Assassin's Creed Unity is primarily set in 1789, the year the French Revolution began. The game's historical storyline follows Arno Dorian through revolutionary Paris.
The opening of the Revolution is associated with major events such as the meeting of the Estates-General, the formation of the National Assembly, and the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. Unity uses this turbulent period as the backdrop for a conflict involving Assassins, Templars, political factions, and influential figures in France.
Arno's personal story begins before the Revolution, but the principal campaign moves into revolutionary Paris and continues through later stages of the upheaval. Important locations include the Bastille, Notre-Dame, the Tuileries, and the streets of Paris recreated at large scale.
The date is sometimes confused with other historical settings in the series. Assassin's Creed III focuses on the American Revolution, while Assassin's Creed Syndicate is set in nineteenth-century London. Unity's defining historical context is therefore the French Revolution and its Parisian setting.