Ubisoft has announced on their official website that Jade Raymond, who produced the critically acclaimed Assassin’s Creed and Assassin’s Creed II, has left the company after a 10-year career with the third-party publisher.
Raymond’s last projects for the company involved working on Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Ubisoft’s open-world IP Watch Dogs, but she was also responsible for the creation of Ubisoft Toronto and served as managing director since it was established in 2009.
“I’ve spent 10 extraordinary years at Ubisoft, and I am proud to have been part of many of the best teams in the industry making truly remarkable games,” Raymond issued in a statement. “This is one of the hardest decisions of my career, but the Toronto studio is strong and on a solid path. I’m confident that now is a good time for me to transition leadership of the studio to Alex and to pursue my other ambitions and new opportunities. Stay tuned for more on what’s next for me, but for now, I’d like to thank Ubisoft for its partnership through the years, and I wish them the very best in all their next endeavors.”
On behalf of the #AssassinsCreed team, we'd like to extend our thanks to @ibjade for her hard work at @Ubisoft – http://t.co/BJcQ7ueGdr
— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) October 20, 2014
Ubisoft have stated that Alexandre Parizeau, who worked with Jade Raymond on Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist and served as a founding member of Ubisoft Toronto, will assume the position of managing director starting on October 29th. Additionally, there are “a number of unannounced projects” that Parizeau will now be overseeing in development at Ubisoft Toronto.
“On behalf of Ubisoft, I’d like to thank Jade for her leadership and many contributions over the years, and wish her all the best in her next adventures,” said Yannis Mallat, CEO of Ubisoft Montreal and Toronto. “The Toronto studio is a key part of the Ubisoft global network, and Alex has been at the heart of the studio’s growth over the years. He was the obvious choice to lead this talented group of people as they continue to develop amazing games.”
Raymond originally entered the industry when she worked for Sony as a programmer, producing titles such as Jeopardy!, before she left the company and worked at places such as Electronic Arts, There Inc, Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto.