Assassin's Creed Unity is an action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released in November 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and in December 2020 for Stadia. It is the eighth major installment in the Assassin's Creed series, and the successor to 2013's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. It also has ties to Assassin's Creed Rogue, which was released for the previous generation consoles on the same day as Unity. 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 an unidentified and unseen protagonist, who joins the Assassins as an initiate to help them locate the corpse of an 18th-century Templar Grand Master. The main story is set in Paris during the French Revolution from 1789 to 1794, and follows Assassin Arno Dorian and his efforts to expose the true powers behind the Revolution, while seeking revenge against those responsible for his adoptive father's murder. Unity retains the series' third-person open world exploration as well as introducing a revamped combat, parkour, and stealth systems. The game also introduces cooperative multiplayer to the Assassin's Creed series, letting up to four players engage in narrative-driven missions and explore the open world map. Assassin's Creed Unity received mixed reviews upon release. It was praised for its visuals, customization options, setting, and characterization. Critics were polarized on its narrative, mission design, multiplayer-oriented format, and gameplay, with the latter complimented for its improvements, but criticized for feeling unrefined. The game was also widely panned for its numerous graphical issues and bugs, prompting Ubisoft to issue an apology and offer compensation in the form of a free expansion, Dead Kings, which acts as an epilogue to the base game's story. Players who had bought the game's season pass (which was later made unavailable for purchase in response to the controversy) additionally received a free copy of another Ubisoft title of their choice. Despite the initial critical reception, Unity was a commercial success, selling over 10 million copies worldwide, and has received more positive reviews after most of its technical issues were fixed, leading some to retroactively label it as an underrated entry in the series. It was followed in October