Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is a 2013 historical fiction action-adventure open world stealth video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the sixth major installment in the
Assassin's Creed series, a sequel to 2012's
Assassin's Creed III 's modern story and a prequel to its historical storyline. The game was first released on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2013 and was later made available on the Nintendo Wii U, Playstation 4, Microsoft Windows and Xbox One in November 2013.The story is set in the early 18th century Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy, and follows notorious pirate Edward Kenway, grandfather of
Assassin's Creed III protagonist Ratonhnhaké:ton and father of Haytham Kenway
, who stumbles upon the conflict waged by the Assassins and Templars.
Unlike previous games, gameplay elements focus more on ship-based
exploration in the open world map, while also retaining the series' third-person
land-based exploration, melee combat, and stealth system.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag received positive reviews,
with critics praising the open world gameplay, side-quests, graphics and
naval combat. The modern day story received a mixed response, while
criticism also fell on aspects of the historical story missions which
were considered repetitive. The game received several awards and
nominations, including winning the Spike VGX 2013 award for Best Action Adventure Game. The game was followed by
Assassin's Creed Unity and
Assassin's Creed Rogue, set during the French Revolution and Seven Years' War, respectively, with both released in November 2014.
