Ubisoft enlists ex-Dead Island 2 design director as new editorial VP

Ubisoft has brought on longtime game designer and creative director Bernd Diemer. Diemer, who has been a part of the game industry for two decades, will serve as the publisher's new editorial VP for in-game social experiences. 

Or, to put it another way, Diemer will guide and improve the social experience that drives much of Ubisoft's game output. Being social has been a big part of playing Ubisoft's games for years, whether that's through live service titles such as Tom Clancy's The Division 2 and Riders Republic to just having photo modes in its games.  

In a press release, the publisher noted that social elements of its games were "an increasingly essential element" to its overall business strategy, and a way to reach new audiences.

"Bernd will be responsible for driving Ubisoft’s global strategy for enhancing in-game social interactions for players, leveraging innovative features to empower them to build inclusive communities in Ubisoft’s virtual worlds," wrote Ubisoft. 

In that same release, Diemer wrote that he was "honored to join Ubisoft and gain the opportunity to collaborate with talented global teams to shape the future of social experience in Ubisoft's games."

Diemer most recently worked at Improbable Games as a creative director, and his previous credits include working at studios such as DICE, Guerrilla Games, and Yager Interactive. At the latter developer, he worked as a design director on Dead Island 2 before development eventually switched over to Dambuster Studios.

Along with game development, Diemer is also a professor of game design at Technical University College in Cologne, Germany.