Ubisoft reportedly strikes down Assassin's Creed Shadows and Animus Hub leaks as it's claimed there'll be a battle pass, and bizarrely, in-game partnerships with Visa and Red Bull

Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Ubisoft has reportedly taken swift action against a new Assassin's Creed Shadows leak that claimed to reveal details about a battle pass full of cosmetics for the upcoming stealth game. 

A Reddit post on the r/GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit initially shared links to a plethora of images of different outfits, assets, and weapons, as well as the cosmetics apparently included in the battle pass, and a first look at the Animus Hub. However, at the time of writing, all but two of these images have disappeared, and the Reddit user who shared them says: "Ubisoft being Ubisoft, have issued a DMCA takedown."

The user's content descriptions still give a pretty good idea of what was shown, though, including some interesting tidbits about the Animus Hub. Originally codenamed Infinity, the Animus Hub will be a place to launch future games from – including Assassin's Creed Shadows, which it's expected to release alongside. Based on what's now apparently been leaked, though, it sounds like the hub will also serve as a place to unlock new game content, using currency that can be earned through the battle pass and simply by playing. 

The Reddit user refers to the battle pass as "Season 1," implying it'll be the first of multiple. It's claimed that this first season is called "Eye in the Dark," which will include 20 tiers of rewards, all of which will be free. Ubisoft previously announced that the Season Pass for Shadows has been canceled, so it's unclear if any of these supposed battle pass rewards have simply been moved over from that – the developer already said that the exclusive season pass quest will be available to everyone on release day, though. 

Bizarrely, it's also been claimed that there will be "partnerships in-game with Red Bull, VISA, Intel and BAPE Clothing and Sprecher." No indication has been given of what these partnerships could look like, and I frankly have no idea how they could fit in – this is definitely the strangest part of the entire post. 

As with any leak, do take the information with a pinch of salt for now, although if it's true that Ubisoft was quick to issue takedown requests against so much of it, it certainly implies that what was shared was legitimate. We still have quite a wait before Assassin's Creed Shadows is upon us – it was actually supposed to launch today before it got delayed, pushing it back to February 14 next year

Assassin's Creed Shadows aims to "restore the balance" between the series' historical and modern stories.

Catherine Lewis
News Writer

I'm one of GamesRadar+'s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.