Patrick Plourde, the creator of Child Of Light and director of Far Cry 3, has left Ubisoft after working there for 19 years.
Plourde spoke to Axios about his departure from the publisher (via VGC). After working as creative director on titles such as Far Cry 3, Watch Dogs 2, and Child Of Light, Plourde intends to retain relations with Ubisoft but to work independently as a consultant.
“Most of my time will be working with Ubisoft, but now I’ll have a position outside a traditional structure (with mandate cross department), and I will be able to dabble with other fields outside gaming that I had eyes on for a while without having to ask my employer’s permission,” Plourde said.
Ubisoft to me: "We can confirm that Patrick is leaving Ubisoft but will provide consulting to some of our creative directors, at their request, and to the Editorial team on certain projects" (I'd noted he'd had long run, worked on great games, also faced misconduct allegations)
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) April 15, 2022
A statement was sent to Axios from Ubisoft regarding Plourde’s departure, confirming the news. Plourde will consult with some Ubisoft creative directors and engage with the editorial team on “certain projects.”
Plourde also shared a message on his LinkedIn, which said, “Rainbow 6: Vegas, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry 3, Child Of Light, Watch Dogs 2, the FunHouse and Editorial, it’s been a privilege to collaborate with everyone at Ubisoft on these great games for the past 19 years!
“Now, I’m happy to share that I’m starting my own independent creative consultancy, where I will keep working with Ubisoft and also spend time on some personal projects I’ve had in mind.”
In March, another Ubisoft veteran resigned from the publisher, as studio head Dan Polfeldt departed from Ubisoft Massive. He had previously announced that he was stepping down from his managing director role with the intention of returning in a new position after a six-month break. However, he then submitted a resignation notice and left the company for good.
In other news, No More Heroes 3 is ending its Nintendo Switch exclusivity and is coming to other platforms later this year.