Assassin's Creed II

Assassin's Creed II is an action-adventure game from 2009, created by Ubisoft Montreal and released by Ubisoft. It serves as the second main entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise and follows up on the 2007 original. The game launched on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2009, then arrived on Microsoft Windows in March 2010 and OS X in October 2010.

The story blends fictional elements with real historical events, centering on the long-running conflict between the Assassins, who champion peace and free will, and the Templars, who seek order through control. The modern-day framing follows Desmond Miles as he uses a machine to relive the genetic memories of his ancestor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, hoping to find secrets left by an ancient race called the First Civilization and end the Assassin-Templar war. The main plot takes place during the Italian Renaissance, from 1476 to 1499, and tracks Ezio's quest for revenge after his father and brothers are killed. Players use combat, stealth, and parkour to navigate the environment and defeat enemies. The open world includes accurately recreated Italian cities such as Florence, Venice, Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, and Forlì.

Development began shortly after the first game's release, using an updated Anvil engine. As part of the marketing, Ubisoft released a three-part live-action short film called Assassin's Creed: Lineage, which acts as a prequel and features most of the game's cast. Two chapters—The Battle of Forlì and Bonfire of the Vanities—were cut during development due to time constraints but later released as downloadable expansion packs on Xbox Live and other platforms. Extra in-game content like missions, outfits, and weapons could be unlocked through Ubisoft's Uplay service.

The game received widespread critical acclaim for its narrative, characters, world design, and improvements over the first game. The PC version faced some criticism for its digital rights management system, which was later permanently removed. Considered one of the best video games ever made, it sold over nine million copies within six months. It led to two direct sequels, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010) and Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011), plus a spin-off, Assassin's Creed II: Discovery (2009), all expanding on Ezio's story. The next numbered entry, Assassin's Creed III, came out in 2012.