Assassin's Creed producer not surprised by Desilets' departure
On the eve of E3, Patrice Désilets, creative director of the Assassin's Creed franchise, unexpectedly left his position, just as Ubisoft prepared to woo the media with the first in-depth look at this November's Brotherhood sequel. Looking to quickly bury the distraction, Ubisoft called Désilets' departure a "creative break" and said that his work on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was "essentially done."
While we still have yet to hear from Désilets himself, his close colleague, associate producer Jean-Francois Boivin, was not surprised by the creative director's leave. "I totally got where he was coming from because he's been talking about taking a break for a long time," Boivin told UK-based GamerZines.
"In regards to Brotherhood, he did everything that he needed to do," Boivin assured, echoing Ubisoft's initial statement. "Patrice is a very public figure for the franchise, and he's very much the visionary for the Assassin's Creed license, but he's not the only visionary. It wasn't Patrice who did game design necessarily, and we have over two hundred very talented and creative people that work on the license."
"We know what we're doing," Boivin insisted, addressing concerns that the series would be lost without Désilets, who had shepherded it for six years. "I'm not at all afraid of the future quality of Assassin's Creed games." Earlier this week, the producer was also not afraid to admit that the franchise could use a break after Brotherhood's release this fall.
As for Désilets plans? "Right now he's watching the World Cup," Boivin said. (The World Cup ends following Sunday's final.) "Who knows what the future will hold for him."
