Are Animus Hub Rewards Free For AC Shadows & Other Assassin's Creed Games?

Published Mar 15, 2025

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Custom Image by Ben Brosofsky

The Animus Hub is a major new addition to the Assassin's Creed series, but the format through which it delivers rewards can seem like an obvious avenue for monetization. Initially announced under the name Assassin's Creed Infinity, the Animus Hub serves as an interconnected system for launching modern games in the franchise. In-game, the Animus serves as an opportunity to earn unique items through a battle--like system, with points that can be earned and used to unlock each successive tier of rewards.

This isn't the first time Ubisoft has offered opportunities to claim Assassin's Creed outfits, weapons, and more outside the primary game progression. Past games have offered some purchasable cosmetics, and the overarching Ubisoft Connect system has items that can be unlocked through Ubisoft Connect Units and rewards for owning other Ubisoft titles. All of these systems tend to highlight cosmetic elements that don't fit as naturally within the world of the games, whether the items come from different cultures, time periods, or even fantastical sources of inspiration.

Animus Hub Rewards Are Free In Assassin's Creed Shadows

The Animus Hub Features No Currency

At an Screen Rant in January, Ubisoft confirmed that rewards available through the Animus Hub would be free. Overarchingly, the Animus Hub is "a place where players get free rewards just for playing their favorite games," implying that this ethos will be extended to titles beyond Assassin's Creed Shadows.

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The main track for earning rewards is the Projects tab in the Animus Hub, which is the part that resembles a battle system. Items can also be acquired through the Exchange, which allows an in-game Animus currency to be spent on special items. Nothing within the Animus Hub itself should require a currency.

Assassin's Creed Games Will Still Feature Microtransactions

The Assassin's Creed Store Isn't Going Away

Alexios, Ezio, and Yasuke in various poses in a collage of images from Assassin's Creed, Odyssey, and Shadows. — Custom Image by Lee D'Amato

The inclusion of the Animus Hub doesn't remove the potential for microtransactions, however — it simply adds another way to earn rewards without spending money. A separate Store interface will still provide purchase options, a system that should be familiar to anyone who's played other recent Assassin's Creed games. The Store relies on Helix credits, which can be purchased through official digital storefronts.

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While the Projects system in the Animus Hub might seem like an inevitable target for currencies, Ubisoft's current plans specifically designate it as a home for free rewards, and there's nothing to indicate that the Assassin's Creed games plan on ignoring that promise. Beyond Projects and the Exchange, the Animus Hub also features Memories, which provides the interface for launching games, and the Vault, which deals with overarching story elements. It may not be the most divinely inspired fate for the Animus, but the Animus Hub isn't poised to introduce any new problems to the Assassin's Creed series.