Olivier Garneau

Olivier Garneau (died 30 May 2014) was the Chief Creative Officer of Abstergo Entertainment, a subsidiary of Abstergo Industries^[1], as well as one of the few members of Abstergo Entertainment aware of its true nature as a Templar organization.^[2]

Biography

CCO of Abstergo Entertainment

On 11 October 2013, Olivier appeared in an article of the Abstergo News Wire, celebrating Abstergo Entertainment's first anniversary.^[3]

That same month, Olivier met a new research analyst who had just started working with Abstergo, asking which ancestor's memories they were exploring, as part of the Sample 17 Project.^[1]

On 14 October,^[3] Olivier was contacted by Abstergo Industries administrator Laetitia England to give a report of their progress in locating the Observatory through that same analyst's work, where he promised to work harder despite low funding and a lack of solid leads. Some time later, he communicated with project lead Melanie Lemay about the importance of meeting Laetitia's demands.^[1]

Shortly thereafter, Olivier left for a shareholder's meeting in Chicago, but never arrived. Concurrently, a hacker inside Abstergo Entertainment compromised various computers and security cameras in the facility, prompting a security lockdown. Melanie took charge in Olivier's stead and managed the breach, which she later concluded had been caused by the head of the technology department, an employee named John Standish.^[1]

Death and aftermath

En route to Chicago, Olivier's transport was intercepted by an unknown assailant and murdered in the street. Despite this, official word from Abstergo was that Olivier never made it to Chicago.^[4]

By late 2017, CCTV footage of the assassination had been obtained by Layla Hassan, which she classified as part of her "Gone Files", investigating mysterious disappearances and deaths related to Abstergo.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Olivier shares his name with an AI/Game Programmer at Ubisoft Québec.^[5]
Scriptwriter Darby McDevitt initially stated via Twitter that he originally thought of Olivier defecting to the Assassin Order as the canonical explanation for Olivier's disappearance. However with the release of Assassin's Creed: Origins this has been rendered untrue.^[6]
In the Animus database entry of the Observatory there is a note from Olivier congratulating the researcher for finding it and saying he would report it to Laetitia England.
Olivier Garneau claimed he was a descendant of François-Xavier Garneau.
On Layla Hassan's computer, her files on Olivier include a receipt from Quinkie's. Quinkie's is a fast food chain featured in Watch Dogs. The CCTV image features a man attacking Olivier that looks very similar to Aiden Pearce, the protagonist of the first Watch Dogs game.
In Watch Dogs he was stated to be 38 at time of death.