Can I cancel an in-progress Addressables load?

Not directly. Addressables doesn’t expose a CancelAsync. What you can do is Release the handle once it completes (or immediately); the asset is unloaded and reference count drops. The download itself can’t be aborted mid-flight.

What does Release do?

Drops your reference to the loaded asset. When all references are released, Addressables unloads the asset and its bundle. Without Release, assets leak even after you stop using them.

What about scene loads?

Addressables.LoadSceneAsync similar pattern. Hold the SceneInstance handle; call UnloadSceneAsync(handle) to release. The scene is unloaded and bundle freed.

Fix: Unity Addressables LoadAsync Cancel Stuck

Quick answer: Addressables doesn’t support cancellation. Let loads complete then Addressables.Release(handle) to drop references and unload. Track handles to ensure release on scene exit.

A loading screen starts loading 50 assets via Addressables. Player presses Back to abort. The loads continue; memory grows; assets stay loaded forever because no Release ever fires.

No Cancel API

Addressables’ AsyncOperationHandle doesn’t expose Cancel. Loads run to completion. What you control is the reference: Release reduces the asset’s ref count; when it hits zero, Addressables unloads it.

The Pattern

List<AsyncOperationHandle> _handles = new();

public async Task LoadAll(string[] keys) {
    foreach (var key in keys) {
        var h = Addressables.LoadAssetAsync<object>(key);
        _handles.Add(h);
    }
    foreach (var h in _handles) await h.Task;
}

public void AbortLoad() {
    foreach (var h in _handles) {
        if (h.IsValid()) Addressables.Release(h);
    }
    _handles.Clear();
}

Track every load. On abort, release all. Each Release decrements the asset’s ref count; when zero, the asset unloads. Memory returns to baseline.

SceneInstance Special Case

SceneInstance scene = await Addressables.LoadSceneAsync("Level1").Task;
// later:
await Addressables.UnloadSceneAsync(scene).Task;

Scenes use UnloadSceneAsync rather than Release. Forgetting to unload leaks the entire scene’s asset content.

Handle Validity

If a handle’s load is in progress and you Release, Addressables marks it for release; the asset never gets used. If the load already completed, Release decrements ref count. Check IsValid before Release if you might double-release.

Verifying

Profile memory through a load-abort cycle. Memory should return to baseline. If not, you have at least one unreleased handle — track every load source.

“Addressables loads can’t be canceled. Release the handle; let the load finish in the background. Memory reclaims after Release + GC.”

Centralize handle tracking in a LoadingManager singleton — ensures every Async load has a known Release path.