What should have been a happy comeback story for a veteran developer is getting ruined because of AI.
Patrice Désilets is one of Ubisoft’s most legendary game designers, mainly for the first three Assassin’s Creed games.
Désilets entered a bitter fight with Ubisoft over his original IP, 1666 Amsterdam. He left Ubisoft in 2010 to start the game under THQ. But when THQ went bankrupt, Ubisoft picked up the IP and fired Désilets.
In 2016, Ubisoft handed the IP back to Désilets after ending years of litigation. Désilets started his own studio, Panache Digital Games, and just revealed 1666 Amsterdam in Summer Games Fest 2026.
Today Panache has admitted to using generated AI for 1666 Amsterdam’s announcement trailer. Panache reviewed this AI use with their human artists and will be replacing said art soon.
They also gave this apology:
We own up to this oversight and apologize for any upset caused. Please be assured that the Early Access and full game will not include any assets generated by AI.
For over a decade, 1666 Amsterdam was considered lost media and a cancelled or abandoned game. It’s ironic that its big comeback was marred by a contemporary controversy.
