After a long battle between Ubisoft and creative director Patrice Désilets, Ubisoft has agreed to hand over the rights to 1666: Amsterdam.
For anyone who isn’t too sure what’s been going on: Former Assassin’s Creed creative director Désilets spent two years developing 1666: Amsterdam at THQ Montreal. THQ was then bought by former employer Ubisoft.
Désilets filed a lawsuit back in 2013 after Ubisoft fired him and put development of his game on hold. He was looking for nearly half a million dollars and the rights to the game, which he alleged he had a contractual right to buy back and continue working on.
All that seems to be in the past now though. Ubisoft have given the game back, and Désilets has dropped the suit.
Friends, Ubi and I agreed, I got it back! :) https://t.co/lKqj5enJth #1666Amsterdam pic.twitter.com/Z19MLwdgEY
— Patrice Desilets (@PatriceDez) April 25, 2016
Yannis Mallat, Ubisoft Montréal and Toronto’s CEO, said:
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. This agreement is good news for everyone.
Despite getting 1666: Amsterdam back, Désilets is unsure if or when it’ll get made. At this point nobody really seems to know what the game will be, beyond the obvious year and setting (and the one picture at the top of this article).
Désilets (pictured below) said in a statement:
I’m glad Ubisoft and I were able to come to an agreement that will allow me to obtain the rights to project 1666 Amsterdam. I will now devote myself entirely to the development of Ancestors: the Humankind Odyssey, my next game with Panache Digital Games.
Perhaps after his current game has shipped, we’ll get a better idea of what 1666: Amsterdam will be and when it’s coming. It would have been an awful lot of trouble to get it back not to do anything with it, after all.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.