Assassin's Creed Origins

Assassin's Creed Origins, released in 2017, is an action role-playing game from Ubisoft Montreal and the tenth main game in the Assassin's Creed series, following 2015's Syndicate. The story takes place in Egypt under Cleopatra's rule, centering on a Medjay named Bayek of Siwa and his wife Aya. Driven by vengeance for their son's murder, their actions lead to the formation of the Assassin Brotherhood and the start of its enduring struggle with the Templar Order. In the present day, the narrative follows Abstergo researcher Layla Hassan, who is brought into the Assassins. Development started after 2013's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, with a team of nearly 700 people from various Ubisoft studios working over four years. The developers consulted Egyptologists and historians to ensure the setting felt authentic.

Facing criticism that the series had grown stale, Ubisoft decided to overhaul the formula with Origins. Earlier games were mainly stealth-action, but Origins introduced role-playing elements and a new "hitbox-based" combat system. The franchise had been releasing annually since 2009's Assassin's Creed II, but an extra year of development was added to polish the game, partly due to the weak sales of Syndicate and the buggy launch of 2014's Unity. Announced at E3 2017, Origins came out on October 27, 2017, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version arriving on December 15, 2020. Critics gave it positive reviews, praising the story, characters, voice acting, revamped gameplay, world design, historical accuracy, and visuals, though some noted issues with pacing, quest design, and technical problems. It sold over ten million copies and earned several award nominations.

Post-launch support included two story expansions—The Hidden Ones and The Curse of the Pharaohs—and a free Discovery Tour mode that removes combat, letting players explore Ptolemaic Egypt through guided historical tours. The next game in the series, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, set in Classical Greece during the Peloponnesian War, came out in October 2018, building on Origins' new gameplay and modern-day story.

**Gameplay** Origins is an action role-playing game viewed from a third-person perspective. Players follow linear quests with set goals to advance the story, and can freely explore an open world on foot, horseback, camel, chariot, or boat.