Ubisoft has lost another senior developer amid recent controversy and struggles that include game delays and outright cancellations. Jean Guesdon, a veteran whose credits include some of the most popular Assassin’s Creed games ever made, including Black Flag (2013) and Origins (2017), confirmed via LinkedIn today that he is leaving Ubisoft Montreal after 17 years at the developer, famed for franchises that also include Prince of Persia and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. Guesdon didn’t say where he was headed, but according to his resume, Assassin’s Creed Origins may have never settled on Egypt, one of the series’ most interesting settings, if it weren’t for him. He also had a big hand in Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt, a virtual learning experience derived from the assets of Origins.
From a LinkedIn post:
Hello everyone, 2023 will start for me with the end of a bit more than 17 formidable years at Ubisoft Montreal. I can’t express how much I owe to this unique company. So many people met, so many skills learned and so many projects shipped. And Assassin’s Creed, of course Assassin’s Creed… 🙂 Thank you Ubi, very very much !!
Assassin’s Creed Origins Creative Director
Feb 2014 – Apr 2018 · 4 yrs 3 mos
Montreal, Canada Area
Content:
- Pitched Ancient Egypt as the setting to Ubisoft HQ, explaining why the Greeco-Roman Egypt was the perfect setting for an Assassin’s Creed game (world potential, gameplay potential, narrative potential…).
- Defined the vision of the game with the clear mandate and goal to modernize the Assassin’s Creed experience (making it more systemic and reactive) while respecting the franchise identity.
- Oversaw the work of all directors and teams (design, art, animation, sound, narrative) to deliver a well crafted, harmonious and fluid experience.
Additional content: Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt
- Pitched and directed the creation of the first Educative mode of an Assassin’s Creed game.
- Directed a small team of 20-30 to deliver this brand new type of content showing that video game content can be used to bring much more than only fun to the players
From a Kotaku report:
“We thank Jean for his strong creative vision, openness, ideas, and most of all, his ability to put himself ‘in the shoes’ of our players in his contributions to Ubisoft,” a spokesperson for the company told Kotaku in a statement. “We wish him well as he moves on to his next chapter.”
Starting at Ubisoft as a project coordinator on the original Assassin’s Creed, Guesdon rose up the ranks to game designer on Assassin’s Creed 2 and later head of content for the franchise. Most notably, he was a creative director on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed Origins alongside Ashraf Ismail (who now works at Tencent after being fired from Ubisoft over misconduct allegations).