Key Splinter Cell, Far Cry 2 designer returns to Ubisoft after five years

Clint Hocking departs Amazon Game Studios, spent time at Valve and LucasArts.

Clint Hocking

Ubisoft

Nearly seven years after working as creative director on the critically acclaimed Far Cry 2, and over five years after leaving Ubisoft, Clint Hocking has revealed that he has returned to the French mega-publisher that has given him all of his published game credits.
In a blog post detailing the decision, Hocking notes that he hasn't actually shipped a game since the 2008 release of Far Cry 2 and that he's recently "become anxious and depressed" over that journeyman status. "In the end, for me at least, five years is just too long to be rootless."
Before his departure in 2010, Hocking worked at Ubisoft Montreal for ten years, working on titles primarily in the Splinter Cell series before Far Cry 2. His return to the company is taking place at Ubisoft's Toronto studio, however, where Hocking writes that he's excited to reunite with personal friends who helped found the newer, smaller location. In an interview on the Ubisoft blog, Hocking said he can't go into detail on what he's currently working on at Ubisoft.
Most recently, Hocking was hired by Amazon Game Studios in 2014, ahead of a massive push by the online retailer to get into game development. Prior to that, Hocking spent some time at Valve and LucasArts, but didn't attach his name definitively to any projects during that time.
"I met a lot of new people, and I worked at a range of different companies on a few different projects, each with their own unique cultures and approaches," Hocking wrote of his years away from Ubisoft. "I have done some interesting and challenging work and I have learned a lot. ... [but] after a number of discussions, the opportunity I was most excited about was to return to Ubisoft."