Assassin's Creed godfather Patrice Désilets seemed to have conjured perfection with his new studio Panache's witchy mystery game 1666: Amsterdam, but then the AI accusations came and turned out to be true. Flowers wilted, goats died in their pens, and worst of all, I think many people revoked their Steam wishlist button.
Panache has since made a commitment to removing AI from 1666: Amsterdam before making it playable – which it now is, you can pick up 1666: Amsterdam in Early Access – but one rarely recovers from a full burning at the stake. To make the barbecue worse, Désilets' comments at a preview event attended by GamesRadar+ were seemingly taken out of context by recent reports saying the 1666: Amsterdam team used so much AI on the project, they forgot what was human. So, at Gamescom 2026 GamesRadar+ asked Désilets for hopefully the last time – can he clarify 1666: Amsterdam's current relationship to generative AI technology?
"Yes, I was a bit [thrown]" by those reports, says Désilets. "Yes, we use some AI in the process, mostly at the beginning," he continues, "in conception and pre-production. It's been totally removed, and we won't be using any AI anymore."
Before I'd heard anything about Panache's disappointing AI usage, 1666: Amsterdam was the first original IP attached to a big name like Désilets that I was excited about since… maybe 2012, when Lollipop Chainsaw came out. You see, I appreciate games about beautiful blonde women being agents of the underworld.
So I was looking forward to experiencing 1666: Amsterdam's story of the demon hunter Noa, who uses sorcery to get her way – and her playable cat friend, who's actually a guy from 1999 that got tricked into doing sex magic. It sounds like a darkly feminine, and darkly funny, return to vintage Assassin's Creed, where 300 years of history are separated by only an unlocked gate.
I still want to play that game, which sounds unique for the AA industry and like a candlelit break from the bikinis-and-tequila state of mind the world will be in with GTA 6. It's just that, for me, 1666: Amsterdam will always have the stain of AI on it like cigarette smoke in the ceiling. At the same time, I want to support female character-driven games that do something different than hand me a laser gun or greatsword again, which is also what 1666: Amsterdam accomplishes – and the real way it embodies progress. I'm torn. What is my moral obligation?
OK, 1666: Amsterdam. Take my Steam wishlist back while I decide.
