Eidos Montreal boss quits over Square Enix fallout

Founder and general manager of acclaimed studio Eidos Montreal, Stephane D'Astous, has resigned citing 'irreconcilable' differences with the studio's owner, Square Enix.

Talking to Develop, D'Astous claimed Square Enix suffered from a deficiency in leadership, courage and communication. As a result, he did not feel that he was able to do his job at the studio properly.

'Since last year's financial short-coming performance of Square Enix Europe, we have had growing and divergent opinions on what needed to be done to correct the situation,' said D'Astous in a statement to Develop.

Founded in 2007, Eidos Montreal was responsible for development of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and is currently working on the reboot of Thief. It is also apparently working on two as-yet unannounced projects.

With D'Astous' departure, Deus Ex: Human Revolution executive producer David Anfrossi is taking over at the reins as Eidos Montreal's studio head.

Following his resignation, D'Astous expressed how disappointing the sales of his games were in an interview with Polygon, claiming that Square Enix 'has some things to learn about how to sell their games'.

He also highlights how bad Square Enix were at communication but was generally positive about progress on Thief, stating how reported production difficulties have been blown out of proportion by the gaming press.

In March, Square Enix announced it had fallen short in its financial year and had made an 'extraordinary loss'. Instead of bringing in a £2.24m profit, it instead expected a £90m loss. A statement to investors blamed the slow sale of console games in Western markets as well as company restructures.