Assassin's Creed creator claims he was fired

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Desilets told Polygon that he was fired and claims Ubisoft's actions are "baseless and without merit."

"Contrary to any statements made earlier today, this morning I was terminated by Ubisoft," Desilets told Polygon. "I was notified of this termination in person, handed a termination notice, and was unceremoniously escorted out of the building by two guards without being able to say goodbye to my team or collect my personal belongings."

"This was not my decision," he added. "Ubisoft's actions are baseless and without merit. I intend to fight Ubisoft vigorously for my rights, for my team and for my game."

The original story follows below

Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Desilets has left Ubisoft for the second time in three years, a company spokesperson has confirmed with Kotaku.

Desilets originally left Ubisoft in 2010 to head up THQ Montreal and work on an all-new franchise. When THQ went belly-up, Ubisoft purchased the studio and its games.

Despite some initial uncertainty, the publisher at the time expected Desilets to stay on board.

That has now changed.

"The acquisition of THQ Montréal in January allowed Ubisoft to welcome 170 experienced developers, including Patrice Désilets, to our existing and renowned workforce," a Ubisoft representative told Kotaku in a statement.

"Unfortunately, since the acquisition, the good faith discussions between Patrice and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrice's and the studio's visions have been inconclusive," the statement goes on. "As a result, Patrice has left the studio. Our priorities remain with the teams already hard at work on projects in development. They are at the root of Ubisoft Montréal’s past and future successes."

As part of Ubisoft's $2.5 million wholesale purchase of THQ Montreal, it also picked up the studio's in-development games, codenamed Underdog and 1666.

Sources have told the GameStop-owned Game Informer magazine that these projects may have been canceled altogether.