Patrice Desilets, the creator of Assassin’s Creed, the franchise of which over 55 million copies have been sold, has been fired from Ubisoft. Polygon reached out to Desilets for a comment and it seems that Ubisoft was far from courteous in the process as he “…was notified of this termination in person, handed a termination notice and was unceremoniously escorted out of the building by two guards without being able to say goodbye to [his] team or collect [his] personal belongings.”
Desilets’ history with Ubisoft is extensive as he worked as their creative director until 2010, when he took a brief hiatus from the company to work for THQ Montreal, only to return in 2011. At the time of his return, Ubisoft seemed more than pleased to welcome him back to the team as his presence and partnership would “produce new ideas and high-quality titles for Ubisoft’s customers.”
In regards to this layoff, an Ubisoft spokesperson told the press:
“Unfortunately, since the acquisition [of THQ Montreal], the good faith discussions between Patrice and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrice’s and the studio’s visions have been inconclusive. As a result, Patrice has left the studio. Our priorities remain with the teams already hard at work on projects in development. They are at the root of Ubisoft Montréal’s past and future successes.”
Even though Ubisoft claims Desilets has “left the studio,” Desilets ensures that this was not his decision. With deep sentimental ties to his game and his team, he has insisted that he will put up a vigorous fight against Ubisoft as he deems the layoff as being “baseless and without merit,” essentially an infringement on his rights.
As the creator and designer best known for the first two Assassin’s Creed titles, both of which have been very successful, Desilets’ fight against Ubisoft will be a riveting one to keep up with.