Former Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs Director Likens Large-Scale Game Development to Working With ‘Flaming Barrels Falling Down From a Construction Site,’ Months After Parting Ways With Ubisoft

Watch Dogs and Splinter Cell development veteran Clint Hocking has described the experience of leading a large team within Ubisoft as like working while “flaming barrels [are] falling down from a construction site,” akin to a scene from the arcade game Donkey Kong.

Hocking made the comment as part of a lengthy discussion about how his role changed as development team sizes grew, leading him to feel less effective while leading Ubisoft’s multi-studio effort on Watch Dogs Legion.

Hocking and Ubisoft parted ways abruptly earlier this year amid a reshuffle at the top of the publisher’s prized Assassin’s Creed brand, despite being in the middle of leading development on Assassin’s Creed Hexe. The franchise’s next blockbuster, Hexe is understood to still be on target to arrive in 2027.

“On [Splinter Cell] Chaos Theory, I would just walk over to the desk of the person who was making a thing, and sit down with them and talk to them about what they’re doing,” Hocking recalled, speaking via the FRVR podcast.

“We could have a conversation,” he continued, suggesting a scenario where he was able to offer granular input such as the placement of a specific light source to better guide player movement.

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