Ubisoft Skipped Unreal Engine 5 To Give Devs Artistic Freedom In AC Shadows, Says Technical Architect

Expert Verified By

Ubisoft Reveals Why They Ditched Unreal Engine 5!

Story Highlight
  • Ubisoft skipped Unreal Engine 5 for AC Shadows due to a lack of artistic freedom.
  • The technical architect believes that Ubisoft’s AnvilNext Engine is more suitable for its developers.
  • Since Unreal Engine 5 has various problems, this sounds like the right move. 

Unreal Engine 5, released in 2022, was supposed to be the next big leap in gaming. While it does provide brilliant visuals with stunning ray-traced shadows and reflections, it has many problems, like performance issues and other inconsistencies. 

Ubisoft is one of the few studios that won’t be using the engine for its upcoming title, Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The studio says the reason behind ditching the Unreal Engine 5 is because it stifles artistic freedom.

Why it matters: Ubisoft will be using its tried and tested AnvilNext Engine for Assassin’s Creed Shadows because it enables its developers to be more creative and deliver a better experience. 

Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin’s Creed Shadows skipped Unreal Engine 5 as it didn’t allow artistic freedom.

Talking to Venture Beast, Ubisoft’s Technical Architect talked about the development process for their upcoming Assassin’s Creed title. He said that sticking to AnvilNext Engine allows them to give more artistic freedom to their developers. 

If you don’t control your own technology, that kind of thing is harder to do. We might not be able to give our production teams the artistic freedom that we want.

–  Pierre Fortin

Assassin's Creed Shadows
The title uses Ubisoft’s AnvilNext Engine for better optimization and dynamism.

Furthermore, Fortin said that Ubisoft takes a very different approach to game development. It uses different studios for optimizations, dynamism, and innovation, which makes its in-house engine the best choice for its projects. 

While Shadows has been in hot waters due to various reasons, this does sound like the right call by Ubisoft. Unreal Engine games are notorious for performance problems, and if Ubisoft can keep those away with its engine, it would be the right decision. 

What are your thoughts on Ubisoft skipping Unreal Engine 5 and sticking to its in-house engine? Let us know in the comments or join the discussion at the official Tech4Gamers Forum

Was our article helpful? 👨‍💻

Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋

How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔

Gear Up For Latest News

Get exclusive gaming & tech news before it drops. Sign up today!

Join Our Community

Still having issues? Join the Tech4Gamers Forum for expert help and community support!

Latest News

Join Our Community

104,000FansLike
32,122FollowersFollow

Trending

US Govt Records Reveal Sweet Baby Inc. Received Over $300K in Aid

The official US government site reveals a budget of $300k utilized for Sweet Baby Inc. during the pandemic to aid with workforce maintenance.

Rocksteady Returning To Single-Player Batman Games, Says Reliable Insider

Latest reports point to a new single-player Batman Arkam title from Rocksteady after its failed attempt at live-service gaming.

Wonder Woman Game Stuck In Development Hell And Rebooted Last Year

An update on Monolith Productions' Wonder Woman suggests that the game restarted development in early 2024.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Sells 1M Copies 14 Times Faster Than Its Predecessor

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 sold 1 million copies in less than 24 hours, meaning it sold 14 times faster than its prequel.

Sony Pledges To Invest In And Publish Various Kadokawa Games And Franchises

FromSoftware parent company, Kadokawa, clarifies that Sony will invest in and publish various of its games and franchises in the future.