After years of stagnation, Ubisoft files for a trademark for the title 1666, which may indicate that the ill-fated 1666: Amsterdam game is finally going to be produced.

The mysterious 1666: Amsterdam game has experienced a bumpy road, never even making it out of the concept stage before it was effectively cancelled by Ubisoft. However, a new listing in the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the title may indicate that it's not dead just yet.

Ubisoft has filed for a new class 9 trademark for the title 1666, according to a report from DualShockers. Although the title is simply being referred to as 1666 rather than 1666: Amsterdam, it's presumed to be the same game, given that Ubisoft gained the rights to the game after acquiring THQ, its former development studio. Class 9 trademarks are specifically for game software, so it does seem to indicate that Ubisoft is planning to release a game with that name. However, what Ubisoft is planning and why they've dropped the Amsterdam part of the title remains unknown.

1666: Amsterdam has been in legal limbo ever since 2013. Originally in development by THQ, the studio went into bankruptcy and was sold to Ubisoft. However, Ubisoft promptly fired Patrice Desilets, who was leading the 1666: Amsterdam project, and he responded with a lawsuit in an attempt to reacquire the rights to his game. The suit stipulated that should Ubisoft ever decide to cancel 1666: Amsterdam outright, the rights to produce it would go back to Desilets. Ubisoft evaded losing the game by suspending it instead, which allowed them to put 1666: Amsterdam on the backburner indefinitely without losing the rights to it.

Although 1666: Amsterdam may now be back in production, it still remains a mystery what exactly the game was going to be about. Desilets previously stated in an interview that 1666: Amsterdam could have been the next Assassin's Creed, but he kept the majority of the game's story and mechanics under wraps. He's since moved on to create the studio Panache Digital Games, but it's unlikely that Ubisoft will ever return the right to produce 1666: Amsterdam to him.

Ubisoft has recently also renewed the trademark for Beyond Good and Evil, though like 1666: Amsterdam, it doesn't necessarily mean that a game is around the corner. Although filing for a trademark is an expensive process for a game developer, developers often do it just on the off-hand chance that they may use them. However, for gamers who have still been holding on to hope that the ill-fated 1666: Amsterdam might somehow manifest as a finished product, this may be very exciting news.

Are you still interested in learning what 1666 is all about? Do you think Ubisoft can create the game Patrice Desilets envisioned without him on the team? Let us know in the comments.

Source: DualShockers