Desilets: 1666 Was the Next Assassin’s Creed

Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Desilets has told GameReactor Spain that he believes 1666 – which Ubisoft suspended earlier this year – "was to be the new Assassin's Creed!"

Speaking at the recent GamesLab conference in Barcelona Desilets said, "It was to be the new Assassin's Creed! The first year was to build the team, to study [the historical era], but also to create a new IP!"

Commenting on the foundation of the project, he added "Now we were back in the game, which was in pre-production, and everything was going on the mechanics, no matter that it was a new IP and the history, just the gameplay."

He also talks about the various ideas THQ Montreal had for the project, "it was not easy because I was a little guy jumping around with a sword, and [we] were making a shooter. We were trying something different, to expand borders again."

Desilets revealed that the game was to be set in Amsterdam, adding "Here's the only clue [I'll give]. Rembrandt was still alive in 1666, died in 1669. Took one of his most famous painting, The Philosopher, and put it there [in the design documents for the game], so I referred to this matter, more or less."

Desilets left Ubisoft in 2010 to join THQ but returned following the collapse of THQ following Ubisoft's acquisition of THQ Montreal and the 1666 licence.  He was later fired by Ubisoft and is suing them for the rights to publish the "amazing" 1666 – the development of which is on permanent hiatus.