Another lead developer from the Mario + Rabbids team has left Ubisoft Milan, just a month after the game’s creative director left.
Cristina Nava was a producer on both Mario + Rabbids games, and also led production on Star Wars Outlaws for Ubisoft Milan, which was led by Massive Entertainment but with help from several other Ubisoft studios.
Nava announced her departure via social media, saying her next role is known but she is not yet in a position to reveal it.
“August 30th, the day Star Wars Outlaws launched, was also my last day at Ubisoft,” Nava wrote. “I’ve decided to leave Ubisoft Milan after 16 incredible years with great people and start a new chapter in my story. It’s a chapter I’m not ready to share just yet.
“I’m so blessed to have collaborated with some really talented colleagues. We’ve teamed up with Nintendo to create such a crazy game as Mario + Rabbids Saga. It’s a dream come true, my friends! I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, and thank you to all the players for their love over the years.”
Nava’s departure comes roughly a month after Mario + Rabbids creative lead Davide Soliani left Ubisoft in late July.
Soliani was equally vague about his next destination, saying he had decided to “start a new adventure” but would not share details about the next step in his career.
According to Ubisoft, the first Mario + Rabbids game has reached over 10 million players since 2017. Its sequel, Sparks of Hope, was released in 2022 and has sold over 3 million copies, according to VGC.
Despite good reviews, Sparks of Hope initially disappoints commercially upon its release in October 2022, with Ubisoft saying it was “surprised” by its poor performance in the final weeks of 2022.
In an interview with VGC last summer, Nava claimed that the studio expected Sparks of Hope to have a long-term shelf life like its predecessors.
At the time of the interview, Ubisoft Milan was still helping Massive Entertainment finish Star Wars: Outlaws. When asked what the studio planned to do beyond that, Nava said they were going to be leading another “huge, compelling” game.
