified by the removal of the real East Berlin ruler Erich Honecker, a man responsible for multiple atrocities who was in charge of the construction of the wall and was forced to resign less than a month before the walls destruction. He would make a perfect final target, wherein the player must maximise their use of Templar tactics, to establish a wide conspiracy and expose the truth in a way that would see Honecker's reign come to an end. It would be a perfect distillation of the idea of covert war, wherein an Assassination would only cause more chaos and fear but information could lead to a peaceful solution. Honeckers life is genuinely fascinating aswell; in his youth he rebelled against the Nazi party, being sentenced to hard labour by the Gestapo. Once freed by the Soviets he built a thriving political career in East Germany and enforced totalitarioan rulership, reportedly leading to the death of around 1,000 civillians. His role as a Templar defect seems to write itself, joining the order after the fall of Nazi Germany only to leave to follow his own beliefs, before being ousted and sent to trial in his old age. The city would also aid in this idea of mixing tactics, with the division forcing different kinds of approaches. East Berlin would have a heavy military presence, with a strict wanted system. Killing isn’t a particularly viable option, because if a body is found major sweeps of the area would be conducted by heavily armed soldiers. Espionage and Templar tricks will be your main tool here, you’ll have to distract not attack. It would also allow a return to the AC1 style of Assassination missions, where once a target has been taken down the city will go onto red alert and you’ll be detected in an instant. West Berlin will function more like a traditional AC game, where you’ll have a chance to use your tools and gadgets more freely. Your focus will be taking down targets who for different reasons are doing everything in their power to make sure the war carries on. These could be war profiteers, or bigoted generals who just want to see the “Commies” annihilated at all costs. Travelling between the sides will also take effort. The “wall” wasn’t just a wall, in fact there were two heavily armed walls with the Death Strip (a trench full of mines and other deadly traps) between. Traversing this will be a parkour and stealth challenge, where you’ll be forced to consider the risks and take effort when manoeuvring the territory. The difficulty will encourage players to finish all the tasks in either half of the city before travelling to the other, providing them with more obstacles. Other historical figures can aide in this, such as the Pastor Christoph Wonneberger who helped rally people to protest against the Soviets. While in real life he was positioned in Lepzig (a city south of Berlin), he couuld The narratives end then will be bittersweet; after taking down Honecker you will watch over the people as they tear down the wall. Yet as one by one the bricks removed, many of the secret powers who started all of this remain unharmed. The Templar allies you’ve made are now enemies again, and Matilda’s simple goal is twisted by the powers that be. She will even have to reflect on the actions she took, considering whether her alteration of information is moral, and if it will evevn be sustainable. Germany is a free nation again, but the fight never ends. Related Articles Aztec Empire: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game Chinese Pirates: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Finn is a creative writer from Rotherham, UK who has previously supported TOWCB's Fundraising events, and raised awareness surrounding Men's Mental Health. Finn's writing covers a wide scope, with releases including reviews, interviews and stories. He is known in the AC Community for his 'Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game' series, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website! In February 2026, he left the team to focus on real-world opportunities as a journalist, writing for a newspaper! We're thrilled to see Finn using his skills to build a career! Finn Fletcher

This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 13th to 19th November Community Share 22 Nov 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: Minimal Desert Traveller Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ NIKOOO_WOLF “I cannot shed my past like a snake sheds its skin.” The foundation of Assassin’s Creed Origins is the setting. Egypt was highly coveted at the time and the announcement we would finally be going there in 2017 was a dream for many fans. This beautifully minimalistic shot of the desert not only fits the theme but also represents Bayek’s home. I adore the different colour tones on show here, and how they are split into sections. The sun is extremely powerful at the centre and the shadow work at the bottom allows for an elegant silhouette of Bayek on his camel. A remarkable capture that would look exquisite hung on the wall. Link to set: Backflip Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ tn_taurus “We are what we choose to be.” The essence of the creed is often shown through moments within the games. One of those that will always be iconic is the leap of faith. I think the move itself is even cooler when performed as a backflip. It just adds to the danger and shows the faith of the Assassins. Here we have a fantastic action shot of Basim leaping from a vantage point. For me the minimalism is on point with that beautiful blue sky dominating the shot. Having Basim in the white robes makes for such a classic Assassin’s Creed feel. Excellent timing and composition from Julio. Link to set: Balance Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ Cll3ar “The training is nothing. The will is everything.” If there is one thing I wish we had more of in Assassin’s Creed Mirage, it would be street thief Basim. It was so fun to play as him in the early stages of the game. I was getting real Batman Begins vibes from the prologue, especially when sparing with Roshan. This shot is so minimal and clean, the colour tones are on point and the composition is exceptional. Raven is always so good at taking shots I haven’t seen before. Be sure to check out the whole set using the link below, together they make for a truly remarkable selection. Link to set: Guardian Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ _Liamism_ “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” The Harvey Dent quote above fits Basim perfectly. One of the reasons I fell in love with this glorious series is the links to media such as Batman. The whole vigilante protecting their city and fighting injustice is a real draw for me. This capture is exuding Dark Knight vibes, in fact there is a scene in the movie that isn’t too dissimilar. I adore the lighting and details of this shot, the brilliant white background helps to elevate Basim and the wooden structure. Everything is so clean and crisp, I definitely think this is one of my favourite Mirage captures. Longship Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ playpausephoto “We can raise the sail here Eivor.” Vikings are raiders, but they were also adventures capable of crafting excellent longships to cross the seas and find new lands. They are often branded as violent and bloodthirsty but actually they were just trying to seek a better way of life. What better way to showcase minimal than a Malin Valhalla shot. The black and white contrast is so eye catching, I did have the pleasure of seeing the colour version too which is equally beautiful. I think what makes this shot so special is the negative space, capturing half the longship was such a genius idea. This is such a striking capture and fully deserving of capture of the week. The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: @ cop_filip I am a fan of the unique top down view and how it works with the stark black and white contrast. The oars are like needles piercing into the dark unknown, almost like a phalanx. There is an excellent use of negative space that introduces a veil of mystery, and an entirely new graphic aesthetic to the image. It all works together beautifully to create a truly striking and unique Image. A simply spectacular capture. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! Interested in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography? Share your shots in our Twitter community for a chance to be featured in our weekly VP selection articles! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

What AC Mirage's Expansion & Revival Means for the Franchise & Ubisoft Breakdown Share 5 Nov 2025 Written By: Edited By: Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon) Hayden Bird Back To Database Two months’ time ago, Ubisoft made a surprise announcement. Out of the blue, it was revealed that Assassin’s Creed Mirage, almost two years after its initial release, would be receiving a free expansion before the end of the year. This expansion now titled “Valley of Memory” would take players to Al-Ùla in Saudi Arabia, a UNESCO site and key part of Saudi culture and history. These news were as said definitely a surprise, but were mostly met with praise and excitement from fans, even if it was odd this expansion was coming this long after release. But why is that? Was this always secretly planned, is it a desperate business move, and is it related to Ubisoft’s new supposed partnership with Savvy Games Group, an investment firm based in Riyadh in Saudi? We explore the different aspects of this, from business decisions, fan reception, its impact on the AC franchise and more. Let’s dive into it! Ubisoft, Savvy Games Group & Business Last year in 2024, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot reportedly accompanied President of France Emmanuel Macron on a trip to Saudi Arabia, to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and other Saudi leaders, with the goal of spreading the impact and reach of French culture. Based on an internal company Q&A published by GameFile, this caused dissatisfaction within the company and was not to everyone’s liking, one employee specifically asking if supposedly partnering up with a nation against the company’s democratic values, is another hit to their already damaged and dwindling reputation. Ubisoft did not make any direct comments on this claiming “We do not comment on rumours” , and reportedly afterwards stated they believe there’s a difference between the controversial Crown Prince and the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, as well as Savvy’s parent company. Some time after Guillemot and President Macron’s trip in January this year, French news outlet Les Echos reported Ubisoft had supposedly entered a partnership with Savvy Games Group, leading to the creation of DLC for Assassin’s Creed Mirage, despite multiple previous claims the game was meant to be a standalone experience without plans for additional expansions. Ubisoft have neither confirmed nor denied a partnership with Savvy or Saudi Arabia in general, but nonetheless the DLC was conveniently announced by Guillemot in Riyadh in August, during the New Global Sport Conference. Despite no official confirmation of a partnership between Ubisoft and Savvy, the timeline, alleged business decisions and the fact the DLC comes at no additional cost, does indeed raise the question, is the choice of developing this DLC purely a creative decision, or a direct result of Savvy’s likely investment in Ubisoft, possibly in an attempt to promote Al-Ùla and attract tourists? As mentioned also, the fact that the DLC is free - also compared to expansions for previous AC games as well as years of (infamous) microtransactions - can indeed feel odd, also taking into consideration the current state of Ubisoft and their recent financial struggles. Could they really afford to put money and resources into developing an expansion they wouldn’t make a dime off, or is it being free a result of funding from partners? At the most, a spokesperson from Ubisoft has stated "This title update to Assassin's Creed Mirage was made possible thanks to the support of local and international organisations, through access to experts, historians, and resources to ensure the creation of an authentic and accurate setting.” . Fan Reception & Impact on the Franchise Business decisions and potential controversies aside, as mentioned, despite the suddenness of the announcement of a free expansion, it was mostly met with praise and excitement from fans, some even stating it absolutely feels like the right decision, and the timing of it comes along at the perfect moment. It is very likely there is some truth to this. Bringing new life to one of the company’s most critically acclaimed titles in recent years - especially coming off of said financial struggles and the intense and controversial marketing campaign for AC Shadows - can ultimately serve as a bit of cleansing, and help restore players’ faith in and love for the company. Also taking into consideration the perception of Assassin’s Creed in recent years - the series going in a drastically different direction with most new games, causing polarisation amongst fans - bringing new life to the most critically acclaimed instalment in a long time that was a fresh breath of air, being as much of a return to roots as possible, reintroducing classic as can be Assassins (Hidden Ones) VS. Templars (Order Of The Ancients), with a story structure and gameplay formula reminiscent of the 2007 original, does indeed feel like an easy, yet effective and nostalgic move, and it shows. The fact that the DLC trailer also officially naming it Valley of Memory in early October, got more views in 24 hours than the trailer for AC Shadows’ recently released Claws of Awaji expansion got in a month is telling something. It says that despite its young age, players are already starting to have a nostalgic relationship with Mirage given its classic formula, and it is slowly leaving a legacy other recent instalments in the series have failed to, and tells that despite its successful and fateful launch and mostly positive reception, even the newest entry of Shadows might not be sticking with some players for the long run. This also raises the question, why is Ubisoft not just sticking to a formula for their flagship franchise that is more or less always met with praise, and instead doing all this push and pull, first removing than re-adding elements to new instalments that only result in polarisation? This is not saying the series has to be repetitive and every game the same, and it does indeed need to evolve adding completely new elements every now and then. One of the most household titles of the franchise - Black Flag - did exactly this to most players’ surprise, but in the end to positive reception. Every game can introduce a new narrative, new locations, gameplay elements and more, but in the very end, does it need to rely upon the same backbone and structure more or less, to keep a loyal fanbase and leave an enduring legacy? Among the many instalments in the franchise, it is really only a few games that have really left their mark in gaming history - up there with games like Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption II, The Witcher 3, The Last Of Us and more - but even the older ones that didn’t do so on that level, are starting to be looked upon in a different, more nostalgic light by everyone from players simply missing the classic AC formula, the modding community starting to bring experience enhancing mods to these games, to those only experiencing them for the first time even to this day. This adds further to the fact that most newer instalments have so far failed to create an enduring legacy on the same level, with Mirage now becoming the odd one out, that given the circumstances and new life being brought to it at the perfect time, could end up having a legacy on the levels of Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed II. Nostalgia & What Can Ubisoft Learn? Even if it is odd suddenly bringing new life to a two year old game, it is as said clearly the right move, and tugging on the nostalgia strings, is an easy and cheap, yet clearly very effective move. This raises the question, given the current state and perception of the AC franchise, does it need to rely more on nostalgia, and could it ultimately survive on that for so and so long? Overall we live in a time where nostalgia overall clearly sells, be it music where genres like Pop-Punk & Nu-Metal have reached levels of popularity not seen since their inception 20-25 years’ time ago, with massive festivals and many of their biggest names today playing stadiums, or movies where a film like Top Gun Maverick in 2022 turned out one of the biggest and most critically acclaimed hits in newer times. So is there really any reason for Ubisoft to not try and tap into this even further? Perhaps similar to the Inside The Mind DLCs for Far Cry 6, bringing back iconic villains of previous games, if this was done for Assassin’s Creed, bringing back say the “big four” - Altaïr, Ezio, Connor and Edward - it is certainly likely it could almost become a main selling point. For now and the foreseeable future though, it can be as simple as a game with a backbone and structure reminiscent of the 2007 original, to old and new fans’ liking, creating a game like Mirage, that with new life also reintroducing classic elements like replayable missions and optional objectives, is bound for a legacy few instalments have achieved. Conclusion To slowly wrap things up, even if it is sudden and regardless of any alleged and potentially controversial behind the scenes business deals and partnerships, bringing the Valley of Memory expansion, to the most critically acclaimed and classic instalment of Ubisoft’s flagship franchise in recent years - slowly also achieving legacy status already - is without a doubt the right move for both the franchise and the company, coming along at the perfect moment in time. Following almost two years of financial struggles, maybe the most and intense controversial marketing campaign in gaming history, a dwindling reputation and trust towards and more, putting out a free expansion reintroducing even more classic elements, will ultimately serve as a bit of a clean slate, reminding players what it is they love about the franchise and company. Source: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ubisoft-workers-raised-concerns-over-alleged-deal-with-saudi-arabia-says-new-report comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Gustav / Gargudon is an active community member, who started out in podcast hosting in 2016, but today mostly specialises in video creation, interviews & composing. By joining The Ones Who Came Before in 2019, originally reviving 'The Memory Corridor' podcast, which had been offline for nearly a year, he has had the opportunity to expand his audience and further develop his skills.

 His unique skill set made him the perfect candidate for our team. Among other things, he is known in the community for the Sounds Of History project - an original Assassin’s Creed inspired instrumental music project, featuring five tracks inspired by as many different games - other original fan themes plus covers of iconic AC tracks, as well as video interviews with a number of high profile names in the world of AC, from Roger Craig Smith, Jesper Kyd and more. Fun fact, among his growing colourful tattoo collection, Gustav is the only member of our team to have the TOWCB logo inked. Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon)

Assassin's Creed Mirage: Assassin Cat designs shared by Ubisoft 3D Character Artist News Share 2 Mar 2024 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) TOWCB Team Back To Database Assassin's Creed Mirage: Patch 1:0:7 introduced a very special character to the game, in the form of an Assassin cat which seems to spawn at random throughout the game. It was recently sighted wandering the streets of Ukbara, a small town found on the North bank of the Tigris river, but I was unable to find it myself. In a special post on ArtStation by Valentin Yovchev , 3D Character Artist at Ubisoft, new details about the design and close-up images were shared which will benefit those looking to create costumes for their own Assassin cats at home. ''It was a great honor for me to work on Assassin's Creed Mirage, and I'm happy to share that I had the pleasure to design and create this outfit for the latest Easter egg in the game that was introduced in patch 1.0.7. Congrats on Lieven Ledegen , he was the first one to find this new purr assassin (the video is from him). Also since I saw in some posts on reddit that people will want to make a real outfit for their cat, I've decided to share the raw measurements of the outfit for people to use as guides if they ever want to build this outfit for their cat in real life And for everyone curious how to find this furry assassin in the game. Just walk around, and look for cats and eventually you'll run in to him, just be prepared to pet him Cheers! Valentin'' The first set of character models shared by Valentin Yovchev show a number of key details such as a snake-inspired knife belt and engraved Assassin collar. The next set of designs are for those looking to create the costume at home. Let us know if you plan on taking on this challenge! Have you found the new Assassin cat in Assassin's Creed Mirage yet? Share your captures @ ACFirstCiv for a chance to feature on the website! comments debug Comments (1) Write a comment Write a comment Sort by: Newest Guest Mar 22, 2024 🤑🤑🤑 Like Reply About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 1st to 7th May Community Share 9 May 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: Portraits & Quotes Basim Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ Majdulf47 “A man you trust with anything, can take everything” a quote that sums Basim up. He works in the dark but not necessary to serve the light, although his origins story may expand on this. I admire this shot so much. I love the lighting across his face as he exits the shadows. The level of detail in this capture is excellent. I am in awe of how good his facial features look. A really stunning Assassin’s Creed portrait. Ragnar Lothbrok Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ JinxyVP This shot gives me massive Ragnar Lothbrok vibes. The way Eivor/Havi is staring into the abyss is reminiscent of Ragnar in the TV show Vikings. I can hear him saying “Don’t waste your time looking back, you’re not going that way.” This is such an atmospheric shot amplified by the striking background. The short hair and the beard help with the Viking feel and I admire that face tattoo as it adds something different to the shot. Guided by the Light Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ Its_Gurly “The truth of a man lies not in the land of his birth, but in his heart. A king must be a king on his own terms. He cannot be his father, he can only be himself”. I feel like this quote and capture go together so well. Eivor spends most of his time with regret about his father’s death and the lack of ambition from Styrbjorn his adopted father. I feel the shot symbolises Eivor breaking free of his past and stepping out of the shadow of Sigurd. A beautiful capture that amplifies every detail, kudos for the shadow work truly spectacular. My Saga has ended Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ KeenEyeVP This week’s #Thorsday shot had to be Eivor deep thought about her time in England. There is a sadness to this shot. “My road forward has been a muddy one. Slick with blood and tears, but we can reach its end together”. I felt this quote best summed up this shot. Once again the shadow work here is excellent and that face tattoo brings some nice Origins vibes. Eivor always gets you with her eyes though, so mesmerising. Spinner Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @Cll3ar You would think this shot was right out of The Witcher. The three spinners play a big role in Norse mythology and also in Eivor’s journey. “Deep under the earth, where the corpse serpent gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasil, the tree of life, there are three spinners. Three women who make our fate” Eivor feels like she is in control of her destiny but we all know that is not true. This moody and gothic shot embodies the quote in exquisite fashion, the lighting is on point to make it incredibly eerie. The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week: Judge: Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon) from TOWCB Video Content Creation Team Taking the title as Photo of the Week this round is "Spinner" by @Cll3ar . A perfectly framed shot, with a very special and mysterious tone and look to it, where Eivor and her brightly coloured outfit shines perfectly in the otherwise dark. This shot also feels like something that could be a poster for a movie / show, or and album cover, with its simple yet very cinematic style. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments (1) Write a comment Write a comment Sort by: Newest Guest May 10, 2023 Fantastic Article! Thank you for including me with other incredible Virtual Photographers. I look forward to your next ~Jinx 💙 Like Reply About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

The Ones Who Came Before: Plans for 2021 News Share 29 Dec 2020 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Buckley Back To Database 2020 is nearly over, and it's been a crazy year for everyone. Although we were all limited due to restrictions, we here at TOWCB tried to make the most of it . The new year is almost here, so in this article we will be outlining some of our plans and goals for 2021. Huge thank you to everyone who has supported TOWCB this year, and especially to those who have been shopping via our Amazon links , helping to keep the site running and ad-free. Assassin's Creed Valhalla Review Look our for our review for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which was delayed due to the sheer size of the game, and time required to complete. By pushing our review back, we have given our fans a window to explore the game for themselves, and make up their own minds. It also gave fans who received the game for Christmas a chance to play without spoiler-related discussions appearing online. Here's a sneak peak: "There's never a dull moment whilst exploring the world of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, as it continues to find ways to surprise the player at every turn. It's the first game in the series to properly fill the open world, making it feel dynamic and life-like" Anti-Spoiler Filter Removed We will also be removing our Anti-Spoiler filter in January, meaning we will finally be discussing plot points and other elements that we have not yet covered. It's a great opportunity to dive into some Isu lore and dig our teeth into the real history that inspired the game. With the help of our Partnership Program team, we will be covering fresh aspects of the game that we have not yet explored. More opportunities and giveaways We were recently invited to join The Mentors Guild, an official community program that bridges the gap between community members and developers. So far, Ubisoft has so far arranged two giveaways (Valhalla codes) along with constant social media support, creating numerous opportunities for members of the AC community. We are looking forward to working closely with Ubisoft in the new year on the program, and strive to make the most of our new position. Wedding Prep! Ash and Col from the admin team are getting married in November! As you might expect, the wedding may have one or two Assassin's Creed related elements! Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates, or check out the Rally The Creed podcast Reboot The AC Partnership Program In 2021, we are looking to do a soft reboot of our AC Partnership Program, a community initiative that provides a platform for content creators to shine. We are always looking out for the next wave of passionate AC fans who are creating content on a regular basis, and we hope to discover new talent in 2021 to join us. If you are interested, simply message our social media channels and send some of your projects our way. Fundraising projects 2020 was our biggest year so far for fundraising projects, and we would like to recognise the efforts of Ashlea Buckley and Lisa Zaman who helped raise over £500 for The Italian Red Cross! These efforts provided resources for Italy in it's time of need, and brought the entire community together. We will be doing even more fundraising in the new year, and Ashlea, who is now our Charity Project Coordinator, will be taking charge of these efforts. Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates. We hope that you enjoyed our last article of 2020! As you can see, we have a lot planned for 2021, and we can't wait to get started! See you all in the New Year! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Pitching an Assassins' Creed Game: Building the Perfect Game Wishlist Share 9 Nov 2024 Written By: Edited By: Hayden Bird Colum Blackett Back To Database For any fan of the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game series, there will always be a personal wishlist, whether it be hopes for new parkour elements, combat techniques, or a new story direction. I always found it fun to brainstorm ideas for a potential new game in the series with a list of additions I would love to see. I think fans can all agree that each and every ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game could have different features that could slightly impact the quality of the game. Ubisoft does an excellent job already in creating these games, and they do a fine job of taking fan feedback into consideration, so the realistic gap between anyone’s wishlist can be small due to the great response that Ubisoft offers its fans. As good as any game can be, no matter what it is, there is always room for improvement as it's how the gaming industry works. I am going to build an ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game that would satisfy my expectations as a long-time fan of the series. I hope other fans will do the same as Ubisoft may very well be listening to our feedback, and there's always a chance the suggestions you make may one day be implemented into one of their games. Image via Ubisoft. I will start off with the basics, which is the overall formula. ‘Assassin’s Creed’ , in recent years. Has undergone some very significant changes. This has divided some fans, as some prefer the way the old games used to be played. But now, there are plenty of fans who love and appreciate the new style the more recent games have taken. The newer ones have also done a great job at creating new fans to the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series. There are many fans who never played any of the older games, that are now fans of the series thanks to the major reboot that took place back in 2017. I am a fan of both formulas, but I won't deny I see the appeal for each argument. I think there should be a balance of some sorts. Basically a bridge between old and new. I think combining both could easily satisfy both the older fans and the new ones. Doing this, however, would prove challenging to the developers at Ubisoft because they would have to sacrifice content from each different formula to mix them together. Meaning one aspect of the game would lack something important, which would impact both formulas in its own way. I think to find this ideal balance, there should be a mixture of these elements, but also something new and fresh, so that this hypothetical game would not only honor both the past and the present, but would also make an impact as a new and innovative game rather than feeling repetitive or recycled. This would prove quite the challenge creatively, and would take extensive research and brainstorming from the team at Ubisoft, but in the end, this company employs some of the best creative minds in the entire industry. Offering a new challenge for the team might prove beneficial in the long run. Promotional banner used to tease the reveal of Assassin's Creed Origins. Source: Ubisoft Next on the list, would be the parkour. Free-running and parkour have been a staple of this series since the beginning of its inception. Each game has always brought a unique aspect of the parkour that is so well known in these games, and fans often look back at different eras of the mainline games and how far the parkour has developed. For the original games, parkour was monumental at the time, now it's seen as an iconic part of gaming history. Looking back at how far the free-running and climbing has come, it's easy to forget all the fun parkour we have now, would not exist without the main inspiration of the original games. During the early days of the series, parkour was seen as basic, but effective. It was a treat for fans to be able to run across rooftops or scale the tallest building in the city in the beautiful settings all the games took place in. Many fans see 2009’s ‘Assassin’s Creed II’ as one of the best, if not the best game in the series for many reasons, and one of those would be the gorgeous setting of Florence and Venice in Italy in the 14th century. It was incredible to climb real life buildings and monuments that still stand in Italy to this day, and be able to look out to the city in either Florence or Venice. Parkour, of course, has changed a lot over the following years. Which also depended on the setting of the game. ‘Assassin’s Creed III’ , for example, took place during the American Revolution, and had to change some features in the parkour to match that of the setting. For example, the playable characters in the game were able to scale and climb trees, which was new and exciting for fans to experience, but also a great creative change from Ubisoft to adapt to that timeline, and not stick to only what they were familiar with, but to branch out and stay authentic to the time period in history. As a fan of the series since its creation, I think the ideal parkour would be to once more adapt to the setting of the game. Not every aspect of the new games that will follow a different time period will be the same as the last, some will have different terrains or cultures to adapt to. I think to match this authenticity, the team at Ubisoft will have to do what they do best. Study the era inside and out to come up with a solution that not only satisfies fans, but also matches the setting of that particular game. Capture from Assassin's Creed III by Col_96 The next bullet point to follow would be combat. I think Ubisoft has adapted the combat in the series very effectively. The original games had specific combat loopholes that made the need for the traditional fighting less important, where instead some fans could easily manipulate that feature by using the loopholes left in the games. Ubisoft has done an excellent job in cleaning that up and making the combat realistic to the era, and also mechanically fluent in terms of game development. I think Ubisoft would be wise to stick to the current style of combat, if I had a say in this, I would mostly leave it as it is. Ubisoft has perfected the art of combat in modern video games. Changing this would not make sense as it wouldn’t match that of today's standards. However, one thing Ubisoft could continue in its combat mechanics are the extended use of special abilities while fighting enemies. These abilities allow the developers to get creative. There's a lot of potential in creating these special abilities to give the player an aid in combat by having these unique skills be authentic to the game's time period. Ubisoft has already accomplished this in the past, for example in ‘Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’ , one of the special abilities you could use and equip was the infamous Spartan kick. The game was set in Ancient Greece, and this technique is well known today by being shown in different types of movies and TV shows, as well as the actual inspirations of Greece during that time period. The game adopted this type of ability specifically for ‘Odyssey’ as it fit perfectly in the Ancient Greek lore. Lastly, one thing I would add to create my picture perfect ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game would be the continued use of the skill tree. The universal use of skills in ‘Assassin’s Creed’ games only became a part of the series in more recent years. Almost all games created in today's era have adopted the same use of a skill tree. It has become a staple of the gaming industry. Any new ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game could further take advantage of this option by being “different” in their use of a skill tree. It will be creatively challenging, but if Ubisoft were to create a skill tree that looks and acts differently that the usual of what we see today, it would bring publicity to the game by having a unique aspect of it that so many other game developers have typically recycled this part of their game, which is understandable as most skill trees are supposed to be basic, as developers would not want to confuse fans with an overly complicated skill tree feature that could end up worsening the experience and creative gamble they would take. I think a good example of this would be what we saw in ‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’ where the skill tree was turned into a system that changed skills into “power”. This was a healthy change in what we are so used to in games today. ‘Valhalla’ did a great job at their attempt to be unique in the skill tree aspect of their game. Assassin's Creed Valhalla Skill Tree from TOWCB 'How to' Guides I think overall that these specific aspects, along with the great foundation Ubisoft has already built for the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series, would create a game for everyone. I think blending the elements of both past and present could be a pleasant surprise for any fan of the games. These are, of course, hypothetical suggestions, as this is all a personal wishlist for me, but it is a wise thing to do as a fan of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ because one day, if enough fans were to create something similar, the creators at Ubisoft may very well take interest in our suggestions, and perhaps a new ‘Assassin’s Creed’ game could fit our personal wishes. Anything is possible in today's era of the gaming industry. Which is why the hobby of gaming so many fans enjoy, is the best form of entertainment in the entire world. Related Articles Aztec Empire: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game Chinese Pirates: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Hayden is a passionate Freelance Writer based in South Carolina who joined TOWCB's Writing Team in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic, writing articles on all things Assassin's Creed Valhalla. He left the group to focus on studies, joining our Alumni program, but triumphantly returned with fresh ideas in 2024 to pick up where he left off, only this time covering Assassin's Creed Shadows. In 2025, Hayden took on the position of Team Leader for TOWCB's Writing Team, overseeing article releases, assisting with recruitment and providing assistance with internal operations. Hayden Bird

Journey to the East: A Review of Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road Review Share 14 Nov 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Colum Blackett Back To Database Ban ner by Thea Marie Rivedal (Moonchildgecko) from TOWCB Art Team. Article contains Amazon affiliate links which support TOWCB. Major spoilers for Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road. Adventure stories have been a staple in my personal life since I was a child. From the early years of school where I explored the pages of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series, to the modern releases from TellTale Games’ The Walking Dead, Batman, and Tales of the Borderlands . I can remember hitting the Dead End or ' You Died' in the middle of a book and rushing back to try and fix my mistake, or starting over to take another path. It’s something that becomes a skill with thinking before a decision that as a gamer, I’ve learned to utilize better in my hobbies and day to day. Being able to choose a path and experience something in a way that only a percentage of other people may have done previously is one of the reasons I still play games to this day. In 2021, Hatchette Heroes announced a new entry in the Assassin’s Creed transmedia line, Le Livre Dont Vous Êtes L’assassin: La Route De La Soie , or in English, The Book Where You are the Assassin: The Silk Road (in short, Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road). This new interactive novel, written by Mathieu Rivero, puts you in control of the French Assassin, Oisel. His story starts in Chinon, France where Oisel is tasked by his Mentor to travel to Antioch at the start of the historical Silk Road to locate and assist Master Assassin, Basim Ibn Ishaq (protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Mirage ) in investigating a new enemy. It is here that he learns of a branch within the Order of the Ancients called 'The Snake Eaters' and of their plans to take control of the Silk Road to control the trade and wealth that travels across the Eastern World. With the assistance of your close friend Matthias, and additional allies through the story, readers must choose the direction the Assassin follows to defeat this enemy and save The Silk Road from The Order of the Ancients. I waited for a while before I purchased the book as I had hoped that one day, AC: The Silk Road would be released in English. Yet, after a few years I decided to order and take the time to translate the book myself into my native language. Much like Oisel had to adapt to the Arabic and Sogdian languages of the Silk Road, I had to adapt to the French language using the only tool at my disposal, Google Translate. So with my phone and a word document, I spent two months scanning, formatting, and eventually reading AC: The Silk Road . During this time I would “read” the contents of the book and even have to spoil some aspects of the story so that I could better my future self’s experience reading the book. However, with all of the content that I scanned while editing punctuation for English and dividing each paragraph into individual sections for my outline, I didn’t feel that I ruined the overall experience. The day before I started writing this review, I spent an afternoon reading through my first take of the book and ended with one of five endings in the story, reaching what I believe to be the most positive ending, Future Mentor. What that means, I won’t spoil for you but the overall experience was enjoyable and made me feel like I was playing a solo campaign of Dungeons & Dragons . Navigation, Combat, and Tests made decisions for my overall outcome. Choosing which path to navigate through the various points along The Silk Road, planning my attacks in combat against drunkards and members of The Snake Eaters, and performing Tests using the books built in randomizer of icons printed in the corner of each page made this reading of the book and all future readings, unique. Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road provides plenty of direction on how to read through and interact with the book. During the first two chapters, small sections of red text with the image of a Hidden Blade will explain the mechanics of the book from the mechanics that I shared above; Navigation, Combat, Tests, Obtaining skills and items, and the Appendices. These are embedded in the Paragraph that you are currently reading, or will direct you to a different paragraph to read the text if it was the currently read paragraph is printed after the initial notice. With 198 Paragraphs divided over 5 Chapters and 95 Appendices, there is plenty of content and replayability with the combination of five endings and various choices. On my first playthrough, I interacted with an estimated 100 individual sections and appendices, leaving a lot of text untouched. You are able to track your progress using the included bookmark (which can be reprinted from the publisher’s website). This bookmark provides a “save file” with the front Synchronization section, as well as the boxes for your Stamina, Max Stamina, and Stealth Damage. The back provides space to list the skills and items you have found and a space to lock them in once you have synchronized your progress. Unfortunately for me, I purchased the book second hand and did not receive a bookmark, but the one provided from the website was great, and to be honest I would have printed regardless as I don’t like marking items with my books. Later on in the book readers will find a pair of puzzles that present a challenge which provides not only a change in content, but makes the reader think like a member of the Brotherhood. In my playthrough, I put myself in the shoes of Oisel and thought hard about my options, keeping the tenets of the Brotherhood in mind and how my decisions could change the relationships with those that surround the lead character. The immersive storytelling from Mathieu Rivero made this experience meaningful as I felt joy, sadness, and fear as my tale brought me to the brink of desynchronization multiple times and excitement when I overcame an obstacle. It's a story that I loved so much that I began playing it again with my wife, allowing her to make all the decisions. After reading the first chapter, she was just as excited and wanted to see what would happen next. While she hasn’t finished it yet, I was super excited to see all aspects of Assassin’s Creed (even those outside of the Genetic Memory…) present in this story. Now, as often seen with mass printed media, I hit a few errors in my reading of the book. Two sections from my playthrough directed me to a paragraph that was either an alternative option to a scene I already completed (ie. choosing to train with one person over the other), or to a scene that was not relevant to the text at all. I was able to identify the errors’ correct paragraph (or what I believed it to be) and continue my reading without additional issue. While not game breaking, it was a disruption in my immersion. Yet, I don’t hold this in a negative light as the complex process of publishing such a book can be handled by multiple parties or departments in a company. I also found myself confused at a few points where I was unsure if I was supposed to recover stamina at the start of a new section, or only if a paragraph informed me that I was healed. Luckily for me, at the end of the story with only 2 HP remaining, I was able to finish the story with no further damage. There were also times where I felt the Test mechanic felt one-sided, or easy to manipulate. Each page has symbols of varying success or failure in the lower left or right corner and are used for the Tests by flipping through the book and stopping at a random page to get your symbol and gather the outcome from the text based on that. My wife said that she felt she could remember by feel, where an Eagle was (the highest success) and could potentially aim for this each time. Yet, I would watch her try, and end up “rolling” a Snake instead (the highest failure). However, this mechanic works for the book and can make the action scenes have an intensity to them when you are trying to roll a combat move multiple times and watch your health, or the opponents fall quickly. One of the unique aspects of the experience I had with this book was that I learned of the author, Mathieu Rivero’s work as a translator. Reaching out to him on the fact that I was translating his book opened a conversation which gave me the opportunity to ask a few questions about the book and his process. In a short back and forth over a few days, I asked the following and have provided his answers to highlight his experience with AC: The Silk Road . What were some of the challenges you had with writing an Assassin’s Creed adventure novel? When you talk about challenges for writing an AC novel, I’m reading “IP complications”. While writing for an IP is undeniably difficult, it also brings its own niceties. What’s difficult, and daunting, is the sheer amount of pre-existing material. I’ve scoured the AC fan wikis in search of many things and, whenever you’re talking about such things as an IP, there are legacies to consider. I wanted to incorporate the social element of AC, and that translates to the Antioch market, whereas the stronghold is all about infiltration. Each sequence is centered about one specific part of the AC experience that I wanted to put in the game. Sadly there’s no crafting and no min-maxing and some of the goofy AC humor isn’t there (while there are a few places where it gets lighthearted). Of course Ubisoft had its own agenda, and told me a few select details that should or should not be there. Overall I would say that while it gives you a humongous set of constraints, it has the benefits of bringing its own universe, its tropes, and constraint breeds creativity, that’s for sure! Did you use any reference materials for the story, such as books about the Silk Road? If so, would you share what you used for those that want to read more about the time period? Weirdly, I did not buy any books for this. I’ve always been a history buff, and the first novel I finished writing was about the Arabian Nights (not available in English, sorry, though the title would translate as 'Of Night and Gold'). So let’s say I already had a headstart when I started designing the story. However, I vividly recall spending evenings reading websites about the Silk Road, about power struggles in the area, about the dialects that were used at the time or trying to figure out how to describe Antioch the way it was, geographically. For Antioch, for instance, I had to look at the maps of the ruins, figure out where it would sit on Google Maps, and then make a mental picture of how the arrival would look like – all that for a puny sentence or two that probably no one cares about or would notice. I like research, but I’m in the camp of calling a spade a spade, and fiction can and should stray from reality at times. There are a few gaps in the book, and some historians might pursue me with a pitchfork… one day, when they read the book. Also I did not want historical accuracy [to] make things feel foreign and pull readers out of the experience. Were there any mechanics or content that you wanted to write about that didn’t get published? The way we worked with Ubisoft (and Hachette, the publisher of the book) was very helpful in not having cut content. First I did a test – which became the Chinon prologue, with some editing, and a grand plan, a structure and a game design document for the entire novel, so that Ubisoft would approve me writing stuff. Then I proceeded to work on the book and then submitted everything back to Ubisoft. They had a few nitpicks with some scenes, thought one of the endings needed some more love, so I touched up whatever needed to be touched up. With my publisher at Hachette, we had defined a certain scope that we did not want to go past, and I did go a little bit overboard. Not too much, though. I had not foreseen the endings would take as much work as they did! So no, no cut content per se. I scrapped a bunch of things to streamline a few moments, but rarely did our plan fail! Was the Silk Road story your decision, or was it pitched to you by Ubisoft? Ubisoft approached one of their former employees, who knew a publisher with whom I had spoken about adventure books, a few years back. My name was submitted unbeknownst to me, and I was contacted by Hachette. As mentioned above, Ubisoft had their own agenda and they wanted the story to happen around the Silk Road, they wanted a Basim cameo (why, of COURSE!) and they also wanted to have a male Hidden One named Oisel (old French for Bird). They wanted him to be of a mixed ethnicity, and the year 850 mark is perfect for that – the Moors had invaded, so a deserter could have had a child. That also helped come up with the excuse for Oisel speaking – kinda – French, Arabic, the dialects of Central Asia, and Chinese. They had an idea about an open world but clearly that was not possible (unless we did a choose your own adventure encyclopedia) in book form so we settled for a few select vignettes. I brought them the entire arc, what I wanted to do with Oisel (and Matthias), and they were on board with that. Having a somewhat canon ending meant the end could not go too far. We had to have a specific direction and a fixed end point. If you were to write another adventure book, would you write a sequel to this story, or would you visit another period and location? I’m not opposed to writing another adventure book. I’m handling a few different projects and writing books as your day job is a tough one, so I’ve dialed this back a bit. I’ve pitched something else to Hachette but they weren’t too much into it (it was a rogue like dating sim adventure book. Do what you want of this weird piece of information). I have other ideas, like an adventure book on a diviner with abilities to foresee pieces of the future. What I like most about this type of game is the involvement a player can have in the story, how emotionally invested you can be. I want to try experimental stuff. I have other things cooking but I can’t talk about them at the moment as they haven’t been announced, but it’s more on the side of board games than books. Writer's Commentary My time reviewing books for Assassin’s Creed has provided me with great insight to the authors that are building the future of the series. While we wait through the development process of each video game, the transmedia for the series is where I believe we will find the most world building and viewpoints of the global Assassins that lived in the timeline of Assassin’s Creed . Mathieu has opened a door for a new format that I would love to see continue with the transmedia, more adventure books with different characters and time periods that while the outcome could not be considered canon, the overall story could be. When I explain the lore of AC: The Silk Road , I would inform of the challenges the Assassin’s Brotherhood had with the Snake Eaters along the Silk Road in the 9th Century, but that the character lore should be considered “unverified” (when speaking in a historical sense) as everyone would be able to tell their own story, or what they believe happened. It's an opening for fun conversation and similar “this is what I did” moments that I love seeing from the games. If I was to suggest a new story for this, I would love to see either a sequel to this book with references to The Silk Road , or maybe a story that is based in a time of war such as WWII due to the amount of history and stories that have come from those periods that could be adapted for an adventure story. Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road is available in physical format online for anyone to purchase. I made my purchase via Amazon, and we will share an affiliate link at the bottom of this article if you would like to purchase a copy for yourself. While the book is in French only, I would still suggest this book to anyone that wants a new avenue for the AC series and maybe one day we will see an English option from Hatchette Heroes. We would like to say a big thank you to Mathieu for joining us for this interview! Amazon Affiliate Link comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith

New Member Dave Rutter joins TOWCB Virtual Photography Team News Share 15 Oct 2023 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) TOWCB Team Back To Database We are pleased to announce that Dave Rutter ( @ dpruttz_vp ) is the latest member to join our @ Isu_network , taking on the role of Engagement Strategist for the Virtual Photography Team! Dave first started playing Assassin's Creed back in 2020 when Valhalla launched, capturing memorable moments using his expertise with the photo mode tool. By joining the program, Dave will have access to our social media platforms and website from which he can use to promote his captures and virtual photography in general. He will also take on new responsibilities as a moderator for our VP Twitter Community, making him a recognisable leader in the AC VP Community. Team structure We look forward to working with Dave & the rest of the Virtual Photography Team as we aim to shine a spotlight on community captures. Twitter Community Do you plan on using photo mode in Assassin's Creed Mirage? If so, it's time to share your captures in our Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography Community! VP Safe Space Here to support the #virtualphotography community. Because sometimes everyone needs a #safespace & someone to talk to. VP Save Space is a DM support service for the Virtual Photography Community for people who need someone to talk to. Here to support you when you need it with a place to reach out, vent or for a friendly chat. You are NOT alone. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)