IN ORDER · ANIME AND GAMES
Fate in order
Where to start with Fate: the order for Unlimited Blade Works, Heaven's Feel and Fate/Zero, how the visual novel fits, and which spin-offs to watch next.
Fate began in 2004 as a visual novel, Type-Moon's Fate/stay night, with three branching routes that tell three versions of the same war between mages and their heroic spirits. Each route has since been adapted separately, a prequel has been made, and the name now covers dozens of spin-offs set in other worlds. For newcomers, "where do I start?" is a fair question.
This guide covers the core: the visual novel, its three adaptations, the prequel Fate/Zero, and the three spin-offs we think are worth watching next. Everything else under the Fate name can wait until you know whether you like this world.
TRACK IT
Keep your place in Fate
Save the 5 main entries to a list now, no account needed. Create a free OmniTrackr account and they move into your library, where this page shows how far through you are and what comes next.
THE ORDERS
3 ways through Fate
The first order is the one we recommend for most people. Entries marked optional are side stories you can skip without missing the main story.
The newcomer routeOur pick
Unlimited Blade Works, Heaven's Feel, then Fate/Zero: stay night's twists stay intact and the prequel lands as a tragedy you already know the end of.
- 1Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade WorksAnime · 2014
- 2Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. presage flowerAnime · 2017
- 3Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel II. lost butterflyAnime · 2019
- 4Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel III. spring songAnime · 2020
- 5Fate/ZeroAnime · 2011
- 6Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace noteAnime · 2019Optional
- 7Fate/ApocryphaAnime · 2017Optional
- 8Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - BabyloniaAnime · 2019Optional
The original route
Read the visual novel's three routes in their fixed order, then watch Fate/Zero. The definitive experience, and a long one.
- 1Fate/stay nightVideo game · 2004Optional
- 2Fate/ZeroAnime · 2011
- 3Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade WorksAnime · 2014
- 4Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. presage flowerAnime · 2017
- 5Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel II. lost butterflyAnime · 2019
- 6Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel III. spring songAnime · 2020
Release order
Every core entry as it came out.
- 1Fate/stay nightVideo game · 2004Optional
- 2Fate/stay nightAnime · 2006Optional
- 3Fate/ZeroAnime · 2011
- 4Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade WorksAnime · 2014
- 5Fate/ApocryphaAnime · 2017Optional
- 6Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. presage flowerAnime · 2017
- 7Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel II. lost butterflyAnime · 2019
- 8Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace noteAnime · 2019Optional
- 9Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - BabyloniaAnime · 2019Optional
- 10Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel III. spring songAnime · 2020
EVERY ENTRY
All 10 entries, in our recommended order
What each one is, why it sits where it does, and where it falls in each order. Save any of them to a list, no account needed.
Anime · 2014
Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works
The newcomer route: #1 · The original route: #3 · Release order: #4
The second route, centered on Rin Tohsaka and Shirou's ideals. ufotable's TV series is the best first step, and it recaps the essentials of the first route as it goes.
Anime · 2017
Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I. presage flower
The newcomer route: #2 · The original route: #4 · Release order: #6
The first of three films adapting the final route, centered on Sakura Matou. Much darker than Unlimited Blade Works.
Anime · 2019
Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel II. lost butterfly
The newcomer route: #3 · The original route: #5 · Release order: #7
The middle film, and the most disturbing. Content warnings apply.
Anime · 2020
Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel III. spring song
The newcomer route: #4 · The original route: #6 · Release order: #10
The conclusion of the final route and of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
Anime · 2011
Fate/Zero
The newcomer route: #5 · The original route: #2 · Release order: #3
Ten years before stay night, an earlier Holy Grail War between adults with darker motives. Made by ufotable and widely considered the best Fate anime, but it spoils the twists of stay night.
Anime · 2019
Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace noteOptional
The newcomer route: #6 · Release order: #8
Waver Velvet from Fate/Zero, now a lecturer, solves magical mysteries. A charming follow-up for anyone who loved him.
Anime · 2017
Fate/ApocryphaOptional
The newcomer route: #7 · Release order: #5
An alternate world where the Grail War became a war between two factions of seven. Big, loud battles; a good spin-off once you know the rules.
Anime · 2019
Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - BabyloniaOptional
The newcomer route: #8 · Release order: #9
The best-known adaptation from the mobile game Fate/Grand Order, set in ancient Uruk. Spectacular, though it starts mid-story.
Video game · 2004
Fate/stay nightOptional
The original route: #1 · Release order: #1
The original. Three routes, played in a fixed order, tell the whole story; each adaptation below covers only one. An official English remaster was released in 2024.
Anime · 2006
Fate/stay nightOptional
Release order: #2
Studio Deen's adaptation of the first route, called Fate. Dated and loosely adapted; most fans skip it and read a summary instead.
Where to start
Start with Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, the 2014 TV series. Then watch the three Heaven's Feel films, then Fate/Zero. That keeps every twist of stay night intact.
Fate/Zero is the most popular starting point and the most argued about. It is self-contained and excellent, but it reveals things stay night treats as surprises. If you have already started with it, carry on: Unlimited Blade Works will still work.
Once you have finished the core, the spin-offs can be watched in any order. Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files is for anyone who loved Waver in Fate/Zero, Fate/Apocrypha is for people who want large-scale battles between famous heroes, and Babylonia is the best sample of the enormous story told in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order.
Questions
Do I need to watch the 2006 series?
No. It adapts the first route, which Unlimited Blade Works summarizes in its opening episodes. Read a summary if you want the details.
Can I watch Fate/Zero first?
Yes, and many people do. You will learn some of stay night's secrets in advance, so it trades surprise for dramatic irony.
Where does Fate/Grand Order fit?
It is a separate story in a separate world, based on the mobile game. Watch it whenever you like once you know the basics.
Why are there so many versions of the same war?
The visual novel has three routes, and each one follows different choices Shirou makes. Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel are alternative versions of the same two weeks, which is why they share characters but end differently. Neither is a sequel to the other.
How we chose
Prepared by OmniTrackr and reviewed by the site owner before publishing. We listed the entries most people mean by "Fate", checked release years and story placement against public sources, and marked as optional the side stories that are not needed to follow the main story. The recommended order is editorial opinion: it is the order we would hand a friend starting from nothing.
Release years are for the first release in the original language. Running times, editions and availability vary by region. Links go to OmniTrackr title pages, not shops. Your progress is worked out from your own library each time you open the page; nothing about it is shared.
First published October 17, 2026. Checked October 17, 2026. Suggest a franchise or send a correction · Editorial standards · If you liked guides