Veteran developer Mike Laidlaw has announced his departure from Ubisoft after just one year working at the Quebec division of the company. He was best known for being the lead designer and creative director of the first three Dragon Age games at Bioware, as well as lead story developer for Jade Empire.

He personally broke the news via his Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.

Quick update from me!

Today (Jan 31st) is my last day with Ubisoft. Huge thanks to the talented and welcoming folks at Ubisoft Quebec City for my time there.

Now to take stock and figure out what’s next!

— Mike Laidlaw (@Mike_Laidlaw) January 31, 2020

Laidlaw only joined Ubisoft Quebec in December 2018 to help lead a new mysterious and unannounced project at the studio. While rumours initially circulated that it was Gods & Monsters (which was originally announced during E3 2019), he already denied that he was working on that game.

On his LinkedIn account, Laidlaw stated:

“Today was my last day with Ubisoft.

I’d like to thank the talented and welcoming folks at the Ubisoft Quebec City studio for the time I spent there, and wish them all the best of luck with future ventures including the upcoming Gods and Monsters.

I’m not 100% sure what my next steps are just yet, but returning to consulting for a while seems likely. In the meantime, a chance to relax, take stock and enjoy this gorgeous city while continuing to practice my French.”

While he has yet to confirm or deny it, Laidlaw leaving Ubisoft is likely due to the recent editorial shakeups and restructuring hitting the company, especially in light of the disappointing sales of recent titles such as Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and The Division 2.

Ubisoft Quebec developed games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and For Honor. Its latest game will be Gods & Monsters, which has been delayed to release sometime before April 2021. We might never learn what game Laidlaw was working on at Ubisoft, or whether it was scrapped after his departure.