Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is often celebrated as the series’ most successful anomaly. It is a pirate game that happens to feature the Assassin-Templar war, rather than the other way around. Yet beneath its shanties and broadside cannons lies a deep structural and philosophical framework, anchored by two numbers: 622 and 270 . These figures represent not dates or statistics, but the two opposing gravitational pulls on the protagonist, Edward Kenway: the ideological birth of the Assassin Order and the relentless pursuit of profit. Together, they chart his journey from a reckless privateer to a disillusioned, then enlightened, killer.
The genius of Black Flag is that it forces Edward to choose between these two numbers. The climax is not a naval battle but a funeral. When Mary Read dies in a Jamaican prison, Edward finally understands that all his 270 could not save her. The gold he piled in the Jackdaw’s hold is worthless against the Templar order’s systematic cruelty. In that moment of grief, he looks past 270 and sees 622. assassin 39-s creed black flag 622 270
The number 622 is most recognizable as the year of the Hijra —the Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina—which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In the lore of Assassin’s Creed , this date holds an even more specific weight: it is the traditional founding year of the Hidden Ones, the precursor to the Assassin Brotherhood, as established by Bayek and Aya in Origins . By invoking 622, Black Flag subtly reminds us that the Creed—"Nothing is true, everything is permitted"—is not a medieval invention but an ancient response to oppression. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is often celebrated