Board Thread:Series general discussion/@comment-27020644-20150926150241/@comment-13471981-20150927081612
He made a joke but they took him seriously.
They did ask him for a crossover idea (so they obviously wanted to do a crossover).
They asked him for a crossover. He gave them one. They did it. Then he claims it is not a crossover.
I would also like to note that two Assassin’s Creed games (Rouge and Unity) have come out after Assassin’s Creed 4 and neither of them have explained Olivier’s disappearance. By now they should have come up with some sort of explanation.
AC Rouge even took place in the same Abstergo building that Olivier worked at and Melanie Lemay returned. Personally, Rouge would be the logical time to come up with an alternative story of Olivier’s disappearance. Lemay or any other employees could have mentioned if they found him or some explanation.
Do you have proof that they wanted a cross-over? Maybe all they wanted was a few easter eggs, fun references for players to catch.
Honestly, I can't understand why the developers of a new IP would want a cross-over - by extension, they receive a ton of additional lore that could really constrict their vision of what the IP will be. Watch_Dogs is better off without Assassin's Creed, and Assassin's Creed is better off without Watch_Dogs, imo.
As for Olivier, Melanie's comments in Rogue seem to imply Olivier disappointed the Templars and they were behind his disappearance.