Which Assassin's Creed game introduced the Animus as a playable modern-world interface in 2007?

Assassin's Creed introduced the Animus as a playable modern-world interface in 2007.

The original game places Desmond Miles inside the Animus, a machine that allows him to experience genetic memories inherited from his ancestor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Players move between Altaïr's medieval missions and Desmond's contemporary storyline, making the modern framing part of the game's core structure rather than a separate background detail.

The Animus concept explains how the series can move between historical periods while retaining a continuing modern narrative. Desmond's sessions are controlled by Abstergo Industries, a company secretly aligned with the Templars. The Assassins later use related technology for their own investigations.

The first Assassin's Creed was released in 2007 for major home consoles and Windows. Assassin's Creed II expanded the Animus and modern storyline, but it did not introduce the device to the franchise. That distinction makes the original game the canonical answer to this question.