Former Assassin’s Creed series lead Marc-Alexis Côté’s departure from Ubisoft after 20 years in various roles was announced earlier this week, and the developer’s now put out a post in which he says that leaving wasn’t his choice. Instead, Côté asserts that it came after he was asked to step aside as Assassin’s Creed boss by Ubisoft as part of a corporate restructure, then offered a reduced role as part of the company’s Tencent-backed Vantage Studios subsidiary.
“Many of you have expressed surprise that I would choose to leave Assassin’s Creed after so many years, especially given the passion I still hold for it,” Côté wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “The truth is simple: I did not make that choice.”
He continued as follows:
Ubisoft decided to transfer the leadership of the Assassin’s Creed franchise to someone closer to its new organizational structure. A different position was mentioned, but it did not carry the same scope, mandate, or continuity with the work I had been entrusted with in recent years. I want to be clear that I hold no resentment. Ubisoft has been my home for all my professional life, and I will always be grateful for the people, the projects, and the belief that together we could create worlds that inspire millions. But I also owe it to my teams, past and present, to say this plainly: I did not walk away. I stayed at my post until Ubisoft asked me to step aside.
Côté’s departure came as a bit of a shock, given it followed Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ success earlier this year, an important win for what’s been a struggling publisher over the past few years. This restructure around the formation of Vantage Studios, a subsidiary created to oversee Assassin’s Creed, FarCry and Rainbow Six going forwards as part of a €1.16 billion deal with Chinese conglomerate Tencent, has seen Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot appointed as its co-CEO. Yep, that’s Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot’s son Charlie, who has insisted his appointment wasn’t just down to nepotism.
I reached out to Ubisoft for comment and the publishers stuck to their statement guns from earlier this week, with a spokesperson saying: “Following the organizational restructuring announced in March 2025, Marc-Alexis Côté has chosen to pursue a new path elsewhere outside of Ubisoft.While we are saddened to see him go, we’re confident that our talented teams will carry forward the strong foundation he helped build.”
“We are deeply grateful for the impact Marc-Alexis has had over the years, particularly in shaping the Assassin’s Creed brand into what it is today,” they continued. “His leadership, creativity, and dedication have left a lasting mark on our teams and our players. We thank him sincerely for his many contributions and wish him continued success in all his future endeavors.”
Côté was also very forthright in his defense of Shadows’ devs in the face of online vitriol over Yasuke being one the game’s protagonists, in contrast to the elder Guillemot. Here’s hoping that Derennes and baby Guillemot are willing to do that kind of thing, but I’m doubtful until we see it.
