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[De-mon]

London, UK – October 20, 2014 – Today, Ubisoft announced that after 10 years of collaboration, the company and Jade Raymond have agreed to pursue future opportunities separately. Alexandre Parizeau, a founding team member of the Ubisoft Toronto studio, replaces Raymond as managing director.

During her tenure at Ubisoft, Raymond was producer on the first Assassin's Creed® (2004-2007) and served as executive producer on Assassin's Creed® II (2008-2009), Watch_Dogs® (2008-2009) and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® Blacklist (2010-2013). She also opened the Ubisoft Toronto studio and served as its managing director since 2009, a role she will turn over to Parizeau starting October 29.

“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,” said Raymond. “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 endeavours."

With more than 15 years in the game industry, Parizeau has an impressive range of experience across many facets of the business. As a founding core member of Ubisoft Toronto studio, Parizeau is a proven and trusted team builder and leader. He also served as senior producer on Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® Blacklist, and producer on Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction® and Rainbow Six® Vegas. Parizeau will report to Yannis Mallat, CEO of Ubisoft Montreal and Toronto, and will oversee Toronto’s continued role as a key contributor to the development of some of the biggest brands at Ubisoft, as well as a number of unannounced projects.

“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 Mallat. “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.”

 

[thekiddfran]

Megaton!

 

[LiK]

Hm, interesting.

 

[Begaria]

I remember when she was a big deal. Is she still a big deal? I haven't really heard much about her lately.

Edit:

Oh! How could I forget to take a cheap shot at Ubisoft. Let's see here...ah here we go!

"Much like their games, I guess it's hard to keep their female staff animated at work."

I don't even know if that makes any kind of sense.

 

[CreeperBlocks]

Hmmm. Good Luck in Future Endeavors Jade!

 

[Steverulez]

Wow, thats pretty big news. Will be interesting to find out why

 

[Mookie1515]

End of an era.

 

[killer_clank]

Seems like she's been sidelined there for a long time.

 

[B4D1E]

Oh no!!! What will happen to the next splinter cell?

 

[rockman zx]

Good girl, now go with Patrice.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

I wonder where she is going.

 

[Jb]

She was in charge of the Splinter Cell studio right?

 

[RoboPlato]

Wonder where she'll end up now.

 

[Carl]

Didn't even know she was still there. What's she done since AC1?

 

[duessano]

Going Rogue due to a lack of Unity?

 

[SymbiantXenos]

Wonder the reasons. I guess time will tell.

 

[spindoctor]

I remember when she was a big deal. Is she still a big deal? I haven't really heard much about her lately.

I think she was tasked with building a mega studio for Ubi out of Toronto, which really isn't the kind of job that puts one in the spotlight.

 

[Seda]

added the Press Release sent out

 

[thekiddfran]

I wonder where she is going.

Naughty dog /s

 

[Orgen]

Was her team doing the new splinter cell? Anyway, good luck Jade!

 

[JordanKZ]

I feel like Jade has made an impact at Ubi, it'll be interesting to see where she ends up.

 

[Malyse]

More interested in where she ends up.

 

[jett]

 

[NoCryingUntilTheEnd]

Watch_Dogs® (2008-2009)

Wow, the game's been in development that long?

 

[Silky]

Welp, RIP Prince of Persia 2008 sequel

 

[RealityPales]

The abuse this poor woman had to endure...

What does this mean for the Splinter Cell franchise?

 

[Dysun]

Splinter Cell Blacklist was pretty good, too bad it had meh sales

 

[BronsonLee]

She was in charge of the Splinter Cell studio right?

Oh shit. I wonder what this means for that? Blacklist was awesome.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

I wonder where she is going.

Probably 1UP or EGM.

Oh shit. I wonder what this means for that? Blacklist was awesome.

Yup. I know this is heresy around here but I liked it more than Chaos Theory.

 

[IAmRandom31]

Assassins Creed is on the annual rinse cycle now so it is being milked till it dies. Doesn't need a producer anymore really. Make up some timeline, create some half baked story and put in lots of papers to chase around.

Good luck out there Jade!

 

[Dabanton]

10 yrs is a long time at any company. She probably wants a new challenge.

Good luck to her.

 

[Radec]

Interesting.. i wonder where she'll end up..

that smile tho..

 

[Slowdive]

Oh wow, I wonder what she'll do next.

 

[buddha0991]

She was the executive producer of AC2, Watch Dogs and Splinter Cell: Blacklist so she was still doin stuff there until recently it seems. Best of luck to her wherever she goes

 

[Ouren]

Wonder what's next!

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

I really hope this doesn't have anything to do with a certain prolonged tantrum going on

 

[L~A]

That reminds me... what happened to Desilet after he left Ubisoft a second time?

 

[ShockingAlberto]

The writing was on the wall since I Am Alive became the...thing that it did.

 

[V_Ben]

Whoa, out of nowhere. Wonder where she's going.

Fingers crossed for her + patrice to start a new thing together.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Oh no!!! What will happen to the next splinter cell?

Canned

 

[Prologue]

We salute!

 

[ClearData]

I hope she goes to Naughty Dog and works on their next project after Uncharted 4.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

I mean, good luck in your future endeavors Jade. I still shudder when I think about how mean people were to her around the time the first AC out. We've come a long w...*sees GamerGate thread*... godspeed Ms. Raymond.

 

[Piccoro]

Going Rogue due to a lack of Unity?

 

[aerts1js]

Interesting.. i wonder where she'll end up..

that smile tho..

I don't get it? what does her looks have to do with a discussion about her leaving Ubisoft?

 

[kenta]

Hope she joins Giant Bomb

(that's what we're supposed to say in these threads, right?)

 

[Acorn]

Interested to see where she goes now.

Good luck to her.

 

[SovanJedi]

To be honest I wasn't sure if she was still there or not. Now we know for certain!

 

[FlyStarJay]

so is she going microsoft? or Sony? or ea? are there any MS studio in Canada?

 

[Artex]

Oh wow, I wonder what she'll do next.

Hoping it's me.