Clint Hocking, a veteran game director who recently departed from the Assassin’s Creed Hexe project, has publicly characterized the challenges of managing massive development teams within Ubisoft as akin to “pissing upstream.” Hocking, known for his work on the Far Cry and Watch Dogs franchises, detailed the systemic difficulties he encountered while leading production on Watch Dogs: Legion, citing a sense of disconnection that often accompanies large-scale AAA game development.
In comments shared during an appearance on the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ Game Maker’s Notebook podcast, Hocking reflected on the logistical hurdles of coordinating teams that often exceed 1,000 contributors. According to Hocking, the sheer scale of modern production environments can lead to a fragmented creative vision, where individual contributors and even leads struggle to maintain a cohesive understanding of the final product’s direction.
The Challenge of Scale in Modern Game Development
The core of Hocking’s critique centers on the difficulty of maintaining creative agency when working within a decentralized, multi-studio model. Ubisoft, which frequently utilizes a co-development strategy involving several international studios on a single title, relies on thousands of developers to meet the demands of expansive, open-world projects. Hocking noted that this structure often creates a “disconnected” experience for developers, where the complexity of communication layers makes it difficult to implement changes or maintain a singular design philosophy.
“You are trying to get things done, and you are trying to move the ship, but you are just pissing upstream,” Hocking said during the interview. He explained that in such environments, the effort required to align a massive workforce toward a specific goal often feels disproportionate to the actual progress made. This sentiment highlights a broader conversation within the gaming industry regarding the sustainability and efficiency of “mega-projects” that require years of development and the coordination of hundreds, if not thousands, of employees.
Contextualizing the Departure from Assassin’s Creed Hexe
Hocking’s reflections on his time at Ubisoft arrive following his departure from the Assassin’s Creed Hexe project earlier this year. Hexe, which was officially announced as part of the Assassin’s Creed Infinity platform during the 2022 Ubisoft Forward event, is currently in development at Ubisoft Montreal, as confirmed in the company’s official franchise reveal documentation. While Ubisoft has not provided a specific reason for Hocking’s exit, his recent public commentary provides insight into the internal pressures faced by creative directors navigating the studio’s current production model.
The Assassin’s Creed series remains a cornerstone of Ubisoft’s financial strategy. According to the company’s fiscal reporting, the success of the franchise is vital to maintaining long-term player engagement through the Infinity hub, a service-based platform designed to link future titles. Managing the creative output of such an interconnected ecosystem requires balancing the historical scope of the series with the technical demands of modern hardware, a task that Hocking’s comments suggest is increasingly difficult to manage through traditional management hierarchies.
Industry-Wide Structural Shifts
The challenges described by Hocking are not unique to Ubisoft. Many major publishers currently grapple with the “bloat” associated with AAA development, where project budgets can exceed $200 million and development cycles often span five years or longer, as noted in various industry analyses of current market trends. The reliance on large, distributed teams is often a response to the need for massive amounts of high-fidelity assets, yet this approach frequently leads to the “disconnected” workflow Hocking identified.
For players and industry observers, these comments provide a rare look into the friction between creative ambition and corporate logistics. As Ubisoft moves forward with Assassin’s Creed Hexe, the industry will be watching to see how the studio adapts its production workflows to address the communication and organizational hurdles inherent in developing the next generation of its flagship titles.
Ubisoft has not released a formal statement regarding Hocking’s specific remarks on their internal team structures. Further updates regarding the development status of Assassin’s Creed Hexe are expected to be shared through official Ubisoft channels as the project nears its eventual launch window. Readers interested in the latest developments regarding the franchise are encouraged to follow official company announcements and share their thoughts on the evolution of AAA development in the comments below.
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