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David Polfeldt, the now-former Managing Director of The Division‘s Ubisoft Massive Entertainment, has announced that he will step down as the company’s head. He will take a six-month sabbatical starting July 1, 2021, and return to the company in a “new strategic role”.
Polfeldt first joined Sweden-based Massive Entertainment back in 2005. He eventually became the one-time indie studio’s Managing Director in 2009, after Ubisoft acquired Massive in 2008. Under his management, the studio would go on to produce several big-name titles such as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Far Cry 3, and both Tom Clancy’s The Division games.
Additionally, the company recently signed with Disney’s Lucasfilm Games to produce a new open-world Star Wars title. Massive also unveiled its new action-adventure title Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora during E3 2021 last week.
In a blog post announcing his leave, Polfeldt explained some of the reasons why he decided to step down. After the signing of the Star Wars game along with the completion of the studio’s new building in 2020, he “felt an overwhelming sense of completion, as if [he] had achieved everything [he] once dreamt of.” Polfeldt added,
I am exceptionally grateful for what we have accomplished together. Before I embark on a new adventure in Ubisoft, I will try something else which is new and exciting to me: a long break! Wish me luck, and see you in 2022.
Polfeldt’s resignation as Managing Director of Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment comes a year after abuse allegations around Ubisoft surfaced from current and former members of the company. After the reports of abuse came to light, many members of Ubisoft management were let go or resigned from their positions. Allegations also came from Massive Entertainment, where a former employee stated that their team leader forced them to reciprocate romantic advances. Another HR member was also accused of propositioning a fellow employee in exchange for a promotion. It does not appear that Polfeldt’s six-month hiatus from the company is related to those allegations.
[Source: Massive Entertainment, Gamasutra]