Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is an
action-adventure video game developed by
Ubisoft Montreal and published by
Ubisoft. It is the sixth major installment in the
Assassin's Creed series. Its historical timeframe precedes that of
Assassin's Creed III (2012), though its modern-day sequences succeed
III's own.
Black Flag was first released for
PlayStation 3,
Xbox 360, and
Wii U in October 2013 and a month later for
PlayStation 4,
Xbox One, and
Microsoft Windows. It was released on the
Nintendo Switch as part of
Assassin's Creed: The Rebel Collection alongside
Assassin's Creed Rogue in December 2019.
The plot is set in a
fictional history of real-world events and follows the centuries-old struggle between the
Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the
Templars, who desire peace through control. The framing story is set in the 21st century and depicts the player as an employee of Abstergo Industries (the modern-day incarnation of the Templars), who becomes caught in their conflict with the Assassins. The main story is set in the 18th century
Caribbean during the
Golden Age of Piracy, and follows notorious
Welsh pirate
Edward Kenway, grandfather and father of
Assassin's Creed III protagonist
Ratonhnhaké:ton and antagonist
Haytham Kenway, respectively, who stumbles upon the Assassin-Templar conflict. A major plot element concerns the attempted establishment of an
independent Pirate republic in the Caribbean.
Unlike previous games, gameplay elements focus more on the ship-based exploration of the seamless
open world map, while also retaining the series'
third-person land-based exploration, melee combat, and stealth system. Multiplayer also returns, albeit with only land-based modes and settings. The game's setting spans the West Indies with the three main cities of
Havana,
Nassau, and
Kingston, along with numerous islands, sunken ships, and forts. Players have the option to harpoon large
sea animals and hunt land animals. For the first time in the series, naval exploration is a major part of an
Assassin's Creed game, where Edward Kenway captains the
Jackdaw, a
brig he captures from a
Spanish fleet in an early game mission.
| Build Name | Build Date | |
|---|
| | |
| Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag | May 6, 2013 | Bad CaribbeanSea |
| Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag | May 16, 2013 | |
| Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag | May 17, 2013 | Bad CaribbeanSea |
| Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag | July 23, 2013 | |
| Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag | Oct 03, 2013 | Review |
