Back in October, Ubisoft Quebec launched Assassin’s Creed Odyssey to the delight of fans, as it pushed the series from its typical action-adventure roots into an RPG experience. While it appears as if Ubisoft has no intentions to release a new game in the series anytime soon, some forward thinking of the Quebec-based Ubisoft studio has led it to hire one of the industries’ leading experts in RPG game development, with former Dragon Age director Mike Laidlaw joining the team behind AC Odyssey.
Laidlaw, who has been working with Ubisoft Quebec as a creative consultant for the past nine months, has now officially signed on to join the team. Laidlaw’s history in game development dates back to 2003 with BioWare, where he then helped with the release of Jade Empire as Lead Writer. Since then, he’s worked on games such as Mass Effect in a Lead Design capacity, as well as taking the mantle of Creative Director for Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. He left BioWare in October of 2017.
Regarding his joining the team of Ubisoft Quebec, Laidlaw wrote:
There’s no confirmation yet on what Laidlaw will be working on now that he’s officially on board with Ubisoft Quebec. It’s likely he will be continuing his work on the “unannounced project” he’s been consulting on for the past few months. What the project is, whether it be the continuation of one of Ubisoft’s established franchises or a new IP entirely, is yet to be known.
“From day one, I was blown away by the talent, the creativity and the passion of the Quebec team . . . Over the past few months, I also discovered the city and its welcoming people, which convinced me to move here and officially join Ubisoft Quebec.”
In terms of what the acquisition means for the team behind Odyssey, the push to make each entry in the action-adventure series larger and with more emphasized RPG elements insinuates that Laidlaw would likely work on an Assassin’s Creed game sometime in the future. Should this be the case, then it looks as if Laidlaw will have the benefit of some added time to polish the potential AC-related project, as Ubisoft has declared it has no plans to release a new installment in 2019.
There’s no official word just yet as to what project the Dragon Age: Inquisition Creative Director is attached to at Ubisoft Quebec.
Source: Ubisoft
