The Assassin's Creed franchise began in 2007. The very first game in the series, set during the Crusades, featured the assassin Altaïr as the protagonist, whilst also introducing gamers to Abstergo Industries and Desmond Miles in the present day. Over nearly two decades, the Assassin's Creed franchise has changed in many ways, with an increased focus on stealth gameplay in Unity and Syndicate, to its modern-day entries with strong RPG elements in vast open worlds in different time periods and geographical settings.