User blog comment:Master Sima Yi/Assassinews 12-05-'15 — Assassin's Creed: Syndicate has been revealed!/@comment-24760042-20150721220112/@comment-13471981-20150722152810

I'll admit that is a pretty cheap tactic, but there's no way that was the reason multiplayer was removed. The multiplayer was built on the Brotherhood engine, so it is ridiculously outdated by now - also, the quality had really gone down imo. It was a relief that they removed it and I don't particularly want it back, as much as I enjoyed it (and still enjoy it in Revelations).