Get a first look at 1666: Amsterdam, now in the hands of Assassin's Creed co-creator

Assassin's Creed creative director Patrice Desilet has settled with former employer Ubisoft for the rights to the mysterious 1666: Amsterdam, AKA Project 1666, and to celebrate, he's given us our first good look at the game's artistic direction. I have to say, it's a little different than I expected:

Maybe I shouldn't be too surprised at the creepy red eyes and dark atmosphere. Desilet never gave specifics on the title beyond the year in which it was set and the fact that it would have somehow tied to the famous Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Desilet also claimed in 2013 that it would have been "the next Assassin's Creed." So how did the ambitious project go from revolutionary idea to legal spat?

1666: Amsterdam was set to be Desilet's next big game when he joined THQ Montreal in 2011, after leaving Ubisoft the year prior. Unfortunately, THQ's financial troubles resulted in the Montreal studio's sale to, ironically enough, Ubisoft, and Desilet was once more under the French publisher's umbrella. This meant that Ubisoft now owned the rights to 1666: Amsterdam, which Desilet fought. Three years later, the dispute is finally settled, and Desilet now owns the IP.

Don't expect the project to be finished anytime soon, though. Desilet is currently busy working on an episodic adventure throughout time called Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, in development at Panache Digital Games.

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