An Assassin's Creed four-player co-op game initially developed as an Assassin's Creed Shadows multiplayer DLC has reportedly been canceled due to Ubisoft's recent restructuring
AC League's technical advancements are reportedly being transferred back into Ubisoft's Anvil engine for future use
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- An Assassin's Creed cooperative multiplayer game codenamed "AC League" was reportedly in development before being canceled by Ubisoft
- The four-player coop game project was initially conceived as a DLC for Shadows
- The project would have served as a baseline for future multiplayer features that would be implemented in the Assassin's Creed series
Ubisoft reportedly canceled an Assassin's Creed cooperative multiplayer game that was initially developed as an Assassin's Creed Shadows downloadable content (DLC).
That's according to a report from French outlet Origami (translated by IGN), which claims the project was in the works at French studio Ubisoft Annecy and was codenamed "AC League".
It's said that AC League was conceived as a DLC for Shadows that would have seen four players, or assassins, teaming up to complete a series of scripted missions.
The DLC, which was also expected to take place in the same feudal Japan era as the base game, was also initially meant to be part of the canceled Season Pass and would have served as a baseline for future multiplayer features that would be implemented in the Assassin's Creed series.
Origami reports that the project was fairly ambitious and would have served as a way to return to the series' hybrid solo/multiplayer playstyle that was featured in Unity and Black Flag.
Discussions later on, however, led the directors at Ubisoft Annecy to question if it made sense to attach the AC League to Shadows due to time constraints, and they decided to pivot to a smaller, standalone title that would borrow from Shadows instead.
It seemed development had progressed far because an invite-only alpha test was planned for May 2026 before it was canceled.
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The cause was attributed to Ubisoft's major restructuring efforts, which recently saw the cancellation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake and five more unknown games, the delay of seven more, and the closure of some studios.
Leadership at Ubisoft Annecy was reportedly informed last week that AC League was being canceled, although it's said that a handful of employees were chosen to transfer the technical advancements the team made back into Ubisoft's Anvil engine.
Origimi reports that doing this will allow Ubisoft to eventually use the tech to add replayable multiplayer modes to future Assassin's Creed games in the series that would be less expensive to develop from scratch.
Outside of AC League, Ubisoft is currently developing Assassin's Creed Hexe, and rumors have been piling up recently about the existence of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, a remake of the 2013 game.
Due to Ubisoft's recent shakeup, however, it's believed that the remake has been delayed following speculation that it could launch before March 31.

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Demi is a freelance games journalist for TechRadar Gaming. She's been a games writer for five years and has written for outlets such as GameSpot, NME, and GamesRadar, covering news, features, and reviews. Outside of writing, she plays a lot of RPGs and talks far too much about Star Wars on X.
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