Ubisoft is the blackhole from which Patrice cannot escape.
The publisher confirmed that Patrice Désilets, the creative director on the first two Assassin’s Creed games, is officially back with the company. In January, Ubisoft purchased THQ Montreal from the collapsing publisher. Désilets was leading production on a game titled 1666 at that studio, but it was never clear whether he would return to work for his old bosses.
“We are very pleased to welcome Patrice to Ubisoft again and anticipate that this renewed partnership will produce new ideas and high-quality titles for Ubisoft’s customers,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told Polygon.
In addition to purchasing THQ Montreal, Ubisoft also grabbed the rights to 1666 and another title from the developer, codenamed Underdog. GamesBeat reached out to Ubisoft to determine whether Désilets will continue to focus his efforts on these projects or if it will have him once again take the helm of the Assassin’s Creed series. We’ll update with the publisher’s response.
My guess? Assassin’s Creed is on autopilot and Ubi is happy to let Désilets develop the publisher’s next blockbuster.
Désilets started working at Ubisoft in 1998. Prior to taking the role of creative director on Assassin’s Creed, he worked on games like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Disney’s Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers.
He left Ubisoft in 2010. In summer 2011, he announced that he joined THQ to oversee its new Montreal studio.