Patrick Plourde is best known for his work on Child of Light, Watch Dogs 2, Far Cry 3 and Rainbow Six Vegas.

Ubisoft is one of the largest video game companies in the industry, owner of Far Cry and many other successful franchises, and as such, has creators who have worked on the industry’s benchmarks for many years. Last year, the art director of Assassin’s Creed left Ubisoft after 16 years at the company to join Haven Studios, led by Jade Raymond.

This time, Patrick Plourde, creative director of Child of Light, Watch Dogs 2 and Far Cry 3, has left Ubisoft after nearly 20 years. As shared by VGC, Plourde plans to set up his own independent creative consultancy while maintaining close ties with his former company.

Plourde will work with Ubisoft from his own independent consultancy

“R6 Vegas, AC, FC3, CoL, WD2… it’s been a privilege to collaborate with everyone at Ubi on these great games!” Plourde wrote on his Twitter account. In a message sent to Axios, Ubisoft confirmed that although the creative is leaving the company, he will work as an advisor with some creative directors.

Stephen Totilo, a journalist for Axios, noted on Twitter that although Plourde has worked on big games, A Better Ubisoft, which has sued the company over episodes, also blamed Plourde. Still, Ubisoft said the creative’s departure was “driven by an interest in independence”. Plourde’s departure adds to a spate of employees quitting the company in what developers themselves have dubbed the Great Exodus.

Source: VGC

R6 Vegas, AC, FC3, CoL, WD2… it’s been a privilege to collaborate with everyone at Ubi on these great games!
Now, I’m happy to share that I’m starting my own independent creative consultancy, where I will keep working with Ubisoft and also spend time on some personal projects.

— Patrick Plourde (@patrick_plourde) April 13, 2022