Assassin’s Creed creator regains rights to 1666 Amsterdam from Ubisoft

1666 Amsterdam

Patrice Desilets, the creator of Assassin’s Creed, has finally finished his battle with Ubisoft over the rights to 1666 Amsterdam, a game concept he developed. In an announcement from Desilets’ own studio Panache Digital Games, it has been revealed that rights to the game have been given to Desilets and a $400,000 lawsuit against Ubisoft has been dropped. 

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1666 Amsterdam was originally conceived as “the new Assassin’s Creed” and would have had connections to the painter Rembrandt. Desilets created the idea while at THQ Montreal, but the rights to the IP were acquired by Ubisoft when they bought the studio in 2012 after THQ’s bankruptcy. Since departing Ubisoft in 2013, Desilets has been fighting to take custody of the IP.

With the rights relinquished by Ubisoft, Desilets now has “all creative and business control over the project.”

“Putting aside our past differences, Patrice and I are above all interested in the creation of video games and the evolution of this medium of entertainment,” said Ubisoft Montreal and Toronto CEO Yannis Mallat in a statement. “This agreement is good news for everyone. As we have always said, Patrice is a talented designer and we wish him all the best in the development of his future endeavors.”

Desilets is happy to have reached a conclusion to the situation with Ubisoft without resorting to a court trial, however 1666 will not suddenly go into production now Panache Digital Games have the rights. Instead, the studio will continue work on Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey.

“I will now devote myself entirely to the development of Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey,” explained Desilets. “This is what matters most to me today: making the best games and showing the world the creative talent of Quebecers. I also wish every success to the Ubisoft teams.”

Thanks, Gamespot.