[3] The engine uses Autodesk's HumanIK middleware to correctly position the character's hands and feet in climbing and pushing animations at run-time.

[17][18][19] AnvilNext adds technology from Far Cry 3 wherein loading screens have been removed when transitioning from travelling on land to navigating the seas.

Specific landmarks, such as the Notre Dame de Paris, are still designed by hand but now could be rendered at an almost 1:1 ratio to its real-life counterpart.

[38] Ubisoft Anvil would also be used for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake,[39] Immortals Fenyx Rising,[40] and Assassin's Creed Mirage.

[42][43] An upgraded Anvil engine version is used for Assassin's Creed Shadows,[44][45] enhancing lighting, introducing breakable props, and implementing a new seasonal system which progresses through time.

For Assassin's Creed Unity there has been a similar upgrade, advanced control mechanics with physically based rendering (PBR) being the stand-out addition, enabling materials, objects and surfaces to look and react more realistically to lighting, shading and shadowing.