For nearly 18 years, Ubisoft’sAssassin’s Creedfranchise has delved into the history and cultures of numerous historical eras and civilizations as it simultaneously expanded its own fictional lore. From the establishment of the millennia-old secret war between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order inAssassin’s Creed 1to the origins of the Japanese Assassin Brotherhood inAssassin’s Creed Shadows, theAssassin’s Creedfranchise has matured into a deep, fully fleshed-out universe of its own. However, recent titles have begun to distance themselves from focusing on Assassins and Templars to leads based more on historical and even mythological beings. To help shed light on the fan-favorite Assassin and Templar lore throughout history amid these recent titles, Ubisoft could develop more games similar to the 10-year-oldAssassin’s Creed Chroniclesseries.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, India, and Russia Explained
Ahead ofAssassin’s Creed’s venture with new mainline titles on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One through the debut ofAssassin’s Creed Unityin 2014, Ubisoft announced that an entirely separate side game would be accessible to players who purchased Unity’s season pass. This game wasAssassin’s CreedChronicles: China, developed by Climax Studios. Here, players were able to embody the16th century Chinese Assassin Shao Junfor the first time since her debut in the 2011 animated short filmAssassin’s Creed: Embers. In March 2015, Ubisoft announcedChronicles: Chinawould be joined by two future entries in theChroniclesseries in the form of the 19th centuryAssassin’s Creed Chronicles: Indiaand the 20th centuryAssassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia.
Each game in theChroniclestrilogy is played in 2.5-dimension environments akin to classicCastlevaniaandMetroidgames, featuring more artistic graphics reminiscent of art styles of each game’s era, such asChronicles: China’s graphics appearing similar to Ming Dynasty ink and wash paintings. Unlike the mainline third-person gameplay featured in the mainlineAssassin’s Creedgames, eachChroniclesgame is a side-scrolling platformer that still retains much of the series’ famous stealth and combat, albeit in a more restricted format. WhileAssassin’s Creed Chronicles: Chinafirst released on July 12, 2025,Chronicles: IndiaandRussiawere both released in early 2016, with the trilogy later releasing in a collection later in 2016 for the PC, PS4, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox One.
The Assassin Narratives of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Chinatakes place after Shao Jun’s mentorship from Ezio Auditore inEmbersand sees the Chinese Assassin return to her homeland to take down the eunuch group of Templars, the Eight Tigers, who influenced the Chinese Emperor.Chronicles: Indiafollows Indian AssassinArbaaz Mir, father ofAssassin’s Creed Syndicate’s Henry Green, as he confronts the Templar-led East India Company to retrieve the Koh-i-Noor Piece of Eden.Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russiafollows Russian Assassin Nikolai Orelov as he attempts to rescue Anastasia Nikolaevna and a Precursor Box from Red Army-affiliated Templars, the box having been previously lost by Jun and Mir in the previous games.
Arbaaz Mir and Nikolai Orelov first appeared inAssassin’s Creedexpanded media, with Mir first debuting in the 2013 graphic novelAssassin’s Creed: Brahmanand Orelov first debuting in the 2010 comicAssassin’s Creed: The Fall.
The Potential Lore Expansion in Future Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Games
Due toAssassin’s Creed Chronicles’ side-scrolling natureand each game’s relatively short runtime (six hours on average), theChroniclestrilogy received mixed reception overall. While the gameplay ofChroniclesdissuaded many mainline fans from playing the trilogy, numerous fans enjoyed seeing fan favorite Assassin’s fromAssassin’s Creedexpanded media finally getting the spotlight in game form, albeit briefly. With recentAssassin’s Creedgames such asOdyssey,Valhalla, andShadowsrepeatedly distancing themselves from the classic Assassin versus Templar conflict, Ubisoft could develop aChroniclessequel or successor to focus more on lesser-known Assassins and Templars. This potential sequel could help expand the Assassin and Templar lore while the mainline games continue to focus on RPG elements.
SinceAssassin’s Creed Chroniclestold three narratives, its successors could similarly highlight three short stories about Assassins and Templars throughout history. One newChroniclesgame could focus on Arno Dorian tracking down his father’s killer, Master Templar Shay Cormac, as the nature of both characters’ deaths is currently unknown. Another game could focus on some of Claudia Auditore’s time being an Assassin, possibly during Ezio Auditore’s journey to Constantinople, as Claudia was put in charge of the Italian Brotherhood at that time. To tie into recent games, anotherChroniclegame could focus on the Hidden Ones, Hytham and Niamh of Argyll, as they attempt to battle the new Templar Order following the events ofValhalla, or it could followSpanish Assassin Alvaro Catarribera’s excommunication beforeShadows.
