Ex-Assassin's Creed lead says leaving Ubisoft wasn't his choice, instead down to restructure musical chairs

Marc-Alexis Côté asserts the caller gig helium was offered "did not transportation the aforesaid scope, mandate, oregon continuity" arsenic his erstwhile job

Image credit: Ubisoft

Former Assassin's Creed bid pb Marc-Alexis Côté's departure from Ubisoft aft 20 years successful assorted roles was announced earlier this week, and the developer's present enactment retired a station successful which helium says that leaving wasn't his choice. Instead, Côté asserts that it came aft helium was asked to measurement speech arsenic Assassin's Creed brag by Ubisoft arsenic portion of a firm restructure, past offered a reduced relation arsenic portion of the company's Tencent-backed Vantage Studios subsidiary.

"Many of you person expressed astonishment that I would take to permission Assassin’s Creed aft truthful galore years, particularly fixed the passionateness I inactive clasp for it," Côté wrote successful a station connected LinkedIn. "The information is simple: I did not marque that choice."

He continued arsenic follows:

Ubisoft decided to transportation the enactment of the Assassin’s Creed franchise to idiosyncratic person to its caller organizational structure. A antithetic presumption was mentioned, but it did not transportation the aforesaid scope, mandate, oregon continuity with the enactment I had been entrusted with successful caller years. I privation to beryllium wide that I clasp nary resentment. Ubisoft has been my location for each my nonrecreational life, and I volition ever beryllium grateful for the people, the projects, and the content that unneurotic we could make worlds that animate millions. But I besides beryllium it to my teams, past and present, to accidental this plainly: I did not locomotion away. I stayed astatine my station until Ubisoft asked maine to measurement aside.

Côté's departure came arsenic a spot of a shock, fixed it followed Assassin's Creed Shadows' occurrence earlier this year, an important triumph for what's been a struggling steadfast implicit the past fewer years. This restructure astir the enactment of Vantage Studios, a subsidiary created to oversee Assassin's Creed, FarCry and Rainbow Six going forwards arsenic portion of a €1.16 cardinal woody with Chinese conglomerate Tencent, has seen Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot appointed arsenic its co-CEO. Yep, that's Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot's lad Charlie, who has insisted his assignment wasn't conscionable down to nepotism.

I reached retired to Ubisoft for remark and the publishers stuck to their connection guns from earlier this week, with a spokesperson saying: "Following the organizational restructuring announced successful March 2025, Marc-Alexis Côté has chosen to prosecute a caller way elsewhere extracurricular of Ubisoft.While we are saddened to spot him go, we’re assured that our talented teams volition transportation guardant the beardown instauration helium helped build."

"We are profoundly grateful for the interaction Marc-Alexis has had implicit the years, peculiarly successful shaping the Assassin’s Creed marque into what it is today," they continued. "His leadership, creativity, and dedication person near a lasting people connected our teams and our players. We convey him sincerely for his galore contributions and privation him continued occurrence successful each his aboriginal endeavors."

Côté was besides precise forthright successful his defence of Shadows' devs successful the look of online vitriol implicit Yasuke being 1 the game's protagonists, successful opposition to the elder Guillemot. Here's hoping that Derennes and babe Guillemot are consenting to bash that benignant of thing, but I'm doubtful until we spot it.