Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is a 2013 historical action-adventure open world video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published byUbisoft. It was released worldwide for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 29, 2013; for the Wii U on October 29, 2013 in North America, on November 21, 2013 in Australia, on November 22, 2013 in Europe, and on November 28, 2013 in Japan; for the PlayStation 4 on November 15, 2013 in North America, on November 22, 2013 in Europe, and on November 29, 2013 in Australia; for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2013 in North America, on November 21, 2013 in Australia, and on November 22, 2013 in Europe; and for the Xbox One on November 22, 2013.

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 story proper is set in the early 18th century Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy, and follows notorious pirateEdward Kenway, grandfather of Assassin's Creed III protagonist Ratonhnhaké:ton, 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. Multiplayer also returns, albeit with only land-based modes and settings.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag received positive reviews, with critics praising the open world gameplay, side-quests, graphics and naval combat. The story received a mixed response, while criticism fell on aspects of the 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 main character of the game is Edward Kenway (Matt Ryan),^[20] a Welsh privateer-turned-pirate and eventual member of the Assassin Order; father of Haytham Kenway, and grandfather of Ratonhnhaké:ton(Connor), the two playable characters of Assassin's Creed III. Real-life individuals that will be encountered include the pirates Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch^{[note 1][21]} (Mark Bonnar),^[20] Benjamin Hornigold,^[2] Anne Bonny,^[2] Calico Jack^[2] and Charles Vane^[2] (Ralph Ineson).^[20]

As is the case in previous games in the Assassin's Creed series, the story is divided into two intertwined halves, with one in the present day, one in a historical setting, and the events of each influencing the other. Although the present-day story had previously established that an Animus was required to view one's ancestors memories, the ending of Assassin's Creed III reveals that Abstergo can now view a host's genetic memories simply by sequencing the host's DNA. As such, the player's character is hired by Abstergo Entertainment to investigate a pivotal character in Desmond's ancestry, the Assassin Edward Kenway A notorious pirate and privateer operating during the Golden Age of Piracy, Kenway's story is set in the Caribbean, and mixes open-ended ship-based exploration with combat and land-based adventures on a number of Caribbean islands, as well as parts of southern Florida.^[

Samples taken from Desmond Miles' body in the moments after his death have enabled Abstergo Industries to continue to explore his genetic memories using the Animus' newfound cloud computing abilities. The unnamed player character is hired by Abstergo Entertainment to sift through the memories of Edward Kenway, an eighteenth-century pirate, the father of Haytham Kenway and the grandfather of Connor Kenway. Ostensibly, this is to gather material for an Animus-powered interactive feature film, but in reality, Abstergo (Templars of the present time) are searching for the Observatory, they are using the memories of Edward Kenway to find it. As Kenway, the player must unravel a conspiracy between high-ranking Templars within the British and Spanish empires who, under the guise of cleaning up piracy in the Caribbean, have used their positions to locate the Sage - later identified as Bartholomew Roberts - who is the only man that can lead them to the Observatory, which they intend to use to spy on and blackmail world leaders. Kenway becomes an unwitting player in their plot when he kills a rogue Assassin, Duncan Walpole. Walpole wants to betray the Assassins and join the Templar Order, he was on his way to Havanna to meet Laureano de Torres, the governor of Havanna and also the head of the Templars. Governor Torres was supposed to give Walpole a reward for leaving the Assassins. Kenway then tries to pretend to be Walpole and meet Torres to gain the reward money. His recklessness endangers the entire Assassins' Order, prompting him to pursue the Sage and the conspirators from the Yucatán Peninsula to Príncipe and the African coast.

Meanwhile, a band of notorious pirates - including Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch, Benjamin Hornigold and Charles Vane, among others - dream of a state where man is free to live beyond the reach of kings and rulers. As selfish and ignorant as Kenway is, he still does care for his fellow pirates and want to make the Pirate Republic a success. Kenway wants to find the Observatory to become rich and powerful, even if it means that his crew would lose their faith in him because of his fantasies.

Eventually, Kenway and Roberts uncover the location of the Observatory and retrieve the artifact powering it, but Kenway is betrayed at the last moment. After a brief stint in prison for the crimes of piracy, Edward escapes with the aid of Ah Tabai, the Assassin Mentor, and elects to join their Order. Chasing down Roberts and the Templar conspirators, Kenway retrieves the artifact and returns it to the Observatory, sealing it away for good. He is left facing an uncertain future with his newfound convictions until he receives a letter informing him of the passing of his wife and the imminent arrival of his hitherto unknown daughter, Jennifer Scott. Some years later, Edward is seen attending a play with his now teenage daughter and young son, Haytham.

In the present day, the player is contacted by John, Abstergo Entertainment's information technology manager. John convinces the player that their employer knows more than they are telling, and encourages them to investigate in more detail. He arranges for the player to access the Animus' core, at which point Juno materialises into an incorporeal form. She reveals that although it was necessary to open her temple to avert disaster, the world was not ready for her, and she is unable to affect it or possess the player character as her agents intended. John is unmasked as the reincarnated form of the Sage and attempts to murder the player to cover up the failed attempt at resurrecting Juno, but is killed by Abstergo's security before he can do so. As Roberts, the Sage admits to Kenway that he owes no allegiance to the Assassins or the Templars and instead uses whoever he thinks represents his best chance of achieving his ends. With the Sage dead, the player is contacted by the Assassins as they continue their infiltration of Abstergo, but neither side is able to explain the Sage's presence or identify his followers.

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