Creative director of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Hexe Clint Hocking has departed Ubisoft. According to VGC, the news was shared with staff this week during an internal meeting led by the franchise’s newly announced leadership team.
Ubisoft confirmed that development on Hexe will continue without Hocking. Creative direction has been handed over to Jean Guesdon, the new head of content for the Assassin’s Creed brand, who previously directed Assassin’s Creed Origins and Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag.
Hocking worked at Ubisoft across two stints since 2001. His notable projects include Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, Far Cry 2, and Watch Dogs Legion.
«We sincerely thank Clint for his vision, creative contributions, and dedication over the years, and we wish him the very best in his next chapter», «Development on Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe continues with a seasoned team», — a Ubisoft spokesperson told VGC.
«The game will deliver something distinctive within the Assassin’s Creed franchise. We look forward to sharing more information in the future», — the statement added.
Speaking to VGC when the project was announced, then franchise boss Marc Alexis Côté said Hexe was «a bit further out» than other revealed titles, including last year’s Shadows.
At the same time, the Assassin’s Creed series is undergoing significant behind the scenes changes. Control of the franchise has recently been transferred to the newly established subsidiary Vantage Studios, which is partly owned by Tencent.
Marc Alexis Côté, a franchise veteran of nearly two decades, left Ubisoft in October and later announced his intention to sue the company, claiming he did not resign and was «asked to step aside».
Last week, Ubisoft revealed the future leadership team for Assassin’s Creed, which includes Black Flag veterans Martin Schelling, Jean Guesdon, and François de Billy. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently confirmed that the company is developing multiple Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games across single player and multiplayer formats.
«We have a solid pipeline underway across Vantage Studios», «Under the Assassin’s Creed brand, several titles are in development, spanning both single player and multiplayer experiences, with the ambition to further grow a community that exceeded 30 million players last year», — Guillemot said.
Last month, Ubisoft detailed a major company wide reset that will see creative teams reorganized into autonomous creative houses. The cost cutting initiative has already led to the cancellation of six games, the postponement of seven others, and the closure of two studios. Announced in 2022, Assassin’s Creed Hexe was described as a different experience for the series with a focus on horror elements.
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