Anvil is a game engine

Game engine

A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...

 created in 2007 by video game developer Ubisoft

Ubisoft

Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....

 for use on Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, PlayStation 3

PlayStation 3

The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 and Xbox 360

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

.

Under Scimitar name

• Assassin's Creed (2007)
• Prince of Persia (2008)
• Shaun White Snowboarding
  Shaun White Snowboarding
  Shaun White Snowboarding is a sports video game for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Nintendo DS, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 systems. It was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 14, 2008...
  
  (2008)

Under Anvil name

• Assassin's Creed II
  Assassin's Creed II
  Assassin's Creed II is a historical third-person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the second video game installment of the Assassin's Creed series, and is a sequel to the 2007 video...
  
  (2009)
• Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
  Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
  Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a multi-platform video game produced by Ubisoft which was released on May 18, 2010, in North America and on May 20 in Europe. The games mark a return to the storyline started by Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is...
  
  (2010)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2010, Microsoft Windows in March 2011 and Mac OS X in May 2011...
  
  (2010)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations
  Assassin's Creed: Revelations
  Assassin's Creed: Revelations is a video game in the Assassin's Creed franchise developed and published by Ubisoft Montreal. The game was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 15, 2011. For Microsoft Windows, the game is delayed until December 2, 2011...
  
  (2011)
• Rainbow 6: Patriots
  Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots
  Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots is an upcoming first person shooter video game, part of the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series and set to be released in 2013. It is published by Ubisoft, and is developed by the company's Ubisoft Montreal, with additional development by Ubisoft Toronto and Ubisoft Red...
  
  (2013)[2]

Technology

Claude Langlais (Technical Director of Ubisoft Montreal) says that modeling is done in 3ds Max for environment and ZBrush

ZBrush

ZBrush is a digital sculpting tool that combines 3D/2.5D modeling, texturing and painting. It uses a proprietary "pixol" technology which stores lighting, color, material, and depth information for all objects on the screen...

 for characters. The engine uses Autodesk

Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's...

's HumanIK middleware to correctly position the character's hands and feet in climbing and pushing animations at run-time. Anvil has been improved for Assassin's Creed II. Features added include a full night and day cycle, enhanced draw distance, the same vegetation technology used in Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2 is an open world first-person shooter developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released on October 21, 2008 in North America and on October 23, 2008 in Europe and Australia. It was made available on Steam on October 22, 2008...

, improved lighting, reflection and special effects, new cloth system, and a new AI and NPC navigation system. Assassin's Creed: Lineage

Assassin's Creed: Lineage

Assassin's Creed: Lineage is a series of three short films based on the Assassin's Creed II video game. The films are made by Ubisoft and the first episode was released on October 26, 2009 on YouTube...

short films made by Hybride Technologies (a post-production

Post-production

Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...

 VFX

Visual effects

Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...

studio acquired by Ubisoft) and Ubisoft Digital Arts used assets from Anvil to recreate the environment in which the live actors are filmed.