The 10 LEAST Historically Accurate Assassinations in Assassin's Creed

10 Historically Inaccurate Assassinations in Assassin’s Creed

Caitlin Johnson

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at which “Assassin’s Creed” deaths took too many liberties with the truth.

Robert de Sable

“Assassin’s Creed” (2007)

It’s difficult to verify many of the events of the first “Assassin’s Creed” game, but we do know some things for sure. Primarily, we know that Robert de Sable, the game’s big villain, actually died in completely the wrong year. He died in 1193, not 1191 as the game would suggest. He actually wasn’t even a Templar at all until 1192. And like with many Crusaders, we also don’t know how he died specifically, nor how old he was, only that he likely died in battle. But this isn’t Ubisoft being lazy; their alternate history is thought through, with the game claiming that he died at the Battle of Arsuf in 1191, which ended in a victory for the Christians.

Carlo Grimaldi

“Assassin’s Creed II” (2009)

This is the only entry on our list that concerns the assassination of a fictional character, but it’s so outlandish that we had to include it. Yes, this is the infamous assassination mission where Ezio enlists the help of Leonardo da Vinci and his prototype flying machine. Avoiding archers and following the bonfires, he flies over Venice to infiltrate the Doge’s Palace from above, assassinating Grimaldi – who’s himself successfully assassinated the current Doge. Ezio then goes on to assassinate many more important, Venetian leaders, as this was a period when the Republic of Venice was in turmoil. But almost certainly, da Vinci’s flying machines weren’t involved in this – not in the least because most of his designs wouldn’t have worked.

Mirabeau

“Assassin’s Creed Unity” (2014)

He’s the leader of the Parisian Assassins but was also a crucial and extremely popular figure during the French Revolution – at least, until people found out that he’d been secretly working for the King the entire time to try and implement a constitutional monarchy. In the game, though, he’s poisoned by Bellec after wanting to renew the truce between the Assassins and Templars. Arno and Bellec fight to the death following this betrayal, with Bellec viewing Mirabeau as a traitor. In real life, Mirabeau wasn’t assassinated at all. He became increasingly ill because of pericarditis, caused by hard living in his younger days, and died of natural causes in 1791.

David Brewster

“Assassin’s Creed Syndicate” (2015)

He was an influential Scottish academic primarily concerned with early photography and invented the kaleidoscope. But in “Assassin’s Creed Syndicate”, he’s a Templar given the Apple of Eden, tasked with unravelling its secrets and learning how to use it. He’s also Evie’s first assassination target. While she successfully assassinates him, the consequence is that the Apple of Eden explodes, infuriating other Assassins. There isn’t actually much information on how Brewster died, only that it was in 1868, but we sincerely doubt that anybody wanted to assassinate him or that his death caused a lab explosion. It’s true, though, that he had a feud with Charles Darwin, since he didn’t agree with the Theory of Evolution.

William Johnson

“Assassin’s Creed III” (2012)

During the colonial period, William Johnson was a crucial part of Britain’s military operations in the American frontier, and learned multiple Native American languages to serve as an envoy between British forces and indigenous people. In “Assassin’s Creed III”, he’s working with the Templars, and the Assassins and Native American tribes believe that Johnson is actually working against their interests. Connor assassinates him in his grand mansion, and Johnson says that he always intended to protect the tribes. In real life, Johnson simply died of a stroke, but that doesn’t have the drama of an assassination. He also generally did protect native tribes in reality, but at the same time became very wealthy by doing so.

The Earl of Cardigan

“Assassin’s Creed Syndicate” (2015)

Another bombastic assassination from “Syndicate”, this is one of the very last ones the Frye twins are asked to pull off. Jacob sneaks into the Houses of Parliament posing as Frederick Abberline and assassinates Cardigan in a secret meeting room. In real life, none of this happened – he didn’t even die in London. He actually died of injuries sustained when falling off a horse in Northamptonshire. Interestingly, Cardigan is the last target, while Brewster is the first, though Brewster only died a month before Cardigan in 1868, suggesting that the entire events of “Assassin’s Creed Syndicate” take place over only one month.

Cesare Borgia

“Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood” (2010)

He’s a memorable villain and a worthy opponent for Ezio, fleeing Rome after his control of the city is weakened. In the game, Cesare remains a formidable soldier and commander until the very last, falling in battle to Ezio. But that’s not how it happened in real life. He was increasingly ill during his later years, and slowly lost power following the death of his father. He did die in Navarre, Spain as in the game, but not honourably during battle; he was actually ambushed by a group of enemy knights who brutally killed him, stripped him naked, and left him on the ground. Ezio didn’t stoop that low in “Brotherhood”, thankfully. Cesare was buried in Navarre and his remains are still there to this day.

Pericles

“Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” (2018)

Halfway through “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” and Athens is in the grip of its infamous and mysterious plague. The plague struck in 430 BC and historians still disagree about exactly what the disease was. But tens of thousands of Athenians died, and among them was Pericles, the city’s leader and well-respected statesman. In the game, Pericles DOES contract the plague and begin to grow weaker – but it’s not what ultimately kills him. He ends up being assassinated by Deimos with the aim to destroy the Athenian state completely. In both versions, he wasn’t alone in his death, and it’s believed that his death DID lead to Athens losing the Peloponnesian War overall.

Charles Gabriel Sivert

“Assassin’s Creed Unity” (2014)

He’s not that well known of a figure outside of France, but he was heavily involved in France’s eighteenth-century wars in the North Atlantic – which players of “Assassin’s Creed Rogue” will be familiar with. He ended up retiring from the military and dying in 1791. In “Unity”, however, not only is Sivert a Templar, but he’s extremely involved in the French Revolution. Arno tracks him down to Notre Dame de Paris and, if you unlock the unique kill, stabs him in the head through the screen of the confessional. This absolutely didn’t happen, not in the least because Sivert didn’t even die in Paris, he died in Versailles, miles away from Notre Dame.

Charles the Fat

“Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” (2020)

In real life, Charles the Fat – who had no rightful heir – was ultimately deposed following long periods of sickness and weak rule, with various people vying for control of his empire. We don’t actually know exactly how he was deposed, but he did die in January in the year 888 AD after less than seven years as emperor. But though we don’t know everything, the events of “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” are still largely inaccurate, because Eivor is given the choice of whether to kill or spare him after a boss fight - though even if you do spare him, he still dies a few weeks later. Bizarrely, sparing Charles’ life requires periodically setting him on fire and then locking him in a different room, which we doubt is remotely realistic.

Let us know in the comments which “Assassin’s Creed” game you think had the most fun assassination missions.