Creative director Patrice Désilets has left Ubisoft and abandoned the best-selling Assassin's Creed franchise, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Désilets has been with Ubisoft Montreal since its inception, working as a lead designer on the studio's early games like Hype: The Time Quest, a concept that originated from current EA Montreal studio manager Alain Tascan. His development career broke into the mainstream when he played an instrumental part in the resurrection of the Prince of Persia franchise, working as creative director on the massively popular Sands of Time release for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and PC. Building on his success, Désilets then played an essential role in the creation of Assassin's Creed, a landmark new IP that has become the centerpiece of Ubisoft's catalog. Rather than wait to release the third installment after the highly successful sequel Assassin's Creed II, Ubisoft announced plans to take the Activision approach to game development with yearly iterations of its most popular brands. It is not currently known if this new direction affected Désilets' decision making.
The Désilets departure is a huge blow to Ubisoft Montreal, which recently lost the services of Far Cry 2 creative director and Splinter Cell mastermind Clint Hocking. Famed producer Jade Raymond, who also worked on Assassin's Creed for the Montreal team, recently left to assume control of the new Ubisoft Toronto studio. This could also undercut the public unveiling of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood at E3 next week.
Désilets may not have the mainstream recognition of other major game developers who have departed their studios this year, such as former Infinity Ward heads Jason West or Vince Zampella, but he certainly commands that level of respect in industry circles. "I think there are three games that stand out above the rest of the pack in the remainder of this year. One is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, one is Uncharted 2, and the third is Assassin's Creed II," Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima told Famitsu last year in an interview translated by 1Up. "I think a lot of recent Western games concentrate on style and the 'you are there' feel, but Patrice's games are still focused squarely on game design. The graphics have improved, but the system itself is a definite improvement over the last game. I think there are very few sequels like that. Any sequel needs to take in feedback from users and try to do what couldn't be done last time, but with Assassin II, they worked really hard to advance the real core of the game, the way you assassinate people. It's really great."
If Désilets chooses to stay in Montreal, he'll have several studios from which to choose. Warner Bros. Interactive, which is led by former Ubisoft Montreal studio head Martin Tremblay, recently opened a Montreal office. Electronic Arts and THQ also have studios that call the Canadian city home.
We contacted multiple Ubisoft employees for official comment on Désilets' departure, but its public relations team would only respond with, "We don't comment on rumor or speculation," adding that they were unable to contact anyone at the studio.
UPDATE: Ubisoft responded to our story with the following statement: "With his role on project essentially done, Patrice Désilets has decided to take a creative break from the industry and is no longer working on Assassin's Creed Brotherhood."
i hope this doesnt affect the games in any way shape or form
i really hope the progression of AC3 or Brotherhood isn't effected too much by his departure. may he continue making great games wherever he goes.
I was really interested in where this series was going. With the humanist underpinnings I was pretty intrigued. Also I had a great prediction for some twists down the line. I'm sure they will continue the series without him, but it might not be the same.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I'd leave too if I had a name like that... I wonder how many people could say it right?;]
My bet is on his leaving having something to do with Ubisoft's new Activision formula. I loved ACII, and can't wait for ACIII. That said, I'm still only lukewarm to the idea of AC: Brotherhood. One, I really don't feel that multiplayer is needed in the AC universe, and will be a tacked on waste of time like it was in Bioshock 2. NOT EVERY GAME FRANCHISE NEEDS MULTIPLAYER! Also, it's nice to have a year or so off between iterations of a game franchise. This every year thing will burn out a lot of people on any particular franchise (look no further than Activision and their ___ Hero lines). And AC:BH honestly screams "cash grab" the same way the recent POP game did. Not very well thought out and honestly not a very good game. That may change after seeing it at E3, but right now I have very little desire in Brotherhood. Call me when ACIII proper comes out.
Yeah, as a future game designer I would have to step away from a company like Ubisoft if they clearly stated they were planning to pervert my vision in the way Ubisoft did when they announced wanting to have an Assassin's Creed game every year.
I don't blame the man for leaving, if he did, instead of staying and helping them run his intellectual property into the ground. Good for him if that's the case, these big developers need to stop acting so greedy and ruining games like AC by forcing them down our throats until we get so full of it we literally start choking. Maybe if enough of the leads start leaving because of these watered down excuses for franchise entries then things will change.
Why are all the greatest game developers leaving their companies? Games will never be the same.
That's a shame, but I might be saying that because I grew so used to his Canadian French accent in every Assassin's Creed II developer diary.
I doubt it will affect the games but I hope he moves on to bigger and better things.
For a guy who's invested himself in Ubisoft for so long, his departure might not even be a comment or indictment on Ubisoft and/or AC. He could just be burned out.
whatever happened to being loyal like Miyamoto and earning total respect? Ah.................
Without knowing too much about the situation my first thought is "good for him". My second thought is "keep making games". ACII was great, with a lot of room for growth. Brotherhood doesn't interest me at all. Ubisoft hasn't done anything other than ACII in a long time to interest me, but that game really got to me. Hopefully he, and other creative types like him, will continue to gain leverage and keep making the kinds of games we want to play.
Ugh, so they're going to ruin Assassins Creed III aren't they.
I'm with everybody else with hoping that this doesn't change the outcome of AC Brotherhood.
Although I do think that this whole approach on creating sequel after sequel every year is something that I disapprove. I think that because of this, it seems like content and quality will not be as great unless the team was given more time. The deadline should be about a year and a half at max. However, developers should not be spending too much time on one game. Case in point, Gran Turismo 5.
Dave Chapelle...
this sucks hope the next creed game doesnt suffer
I dont think we will lose any quality from future games, he doesnt make them all on his own after all. I think we will see changes though that maybe we arnt expecting. Which is good, you never want the industry to come to a halt in terms of game design.