Assassin’s Creed Co-Creator Patrice Désilets: “No Comeback to the Franchise”

Patrice Désilets is considered one of the fathers of Assassin’s Creed — and has long since turned his back on the franchise with which his name will forever be associated. In an interview with the news agency AFP, published by Canadian CP24 at Gamescom, Désilets talks about his new project: the action-adventure “1666: Amsterdam” from his independent studio Panache Digital Games.

What is 1666: Amsterdam about?

“1666: Amsterdam” sends players, in the role of a witch protagonist, through three different time periods — the titular year 1666, the year 1999, and the present. Around 70 people are working on the project at Panache Digital Games, which is planned for a total of about a dozen chapters. The first two chapters have already been released in Early Access, with the rest to follow.

Why does Désilets speak of a “very personal battle”?

According to Désilets, the release marks the end of a “very personal” battle. Historically, this is no exaggeration: Désilets left Ubisoft Montreal after disputes over the Assassin’s Creed series, which he co-developed, and subsequently founded his own studio to realize a project called “1666.” After the acquisition of this first studio by THQ and its insolvency in 2013, the original project was lost for years, before Désilets launched a second attempt with Panache Digital Games and new funding. The fact that “1666: Amsterdam” is now actually available commercially, or in Early Access, is thus also the belated continuation of a story that almost definitively ended over a decade ago.

When asked about Ubisoft’s upcoming game “Assassin’s Creed Hexe,” which features a similar historical setting with a female witch character, Désilets reacted succinctly in the interview: He unequivocally rules out a return to the franchise he co-founded.

Source: CP24 (AFP)

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