When Assassin’s Creed Shadows Takes Place in the Series Timeline

Assassin’s Creed timeline has two branches, with both a modern-day story and the game’s historical settings. Assassin’s Creed Shadows expands both. Here’s when Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set in the series’ timeline.

Here’s When Assassin’s Creed Shadows Takes Place

Per the Assassin’s Creed franchise’s new Animus system, Shadows is set in the year 1579 CE. In real world history, Yasuke was active in Japan at this time, as was his Daimyo, lord Oda Nobunaga.

With a setting in the late 16th century, Assassin’s Creed Shadows era is among the more recent history covered in the broader Assassin’s Creed. While Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla and Mirage were set in ancient and viking times, Shadows turns the clock ahead from the last pair of entries over seven centuries.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes place in the 16th Century. This puts it between Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag in the franchise timeline. However, it is far closer in the timeline to the former, as Revelations was set during the Italian Renaissance across 1511 and 1512, while Black Flag covered the golden age of piracy in 1715-1722. 

Related: How to Play the Assassin’s Creed Games in Order

Does Assassin’s Creed Shadows Have a Modern Story?

While the franchise bounces around historical settings, the games have had several overarching narrative set in the modern day. However, the modern day storylines have struggled to find an audience since the days of Desmond Miles. As a result, in 2023, Assassin’s Creed Mirage was the first entry in the franchise to not include a modern day storyline.

However, Assassin’s Creed Shadows does include a modern day story. This mysterious narrative is centered around the Animus and has players investigating anomalies to learn the truth of the centuries-long conflict between the Brotherhood and the Templar. While this theme is similar to the franchise’s past, Shadows seeks to establish a brand new modern day storyline in hopes to get new players hooked and give returning players a compelling modern day narrative to come back to.

And that’s when Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes place in the series timeline.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on March 20th.

The above article was updated on 3/14/2025 by the original author to include additional information about Assassin’s Creed Shadows.