Assassin’s Creed creator, Patrice Desilets, recently confirmed that his planned video game Amsterdam 1666, is still happening. The game, which was originally under the now defunct THQ Montreal and was started at some point before 2012, saw a very rough development phase as well as some legal issues before its creator finally took reign of its rights again.
Speaking at the Reboot Develop event, Desilets was asked by VG247 regarding the state of the game and whether or not it has been cancelled. "For sure, Amsterdam 1666 is gonna happen," Desilets said.
Desilets and his studio, Panache Digital Games, is currently at work on their newest title, a prehistoric survival game called Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. After addressing the state of 1666, Desilets went on to explain that Ancestors is laying the groundwork needed for 1666. Some very early gameplay footage has made it onto the internet, including one showing Assassin’s Creed-like gameplay with the addition that player can control certain animals.
Other than some fleeting footage, not much is known about 1666. What is well-documented, however, is its troubled development stage alongside Desilets’ career in the industry.
Amsterdam 1666 originally started under the now dissolved THQ Montreal. After the dissolution, Ubisoft gained the rights to the game after purchasing the whole division.
Patrice Desilets was then fired by Ubisoft a few months after the purchase. He left the company, but the rights to 1666 stayed with Ubisoft, and so he launched a suit against the company to gain back the rights to the game. Finally, in 2016, following a settlement agreement, Patrice Desilets gained back the rights to Amsterdam 1666 from Ubisoft.
Desilets was also asked about how the game’s development changed and shifted with the years and the studios involved and he had this to say. “Now I am thinking about it a little bit. It’ll probably change a little bit,” Desilets said. “You were more like the devil’s apprentice than the actual devil. Once I finish this and then, ‘Okay what’s next?’ If it’s Amsterdam 1666, I’ll probably restart from scratch.”
While it may still be some time before we see this game, we can expect his newest title, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey later this year, across all platforms and with a cost of $40.
