Assassin’s Creed: Origins director Jean Guesdon has announced that he is leaving Ubisoft after more than 17 years with the company.
Speaking to Linkedin to confirm his departure, Guesdon wrote: “2023 will begin for me with the end of just over 17 great years at Ubisoft Montreal.”
I cannot express all that I owe to this unique company,” he continued. “So many people met, so many skills acquired and so many projects delivered. And Assassin’s Creed, of course Assassin’s Creed.”
He has yet to reveal what his next project will be, or with whom.
In recent years, Guesdon served as creative director for an “undisclosed” Ubisoft project for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. According to Kotaku, the project is codenamed Renaissance, “a voxel-based collaborative game with Minecraft overtones.”
Three former Ubisoft developers familiar with the project told Kotaku that they “consider it one of the most promising in the business.”
“We thank Jean for his strong creative vision, his openness, his ideas and, above all, his ability to put himself ‘in the shoes’ of our players in their contributions to Ubisoft,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. communicated. “We wish him the best as he enters his next chapter.”
Ubisoft started the year by canceling three unannounced games and postponing the highly anticipated Skull & Bones to 2024, citing “great challenges as the industry continues to shift to mega-brands and long-running titles” .
In a financial update, Ubisoft explained that it “faces significant challenges” amid “worsening economic conditions affecting consumer spending.” He then confirmed the cancellation of the mysterious player versus player game Project Q.
Alongside all of this, it was also announced that Ubisoft plans to cut costs by around £176m over the next two years “through selective restructuring, the sale of certain non-core assets and customary wear and tear. “.
After Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillermot told staff “the ball is in your court” to turn things around, 40 Ubisoft employees in Paris went on strike despite Guillermot’s apology for the way their comments had been “perceived”.
In other news, Ubisoft has announced that the next season of The Division 2 has been delayed as the developers are locked into the game.