French AA gaming developer and accessory manufacturer Nacon has filed for insolvency after its majority shareholder Bigben failed to make a loan repayment, the company said in a press release. "To date, the company reports available assets do not allow it to meet its liabilities," Nacon wrote. The objective with insolvency, it said, was to allow "continued operation, protect employees and maintain jobs while renegotiating with its creditors." 

Nacon is behind the games Styx: Blades of Greed and was set to publish Terminator: Survivors before that title was delayed. It published Hell is Us last year to some praise, but Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown was buggy on release and failed to find much of an audience. The company will stream its next Nacon Connect presentation on March 4, and will supposedly show off some new games and footage for previously revealed games like Endurance Motorsport Series and Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss. 

The company also makes hardware like controllers and headsets and racing sim accessories via its Revosim brand. Those products never really caught on with mainstream gamers but did have some success with the pro gaming crowd. 

With Nacon's insolvency, the future of those games and accessories is now in question. A court will decide on the company's insolvency request at a hearing in early March, but in the meantime, trading of its shares is suspended. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/gaming-accessory-maker-and-publisher-nacon-files-for-insolvency-104832702.html?src=rss

©

© Nacon

Ubisoft's shakeups continue unabated. The creative director of the next Assassin's Creed game, codenamed Hexe, has left the company. The departure of Clint Hocking, a 20-year veteran of the company over two stints, was reportedly announced in a staff meeting this week.

Hocking's resume at Ubisoft included serving as creative director on Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Far Cry 2 and Watch Dogs: Legion. The details of why he's leaving the company haven't been reported.

Ubisoft told VGC, which first reported on Hocking's exit, that development on Hexe will continue. Jean Guedson, one of three new leaders of the Assassin's Creed franchise, will take over as the upcoming title's new creative director. Guedson had the same role for Assassin's Creed Origins and Black Flag, two of the franchise's most well-received entries.

To say sailing hasn't been smooth of late at Ubisoft would be an understatement. Last year, the company reorganized its corporate structure under a system of "creative houses." The first, Vantage Studios, is partly owned by Tencent and now oversees Assassin's Creed. Then in October, franchise head Marc-Alexis Côté left the company. He later claimed he was "asked to step aside" and is suing his former employer.

All of these changes came in the wake of layoffs, big-name flops, more layoffs, studio closures, even more layoffs, strikes and (yep) layoffs again. Earlier this month, Ubisoft even fired an employee who criticized the company’s return-to-office mandate.

But have no fear; some aspects of the company are doing quite well. Take, for example, nepotism. The future is looking bright indeed for a rising company star who is now co-CEO of Vantage Studios. That title belongs to Charlie Guillemot, the son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-next-assassins-creed-game-loses-its-creative-director-210119005.html?src=rss

©