Ex-Assassin's Creed dev starts at THQ

Ex-Assassin's Creed main man Patrice Désilets begins work for new employer THQ today – and will reveal his new game to core games boss Danny Bilson over the phone.

Désilets joined THQ last summer to form a new Montreal Studio focused on creating brand new games.

Désilets was the creative director on the hugely successful Assassin's Creed franchise before his surprise split from Ubisoft just before E3 2010 in June.

At the time Ubisoft said Désilets had "decided to take a creative break from the industry". He has essentially been on gardening leave since then – prevented by Ubisoft from working for another publisher.

"Yeah. I'm really excited," Bilson told Eurogamer last week. "I have no idea what he's making. That's the absolute truth. That's not just for depositions. I have no idea. I could swear it on my children's head. I do not know.

"But the great thing is on Monday, I'm going to call him up and go Patrice, what do you want to make? And he's going to tell me. I'm hoping I love it. I think I will.

"He's fantastic. He's a great talent, and we're really excited to put him to work on Monday."

Désilets had been intimately involved with the Assassin's Creed franchise since its inception and was a pivotal figure in the second game's path to success in 2009.

He had been expected to promote Brotherhood at the US trade show, but pulled out at the last minute.

"I loved it [Assassin's Creed]," Bilson continued. "The only way you can make great games is to bring in great talent. We've been very focused on that. Patrice, he's been sitting on a bench for a year waiting to get to work. I can't wait."