Patrice Désilets, the former Assassin's Creed director who left Ubisoft three years ago and recently rejoined as part of Ubisoft's acquisition of THQ Montreal, is now out of the company for a second time. Ubisoft confirmed the departure, but Désilets himself says that he was terminated.

"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. "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. 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."

That all sounds very civil and nice, but Désilets subsequently offered his own statement that seems significantly less amicable.

"Contrary to any statements made earlier today, this morning I was terminated by Ubisoft," he said. "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. Ubisoft's actions are baseless and without merit. I intend to fight Ubisoft vigorously for my rights, for my team and for my game."

When Désilets left Ubisoft, he went to work for THQ and was reportedly leading the unannounced project 1666. When THQ was subsequently auctioned off in pieces, Ubisoft picked up the Montreal studio and Désilets along with it.

According to Kotaku, 1666 had been suspended, which could be Ubisoft's rationale for the termination. No word on other members of his team. We have reached out to Ubisoft for further comment and clarification and will update if we get a response.