Build Machine Games: Clint Hocking converts Ubisoft restructuring into a lean indie studio
Summary
Clint Hocking left Ubisoft in February 2026 and founded Build Machine Games, a flat-structure indie studio in Canada
The exit followed Ubisoft's January 2026 "major reset": 6 cancellations, 7 postponements, 2 studio closures, stricter RTO mandates
Studio is hiring practitioner-level roles only, targeting "emotionally resonant, socially relevant games"
No funding, co-founders, or first project disclosed - pure early-formation signal for VCs and publishers tracking AAA brain drain
"We sincerely thank [Clint] for his vision, creative contributions, and dedication over the years."
01
Build Machine Games hires makers, not managers
Founded May 2026; team listed at 2-10 employees with no disclosed co-founders or backing
Open roles: a programmer defining tech direction while committing code daily, an artist setting direction while producing assets daily
Hiring restricted to Canadian residents, consistent with Hocking's Ubisoft Montreal base
Mission: expand the "expressive range and power of the medium" with games challenging players' "perspectives, pre-conceptions, and empathy"
Flat structure and practitioner-only hiring signal a micro-burn model designed to operate pre-funding
02
Ubisoft's franchise overhaul displaced Hexe's creative director mid-production
Hocking served as Hexe creative director from July 2021 to February 2026, a 4.5-year tenure ending mid-production
Departure announced in an internal meeting led by AC's newly assembled leadership team, not as an isolated exit
Jean Guesdon replaced Hocking; he previously directed AC Origins and AC Black Flag
Franchise veteran Marc-Alexis Cote left in October 2025 and announced legal action, claiming he was "asked to step aside"
Assassin's Creed franchise now runs through Vantage Studios, partly owned by Tencent, under new leadership
03
AAA restructuring is converting senior creatives into indie founders
Ubisoft's reset restructured teams into autonomous "creative houses," reducing the operational footprint for legacy creative directors
Project cancellations, RTO mandates, and franchise consolidation create a predictable exit path for senior talent
Hocking's career spans LucasArts, Amazon Game Studios, Valve, and two Ubisoft stints - cross-platform experience that rarely survives cost-cutting publishers
Build Machine Games fits a visible pattern: displaced AAA directors forming studios rather than taking lateral publisher roles
No funding or publishing deal disclosed, making execution risk at a 2-10 person studio the key open variable for potential backers
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