Addressables System In Unity

Addressables is Unity's system for loading assets from anywhere – local disk or remote server. Instead of storing everything in memory, you load assets on demand.

Load levels, characters, or items only when needed
Reduce game size and memory usage
Update content without rebuilding the whole game

Installing Addressables

Window -> Package Manager.
Search "Addressables" -> Install.
Window -> Asset Management -> Addressables -> Groups.

Addressables-In-Unity — Addressables In Unity

Marking Assets as Addressable

Method 1: Select asset in Project window - Check "Addressable" in Inspector.
Method 2: Drag asset into Addressables Groups window.

Loading Assets by Address

Load an asset using its address name.

using UnityEngine.AddressableAssets;
using UnityEngine.ResourceManagement.AsyncOperations;
public class AddressableLoader : MonoBehaviour
{
    public string assetAddress = "MyCharacter";
    void Start()
    {
        LoadAsset();
    }
    void LoadAsset()
    {
        Addressables.LoadAssetAsync<GameObject>(assetAddress).Completed += OnAssetLoaded;
    }
    void OnAssetLoaded(AsyncOperationHandle<GameObject> handle)
    {
        if (handle.Status == AsyncOperationStatus.Succeeded)
        {
            GameObject obj = Instantiate(handle.Result);
            Debug.Log("Asset loaded: " + obj.name);
        }
        else
        {
            Debug.LogError("Failed to load asset");
        }
    }
}

LoadAssetAsync() loads the asset in background. Game continues running while loading. Completed event fires when done.

Loading and Instantiating Together

Load and instantiate an asset with one line.

public class Spawner : MonoBehaviour
{
    public string enemyAddress = "Enemy_Goblin";
    void SpawnEnemy()
    {
        Addressables.InstantiateAsync(enemyAddress, transform.position, Quaternion.identity);
    }
}

InstantiateAsync() loads the prefab and creates an instance at specified position and rotation.

Releasing Assets

Important to release assets to free memory.

public class AssetManager : MonoBehaviour
{
    private AsyncOperationHandle<GameObject> handle;
    private GameObject spawnedObject;
    void LoadAndSpawn()
    {
        handle = Addressables.LoadAssetAsync<GameObject>("MyAsset");
        handle.Completed += (op) =>
        {
            spawnedObject = Instantiate(op.Result);
        };
    }
    void ReleaseAsset()
    {
        if (spawnedObject != null)
            Destroy(spawnedObject);
        
        Addressables.Release(handle);  // Release memory
    }
}

Always release assets you no longer need. Otherwise, memory leaks occur.

Loading Scene with Addressables

Load scenes that are marked as Addressable.

public class LevelLoader : MonoBehaviour
{
    public string levelAddress = "Level_Boss";
    public void LoadBossLevel()
    {
        Addressables.LoadSceneAsync(levelAddress, UnityEngine.SceneManagement.LoadSceneMode.Single);
    }
}

Remote Content Delivery (Update without Rebuild)

Addressables can load assets from a server. Update game content without rebuilding the app.

Setup: Window -> Asset Management -> Addressables -> Settings
Set Remote Load Path to your server URL.

public class RemoteLoader : MonoBehaviour
{
    async void Start()
    {
        await Addressables.InitializeAsync();
        // Check for updates
        var checkHandle = Addressables.CheckForCatalogUpdates();
        await checkHandle.Task;
        if (checkHandle.Result.Count > 0)
        {
            var updateHandle = Addressables.UpdateCatalogs();
            await updateHandle.Task;
            Debug.Log("Content updated!");
        }
    }
}

Addressables Groups

Create groups to organize assets:

AlwaysLoaded: UI, player character (load at start)
LevelAssets: Props, enemies for current level
DLCContent: Optional downloadable content