After a legal dispute, Ubisoft has agreed to hand over the rights of 1666: Amsterdam to its creator, Patrice Desilets. Desilets has also agreed to drop the suit for the rights to the game which he filed in 2013.
Desilets was developing 1666: Amsterdam for THQ Montreal when Ubisoft bought the company. Ubisoft then put the game on hold and fired him.
In a statement today, Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft Montreal and Toronto Yannis Mallat said, “Putting aside our past differences, Patrice and I are above all interested in the creation of videogames and the evolution of this medium of entertainment.” He added, “This agreement is good news for everyone. Ubisoft’s creative teams are currently working on innovative projects that will mark our industry for years to come. This is precisely where we want to focus our energy, on our teams, to continue what we have been building in Quebec for nearly 20 years. 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 wrote, “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.” However, he is still devoted to his current project, Ancestors: the Humankind Odyssey. “I will now devote myself entirely to the development of Ancestors: the Humankind Odyssey, my next game with Panache Digital Games. 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.”
This seems like odd timing as Ubisoft recently filed a trademark for a mysterious 1666 project. Hopefully we will learn more about the trademark in the future. No matter what it was for, it’s great to see that Desilets and Ubisoft could reach an agreement.
Source: Polygon
Jennifer is a games journalist, former games journalist and PR Manager at Gearbox. They contributed 234 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: went on to write for Windows Central and later managed PR for Gearbox Software.