Assassin's Creed III

Assassin's Creed III
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Director(s)	Alex Hutchinson
Writer(s)	Corey May
Composer(s)	Lorne Balfe
Series	Assassin's Creed
Engine	AnvilNext
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Wii U[4] Microsoft Windows Remastered Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch Google Stadia
Release	October 30, 2012 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 NA: October 30, 2012[2] EU: October 31, 2012[1] AU: October 31, 2012 Wii U NA: November 18, 2012[3] EU: November 30, 2012 AU: November 30, 2012 Microsoft Windows NA: November 20, 2012 AU: November 22, 2012 EU: November 23, 2012 Remastered Windows, PS4, Xbox One WW: March 29, 2019 Nintendo Switch WW: May 21, 2019 Google Stadia WW: December 14, 2021
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, stealth[5]
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Assassin's Creed III is a 2012 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the fifth major installment in the Assassin's Creed series, and a direct sequel to 2011's Assassin's Creed: Revelations. The game was released worldwide for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, beginning in North America on October 30, 2012, with a Wii U and Microsoft Windows release in November 2012. A remastered version of the game was released in 2019 for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, and in 2021 for Google Stadia.

The plot is set in a fictional history of real-world events and follows the millennia-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight to preserve peace and free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. The framing story is set in the 21st century and features series protagonist Desmond Miles who, using a machine known as the Animus, relives the memories of his ancestors to find a way to avert the 2012 apocalypse. The main narrative is set in 18th-century Colonial America from 1754 to 1783, and follows two characters whose stories are interconnected: Haytham Kenway, a British Templar who attempts to build a presence for his Order in the colonies during the French and Indian War; and Ratonhnhaké:ton / Connor, Haytham's half-Mohawk son, who becomes an Assassin to protect his people's lands and avenge his mother's death, and battles the Templars' attempts to influence the outcome of the American Revolution.

Assassin's Creed III is set in an open world and presented from the third-person perspective with a primary focus on using each playable character's combat and stealth abilities to eliminate targets and explore the environment. Connor is able to freely explore 18th-century Boston, New York City, and the American frontier to complete side missions away from the primary storyline. The game also features a multiplayer component, allowing players to compete online to complete solo and team-based objectives including assassinations and evading pursuers. Ubisoft developed a new game engine, AnvilNext, for the game.^[6] Assassin's Creed III was one of the first major video game releases to prominently feature Mohawk people (Mohawk: Kanienʼkehá꞉ka^[7]), an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America. The team sought to capture Mohawk culture as authentically as possible and consulted with cultural experts about the depiction of Connor and other Mohawk characters. A number of downloadable content (DLC) packs were released to support Assassin's Creed III, including The Tyranny of King Washington, a story expansion set in an alternate timeline from the base game's events.

The game received positive reviews from critics, who praised it for its gameplay, narrative, setting, and ambitious scale, while criticism was directed at the unevenly developed gameplay mechanics, mission design, and pacing. It was a commercial success, selling more than 12 million copies worldwide. Assassin's Creed III was released alongside a spin-off for the PlayStation Vita titled Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. A sequel, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, was released in October 2013. While its modern-day narrative continues from the events of Assassin's Creed III, the main plot is set during the Golden Age of Piracy in the early 18th century and follows Haytham's father and Connor's grandfather, Edward Kenway. Another prequel, Assassin's Creed Rogue, detailing the rise and fall of the Templars and Assassins in Colonial America, respectively, was released in November 2014.