On the back of E3 2021, David Polfeldt, Ubisoft Massive managing director announces he is stepping down from the position later this year. Massive Entertainment AB, better known as Ubisoft Massive was found in Malmö, Sweden in 1997, and was eventually acquired by Ubisoft in 2008. The studio is most famous for Tom Clancy’s The Division and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 – however, the studio also developed Far Cry 3, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, and Just Dance Now.
In March 2017, the studio first announced they were working on a project that was revealed as Avatar: Frontier of Pandora at this year’s E3. The news follows the January announcement that Ubisoft Massive was working on an open-world Star Wars title. This made the currently unnamed project the first Star Wars game outside Electronic Arts (EA) since EA acquired the license to produce all Star Wars video game titles in May 2013. But while things seem to be heading in the right direction, a change in leadership is imminent.
As first reported by Axios, Ubisoft Massive’s managing director, David Polfeldt, will step down from his role on July 1st of this year. Polfeldt is a 16-year veteran of the studio. Game Industry Biz added that Polfeldt will return to Ubisoft in a strategic role in a new strategic role after a lengthy sabbatical. The studios’ next head will take over in October, yet has not been announced due to the replacement’s relationship with their current employer. In a public statement on Ubisoft Massive’s website, Polfedlt stated he “felt an overwhelming sense of completion“ after the studio signed Star Wars at the beginning of this year. The news made him feel that he accomplished everything he dreamed of in gaming.
Polfeldt is the third studio head at Ubisoft to leave their role in the past four months, all of which were publicly amicable departures, unlike the firings in the summer of 2020 after reports of sexual harassment and misconduct from leaders under the umbrella.
The news of Polfedlt leaving Ubisoft Massive at such a critical time for Ubisoft and the Massive studio is quite interesting. Ubisoft ties to the four Avatar sequels bring massive crossover potential, especially if Avatar: Frontier of Pandora is better received than James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game. The studio now holding the license to the Star Wars video game franchise is wildly important for Ubisoft, leaving some questions if those at the top of Ubisoft were looking to freshen up the approach at Ubisoft Massive, or if this decision was fully made by Polfedlt.
Source: Axios, Game Industry Biz
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