Assassin’s Creed Co-Op Project LEAGUE Has Been Cancelled – Rumor

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Plans for a cooperative mode in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, known internally as LEAGUE, appear to have been scrapped. French publication Origami reports that a team of 85 developers at Ubisoft Annecy were working on the feature, with a limited playtest originally scheduled for May 2026.

The project was cancelled soon after Ubisoft announced a company restructuring. This restructuring consolidated development of the Assassin’s Creed series under a new team called Vantage Studios. After Vantage’s leadership played the game, the team in charge of LEAGUE received notice that it was being cancelled.

There’s still some hope. The report also mentions that a small team who worked on LEAGUE will be responsible for transferring the technology and research used in its co-op mode to Ubisoft’s Anvil game engine. Once that’s done, Vantage Studios will begin evaluating ideas for co-op features in future Assassin’s Creed games.

Developing the full LEAGUE game proved too costly, so future plans for a cooperative mode require high replay value but must be developed affordably.

Talk of a co-op mode for Assassin’s Creed Shadows started in October 2024. Although there wasn’t a set release date, it was planned as an addition to the game after it launched. Initially, people thought you’d be able to play as the main characters, Yasuke and Naoe. But a report in May 2025 suggested the co-op experience would have a more involved story, expanding beyond just those two characters.

Last month, Ubisoft announced big changes to how the company is organized, and as part of that, cancelled several projects, including the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Now, Ubisoft is building five creative teams, each focused on specific game franchises, types of games, and platforms.

Recently, the company has faced criticism from French unions. Earlier this week, union leaders and Ubisoft Paris employees Marc Rutschlé and Chakib Mataoui called for the CEO, Yves Guillemot, to step down. A key concern was Guillemot’s practice of favoring family members, exemplified by appointing his son, Charlie, as a co-leader of Vantage Studios.

Mataoui explained that hiring only people from the same background – specifically, white men – hinders creativity and innovation. In a field like game development, where fresh ideas are crucial for success, a lack of diversity means missing out on valuable perspectives and the potential for truly great games. Essentially, the company needs to embrace different viewpoints to foster a more creative environment.

The unions have also raised concerns about the company’s requirement for employees to return to the office five days a week. According to Mataoui, this has caused anxiety among workers who have since moved their lives and homes far from Paris and the company’s studios.

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2026-02-06 17:11