There are plenty of reasons a fan may be worried about the future of Assassin's Creed. It could be because the newer RPGs have moved away from what made the original action-adventure games special, with the duality of that being the franchise fatigue of annualized AC games before the RPGs resulting in less engagement. There could be uncertainty related to the upcoming Assassin's Creed Infinity, an evolving world featuring multiple settings. Or, most importantly, many have expressed dissatisfaction time and again with how Ubisoft has reportedly treated the women in its company.
That may be one of quite a few reasons for an Assassin's Creed developer to leave Ubisoft, particularly in Montreal where there is increased competition from other companies, working-from-home issues, and more. However, a lot of the recent conversation has been more about who is leaving Ubisoft and why when the most interesting aspect of this is where everyone is going. While there is a general scattering of these names and talents, Assassin's Creed fans would do well to keep an eye on Haven Studios.
What is Haven Studios?
Haven Studios is an independent developer founded just this year by Jade Raymond. Following the shuttering of Google's in-house Stadia games, Raymond left the company, founded this studio, partnered with PlayStation, and started on a new IP. Obviously, not much is known about this new game, but recent job listings suggest it'll be some sort of online game. That doesn't sound like an Assassin's Creed game and it's not likely that Haven's new IP will be that similar, but for those who have loved the vision of the franchise, plenty of those who helped realize it are now at Haven Studios.
Assassin's Creed Devs Working at Haven Studios
Jade Raymond is a name everyone who loves the franchise should know. A decorated developer with tons of awards across her career for having a big impact on the industry, Raymond started working at Ubisoft Montreal in 2004, leading to the creation of the first Assassin's Creed game. She'd go on to become the executive producer of Assassin's Creed 2, and eventually the executive producer of new IP at Ubi Montreal. She was also responsible for the Watch Dogs franchise, but in simplest terms, there would be no Assassin's Creed without Raymond. Other names working at Haven include...
- Mathieu Leduc - Co-founder of Haven Studios, Leduc was an assistant art director on AC1 and received special thanks on AC2.
- Corey May - Now world/IP director at Haven, May was the lead writer on Assassin's Creed 1, Assassin's Creed 2, and Assassin's Creed 3. He also worked with Jeffrey Yohalem on Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed Syndicate, also working with Darby McDevitt on Assassin's Creed Revelations. He was also responsible for production of most other entries in the franchise.
- Raphael Lacoste - The new art director at Haven, who was previously as the AC series lead art director with experience at Ubisoft reaching back 16 years.
- Jonathan Eve - Senior Game Designer at Haven, who had worked on Assassin's Creed Unity and Assassin's Creed Origins.
- Jonathan Dankoff - Insights Director at Haven, who previously did research work on Assassin's Creed 2 and Assassin's Creed Revelations.
- Jean Francois-Duff - Technical Program Manager at Haven, who served as AI programmer on AC1, AC2, ACB, and AC3.
- Francois Pelland - Pelland served as Senior Producer on AC3 and Syndicate, as well as Executive Director - Development on Black Flag, Rogue, and Unity. He received special thanks on AC3 Liberation.
- Sebastien Pule - Former Assassin's Creed series producer.
- Pierre-François Sapinski - former AI/gameplay programmer on AC1, AI on AC2 and ACB, and team leads AI/gameplay on AC3.
- Pierre Tremblay - Senior level designer now at Haven, who previously worked on Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
This list may not be exhaustive and what comes out of Haven's first PS5 IP may not resemble Assassin's Creed in the slightest, but many of the minds that brought it to life are at Haven. There, those minds are coming together again and in some new game there may be that spark that many AC fans fell in love with in the first place. It'll be interesting to see what comes of Haven and its work, and it's definitely something fans of the AC franchise should keep an eye on.
Assassin's Creed Infinity is in development.