E3 will be starting anytime soon, however this weekend’s story is no other than the battle between Patrice Desilets and Ubisoft. According to La Presse – and thanks to the translation of our reader Sid Spyker – Patrice Désilets, creator of Assassin’s Creed, is suing Ubisoft after being fired a few weeks ago. He wants $400,000 and he says Ubisoft has to give him the rights to 1666: Amsterdam (it was only called 1666 before, so now we know the location of the game).
As Sid told us via an email:
“According to the court documents, when Ubisoft bought THQ Montreal, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said to Patrice he liked 1666: Amsterdam and wanted to keep the production going. Guillemot argues Désilets had too much creative control because THQ was desperate when they signed him, and Ubisoft wasn’t able to control Désilets.”
GameInformer got in touch with Ubisoft who told them that they’ll be taking Desilets in court.
“As stated before, the acquisition of THQ Montréal in January allowed Ubisoft to welcome 170 experienced developers to our existing and renowned workforce. Unfortunately, the discussions between Patrice Désilets and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrice’s and the studio’s visions were inconclusive. We received Patrice’s legal request and will address it in court. We will make no further comment at this point.”
Patrice Desilets was the creative director on Assassin’s Creed, and its 2009 sequel, Assassin’s Creed II. Desilets left Ubisoft and joined THQ in order to develop a new title called 1666. After THQ’s collapse though, that title returned to Ubisoft. Desileted was re-hired by the French company, however he was later fired – yet again – and 1666’s development was put on hold.
It will be interestin to see who will prevail in this legal battle, and whether we’ll ever see 1666 or a spiritual successor to it!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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