This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Assassin's Creed: Shadows and Animus Hub. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all.
This template should be removed from the article 20 June 2025.
Database menu of the Animus 2.0
The Database is a collection of informative articles that can be accessed by the users of Animus or Helix devices. These articles provide background information on people, locations, items, and events encountered during the exploration of genetic memories. The information presented in the database entries is not always correct however. Occasionally, the wrong year is noted for date of birth such as Vieri de' Pazzi and Duncan Little. Sometimes the entry is updated with new information as the session progresses as with Pearl Attaway or a new entry is published as with Lambeth Asylum. However, there are instances where the entry is left in error for example Kára or Abbo Cernuus.
The database was introduced in Animus 2.0, a version of the device created by the AssassinRebecca Crane. The articles were created by Shaun Hastings, and would become available when Desmond Miles happened upon a person or object of interest while exploring Ezio Auditore da Firenze's memories, allowing him to find out more information about the entry's subject. Both Shaun and Rebecca could add comments or details of their own, including mentions of Glyphs and other important items of interest in the database. Most of the files were obtained from Abstergo Industries, as they possessed better and larger archives, which Shaun frequently pointed out, although various databases commonly held incorrect information on birth years. For example, Francesco de' Pazzi and Vieri de' Pazzi, who were father and son, were stated to have an age difference of 10 years.[1][2]
The Animus 2.0 database entries were as listed below.
The database incorporated into Animus 2.03 was created by the virtual construct of Clay Kaczmarek, who took over Shaun's role when Desmond fell into a comatose state due to the events in the Colosseum Vault. As with the previous version, database entries became available when Desmond encountered the object of interest they were about.[5]
Database menu of The Lost Archive
The Lost Archive, which contained some of Clay's own memories, could be accessed via the Animus Island's portals, and contained its own database. It kept track of the decipher fragments and letters, as well as transcripts of voice logs.[6]
The voice logs became available for viewing only after completing the first memory, and the logs for the decipher fragments and letters by gathering them.[6]
The database incorporated into the Animus 3.0 was once more created by Shaun, who would frequently update entries with information learned while Desmond was exploring both Haytham Kenway's and Ratonhnhaké:ton's memories. Information on the various tribes of Indigenous peoples was provided by a friend of Shaun, who believed the data was for a presentation. The database also included a folder on animals, describing their behavior and the various tactics that could be used to effectively hunt them. Like the Animus 2.0 database, many files also came from Abstergo's larger records.[7]
The database incorporated into the Animus console was created by Abstergo Entertainment employees. As Liberation was designed to cast the Templars in a more positive light, important information was frequently left out, misrepresented, or outright false. To counteract this, the hacking collective known as Erudito actively worked to re-introduce the truth into the game, allowing the player to view the information from an unbiased perspective. Curiously, the documents collected are found under "Inventory" rather than under "Database".[8]
While the Abstergo Entertainment employee "Noob" explored Edward Kenway's memories in 2013, they had access to a database incorporated into the Animus Omega that consisted of drafts written by other Abstergo employees. As such, the material within them was subject to change, with people such as Melanie Lemay, Olivier Garneau, and others frequently adding in remarks. There also was another document collection called "My files".[9] A decade later, the Japanese Templar and doctorShimazu Sei added a database for her subject and Edward's descendant Noa Kim to read in the Animus when reliving his ancestor's memories in Indochina[10]
When Abstergo viewed more of Aveline de Grandpré's memories from later in her life, the "database" consisted of a mere three entries once again using the Animus Omega system.[12]
For Abstergo Entertainment's Identity Project,[13] its database was stylized after a Codex Scroll.[14] Unlike the Sample 17 Project, the entries for the Caribbean had no Abstergo Entertainment employees' remarks and were unlocked by the public obtaining in-game achievements.[13] The project originally ran on the Mobile Helix Navigator,[15] but it later ran on the Animus Omega. It is unknown why some entries were later removed.[13]
While the Abstergo employee "Numbskull" explored Shay Cormac's genetic memories during the Seven Years' War, they had access to a database incorporated in the Animus Omega through the Helix servers. Like the previous incarnation, there was another collection of files not under "database", but under "My files".[16]
Various databases where available through the Helix navigator. In addition information about the subjects encountered in the simulation, the database could also collect digital documents collected from outside sources and could be edited from outside the servers,[17] as demonstrated by Shaun Hastings.[18] The Helix navigator database had many iterations with different subject matter depending on the time period simulated and the user.[19][20][21]
Revolutionary France
While the Helix Initiate explored the memories of Arno Dorian during the French Revolution[17] and its immediate aftermath in Saint-Denis,[22] the database had four main categories—Case files, People, Locations, and Misc—with all but the first category having subcategories, as seen below.
While exploring the genetic memories of Shao Jun in Ming eraChina, the database consisted of three categories: people, locations, and documents. The latter category also contained entries about items.[19]
While the Helix Initiate explored the genetic memories of Evie and Jacob Frye in the Victorian era, as well as Jacob's granddaughter Lydia during World War I, the database consisted of five categories: People, Locations, Collectibles, Present Day, and Miscellaneous, with many subcategories as seen below.[23] The categories remained the same whenthe Initiate ventured into both Evie and Jack the Ripper's memories during the Whitechapel murders of 1888.[24]
While Layla Hassan used her modified Animus to explore the life of the Raven Clan member Eivor Varinsdottir during the Viking expansion through her modified Animus, she had access to a database referred to as a "Codex". Like past iterations, it was written by Shaun Hastings and also offered user-friendly Animus tutorials to help navigate the simulation.[25]
When William Miles had Basim Ibn Ishaq's memories from his time in the Abbasid Caliphate's capital of Baghdad examined from his blood sample,[25] the Assassins had access to a "Codex" with a general-purpose database and another focused on the history of Baghdad.[26]
When an Assassin hacker used an Animus to explore the memories of Kassandra, Ezio Auditore, and Ratonhnhaké:ton stored in the Abstergo Cloud, they could access a general-purpose database.[27]
While a user interfaced with the Animus EGO that granted access to multiple memory streams, they also had access to a general-purpose database that Abstergo called a "Vault".[28]
While reliving Fujibayashi Naoe and Yasuke's memories of Sengoku eraJapan they could access a "codex" that was divided into the sections "Cultural Discovery" and "Database".
After the Second Disaster was averted on 21 December 2012, the hacker group Initiates began compiling database entries covering information known by the Assassins and Templars.[29]
Abstergo Entretainment's title Rebellion did not have a database section like their original title Liberation. Though a section existed that sought to shed light on the backstory of the characters, it was marked "Bios".[30]
ACIdentity (@ACIdentity) on Twitter "The Codex is a database of all the people & places you've discovered in Italy. How many entries have you found in @AssassinsCreed Identity? pic.twitter.com/jf3dTEAGBT" (backup link) (screenshot)
ASSASSIN'S CREED IDENTITY ▋ ANDROID/IOS GAMEPLAY ▋ DOWNLOAD on the BEEDROID™ YouTube channel
Welcome to the Animus Hub - Your New Home for Assassin's Creed Games on Ubisoft's official website (backup link)
