Assassin's Creed writer Darby McDevitt returns to Ubisoft

By Kes Eylers-Stephenson,

Darby McDevitt, one of the key Assassin's Creed writers, left publisher Ubisoft after finishing his work on Valhalla. Only seven months later, he is now making a surprise return to the company.

McDevitt started life on the series with Discovery, the Nintendo DS game, but moved into a prominent consultant role for III. He then was a writer for Black Flag, Unity, Origins, and Valhalla. The final game was also supposedly the last for McDevitt, and after finishing, he started work with multi-purpose game company Illogika. Speaking to VGC, McDevitt excitedly revealed that his seven-month Assassin's Creed hiatus is coming to an end.

“Yes, I have returned to Ubisoft!" McDevitt stated. "As I pondered my career over the past year, I focused on my desire to explore new ideas and unknown frontiers. Much to my delight, this is reflected in my return to Ubisoft to work on AC. I’m excited to continue my journey. Stay tuned!"

Many of the Assassin's Creed community will welcome his return, as McDevitt was one of the two key "loremasters" of the series. His colleague in this matter was Corey May, who is now at Jade Raymond's Haven Studio. The writer led the AC Black Flag writing duties after the poorly regarded third entry. He then introduced AC Unity on the new consoles, which is being retroactively reanointed as a better entry. Origins was next one the agenda, which again, is finding it's place as one of the best of the bunch. Valhalla was his last project, which continues the trend of splitting the Assassin's Creed community with regards to lore and world-building.

The next project on the docket is Ubisoft's current pursuit of Assassin's Creed: Infinity. The title is rumoured to be a live-service entry, with every era of Assassin's Creed included. McDevitt's guiding hand might help bring the series from old to new.

How about this? What is your favourite entry? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and other gaming news. He writes about PS5 exclusives like The Last of Us and Horizon, PS Plus news, and his favorite games — The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and God of War — before an evening swim.