Jason VandenBerghe leaves Ubisoft for ArenaNet

The ForHonor creative director, Jason VandenBerghe, is leaving his position at Ubisoft to join ArenaNet as director of design. The announcement was shared on his Facebook profile.

Always a fan favourite at Ubisoft shows and on video with his trademark beard, cane and eloquent vocal style in public speaking, VandenBerghe will be moving away from active game development when he joins the Guild Wars 2 developer at the end of the month.

"It’s a big step. I won’t be making games directly anymore," VandenBerghe said in his public post. "I’ll be studio level, shepherding teams and growing people. I’m… sort of thrilled about how difficult that sounds. It’s exactly what I want to be doing right now.

"I’ve had nine amazing years at Ubisoft. It has been the best experience of my career. In many ways, I was forged by that place. I leave it full of gratitude for everything I was given the chance to do there, a profound love for all the amazing people who make that place what it is (imagine hundreds of FB tags here), and a bright hope for the company’s future."

His last title, For Honor, was a bit of a passion project for VandenBerghe having pitched it for over ten years before Ubisoft developed it and released in in 2016. The title is now being used for a professional esports tournament with ESL.

As well as For Honor, VandenBerghe has also served as creative director Red Steel 2 for the Wii and Far Cry 3. He leaves Ubisoft after nine years with the company. He previously was in a similar position with Activision and before that spent time at Electronic Arts working on the James Bond franchise.