Assassin’s Creed dives deep into history, going all the way back to the days of Adam and Eve, leaders of the Human rebellion against their Isu creators. These Isu are what we’d attribute to being the gods of the various pantheons around the world.

Having ruled Earth for around 77,000 years, the Isu were a highly advanced and technological race that had vast cities around the world – such as Atlantis.

With these cities shrouded in mystery, it offers the perfect chance for Malta’s Megalithic Temples and mysterious Temple period to come to the forefront.

It could offer the chance for Malta to be a crucial part of the Isu storyline by introducing our Temples as the site of an ancient Isu vault or even a full-blown city.

Haven’t you ever wondered what life would have been like during the Temple Period? What the Hypogeum could have looked like in its prime?

Malta’s temples do not get enough international attention despite their rich and mysterious past. It is time that they get some much-needed love.

Assassin’s Creed has delved further into Isu lore over the past few games. There is no doubt that introducing Malta offers a unique opportunity for some of the oldest freestanding buildings in the world to get their alternate Isu history.

2. Another perspective for The Great Siege of Malta

The franchise has grown over the decades to encompass centuries worth of history when it comes to the Assassin-Templar conflict.

Ubisoft has masterfully weaved real-life events, people and conflicts into explaining it from a brand-new perspective.

We’ve even already seen how Valletta could look in an Assassin’s Creed property through 2016’s Assassin’s Creed movie.

While it was actually depicting parts of Inquisition-era Spain, imagine seeing Valletta at the height of power for the Knights, as Assassins and Templars scheme in the shadows.

Of all on our list, this era actually does have some lore behind it. The Knights of St John have featured in Assassin’s Creed both physically and in passing. They physically appeared in the very first Assassin’s Creed game as allies to the Templar order.

Yet, their presence has gone on from there including some indications of Assassin-Templar conflict surrounding the Great Siege of Malta.

The Ottoman’s Sultan at the time, Suleiman the Magnificent, became a close ally of the Assassins after the Byzantine Templars and became very close friends with Ezio Auditore in Assassin’s Creed Revelations.

It is canonical lore that the Ottoman Empire drove out the Knights from Rhodes due to the Knights killing a Master Assassin and then further pursued them in Malta.

Such a game would pit Malta as a potential Templar-centric story or even a story of a losing battle for the Assassins.

3. St Paul’s Shipwreck

While it predates the formal founding of the Hidden Ones by Bayek and Aya, St Paul’s Shipwreck is a crucial moment in Maltese history. By all accounts, it can offer a proto-Assassin-Templar story that has been only partially seen in the franchise.

St Paul is widely seen as an iconic figure in Malta and whether he may be aligned with the Assassin or Templar story, it can offer an exploration of an era in Malta that is sparsely explored.

It is also far enough back in time to truly play up the more fantastical elements of the newer Assassin’s Creed games.

4. The return of Napoleon

Officially, Napoleon Bonaparte is neither fully an Assassin nor a Templar, yet many fans have speculated that he is most likely seen as Templar leaning.

That said, Napoleon is most likely a perfect character who will not let himself be ruled by any ideology other than his own. While he may appear like a Templar to some, he is likely playing them.

It is here that the Knights of Malta make their return to the lore of Assassin’s Creed. In 1747, Grandmaster Manuel Pinto da Fonseca, a Templar, was sent troops by Shay Cormac to defend the islands against French and Ottoman forces who were allies of the Assassins.

No real attacks came to the Knights in Malta until 1798, where Napoleon invaded and Malta turned against the Knights due to how public opinion deteriorated over the years.

While Napoleon’s time didn’t last, this could offer a condensed story exploring how Malta technically may have turned from Templar to Assassin side in this conflict. It could also call for the return of familiar names from the franchise who were active at this time.

5. The Hidden Ones

Malta remained under Roman rule for centuries and was seen as a sleepy get away from the political meanderings of Rome.

While there is nothing canon yet about Hidden Ones or Order of Ancients in the area at the time, it makes perfect sense for there to have been some sort of influence here.

Malta lies at the centre of the Mediterranean and for centuries, it has been a crucial place to control if you wanted influence over the Mediterranean. As such, it is a perfect place to feature in a much-anticipated entry that focuses on Ancient Rome.

It could perhaps, allow players to take control of Aya as Amunet as she navigated the ancient world to put a stop to the Order of the Ancients and cultivate a growing network of Hidden Ones.

6. Sette Giugno

Sette Giugno marked a tumultuous time in Malta’s history. In the wake of the First World War, Malta’s colonial government failed to provide adequate access to basic food provisions for the island.

As hunger set in, so too did anger as the cost of living skyrocketed. The riots that erupted on 7^th June 1919 ended with the deaths of four men after British troops fired on the crowds. Four men died and 50 were injured.

In the scope of an Assassin’s Creed story, it offers a perfect example of the political maneuverers that both sides have taken throughout the centuries.

Here, we could see an example of the Assassins attempting to remove Templar influence in Malta via British rule, over a Templar branch that is continually oppressing the Maltese people into famine and poverty.

7. Post-Independence Malta

Malta’s post-independence period was rocky at best. The 1980s especially proved to be an era across the globe where the art of covert espionage was at the forefront.

Whether we see the inclusion of Malta’s role at the end of the Cold War or the hijacking of the EgyptAir flight in 1985, Assassin’s Creed can delve into a James Bond-esque time period filled with spies, intrigue and, of course, assassinations.

Assassin’s Creed Infinity may also feature examples of how the aftermath of World War Two in terms of the Assassin-Templar conflict could have affected Malta in particular.

BONUS: Pandemic Malta

In the modern era, we don’t know much about Malta in the game except that the country (most likely) has a bank known as the Malta Banking Corporation. Though the bank predates Abstergo Industries by a decade, it is part of the Abstergo Financial Group.

In a modern era, it could explore Malta in the chaos of a pandemic, where uncertainty starts to reign and actors in the shadows can take to the forefront of an escalating Assassin-Templar conflict.

Already Assassin’s Creed has shown large-scale world crises like electromagnetic disturbances around the world as a result of Earth’s magnetic field increasing in potency.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s modern-day storyline takes place in 2020 and the franchise could use inspirations from a pandemic to introduce some sort of similar crisis.

Perhaps, they could introduce some sort of Isu-made disease or an effect from a Piece of Eden to create a global scenario like that of what we have seen throughout COVID-19.

Assassin’s Creed follows the motto of ‘history is our playground’. They have thousands of years to play with and Malta should not be discounted as a setting.

What setting do you want to see from Assassin’s Creed Infinity?