Definition
With Addressables you mark an asset as addressable and give it a string address. At build time the system packs addressable assets into AssetBundles and writes a catalog that maps each address to a bundle and a location. At runtime the game asks for an address, and Addressables downloads or loads the right bundle, tracks references, and unloads it when no longer needed. Bundles can live inside the player or on a remote server, and the catalog can be updated so content changes without a new build.
Relevance
Addressables is how a game loads content by a name you choose instead of by a file path. The catalog records which bundle holds each address and whether that bundle is local or remote, so a content update can be a new catalog and new bundles rather than a new player.
Example
A character is marked addressable with the address "heroes/knight". The game calls LoadAssetAsync with that string. Addressables reads the catalog, downloads the bundle if it is not cached, and returns the prefab. The calling script never names the bundle file.
Connected
Synonyms
Addressable Asset System