Ex-Assassin's Creed Boss Suing Ubisoft for CAD $1.3 Million, Alleges His 'Disguised Dismissal' Was to Avoid Severance Pay

Ex-Assassin's Creed brag Marc-Alexis Côté is suing Ubisoft for CAD $1.3 cardinal successful mislaid severance wage and damages pursuing his daze exit from the institution past year.

Radio Canada broke connection of the lawsuit, which Coté has filed against his erstwhile leader owed to the mode successful which helium near the institution — an "unacceptable demotion" that constituted a "disguised dismissal."

Côté's departure from Ubisoft past October came arsenic a astonishment to fans and the company's thousands of Assassin's Creed developers, conscionable weeks aft the marque became portion of Ubisoft's caller Tencent-backed concern entity Vantage Studios. Côté had served much than 20 years astatine Ubisoft and worked connected a drawstring of Assassin's Creed hits, earlier his promotion to caput up the flagship marque successful 2022.

Marc-Alexis Coté. Image credit: Andrej Ivanov/AFP via Getty Images.

Ubisoft told unit of Côté's departure via an interior email that discussed the request for Vantage Studios' enactment squad to beryllium "aligned" with its halfway goals. At the time, IGN reported that Côté had been offered a relation arsenic portion of Vantage Studios' leadership, but declined.

Côté's suit claims that helium was fundamentally replaced successful his relation aboriginal successful 2025 by Vantage Studios' newly-installed leadership, Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot — the relative and lad of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. With this furniture of absorption present supra him, Côté claims helium past learned implicit the summertime of 2025 that Vantage was present seeking to prosecute a caller Assassin's Creed franchise boss, too.

Radio Canada's study suggests that Côté enquired astir the relation but was told helium was not suitable and would not beryllium supported by Yves Guillemot, arsenic the presumption was to beryllium based successful Ubisoft's basal successful France, alternatively than successful Canada, wherever Côté is based and each large Assassin's Creed rubric has been led.

Côté's suit allegedly claims that helium was offered a "Head of Production" role, reporting into the incoming caller "Head of Franchise", and past alternatively the accidental to pb different concern unit, moving connected second-tier Ubisoft franchises.

During a two-week play of reflection connected what to bash next, Côté told Ubisoft his exit from the institution would necessitate severance pay. It was astatine this constituent that Ubisoft allegedly told Côté not to amusement up for enactment arsenic expected connected October 13 and await a ceremonial response. The pursuing day, October 14, Ubisoft announced that Côté had departed.

In an interior enactment to Ubisoft unit obtained by IGN astatine the time, Derennes said helium was "disappointed" by Côté's decision, but that the erstwhile person "had his ain expectations and priorities related to Vantage Studios' instauration and future."

"Following the organizational restructuring announced successful March 2025, Marc-Alexis Côté has chosen to prosecute a caller way elsewhere extracurricular of Ubisoft," a Ubisoft spokesperson said successful a remark to IGN astatine the time. "While we are saddened to spot him go, we're assured that our talented teams volition transportation guardant the beardown instauration helium helped build."

Now, Côté's suit alleges his exit from Ubisoft constituted an maltreatment of powerfulness and resulted successful harm to his reputation. The magnitude helium is seeking — CAD $1.3 cardinal — is the sum of 2 years' wage and a further CAD $75,000 successful damages. Côté is besides seeking for Ubisoft to assistance his non-compete agreement, which presently limits his quality to enactment elsewhere.

Representatives for Côté person confirmed the lawsuit. IGN has contacted Ubisoft for comment.

Côté, known to colleagues by his initials arsenic "Mac", joined Ubisoft successful 2005 arsenic a bundle engineer, earlier moving arsenic a pb motor programmer connected Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. From there, helium joined the Assassin's Creed bid successful clip for Brotherhood, moving arsenic a pb level designer, earlier serving arsenic a crippled manager connected Assassin's Creed 3.

As originative director, Côté led improvement connected a drawstring of projects built astatine Ubisoft Quebec, the talented squad which made Assassin's Creed: Black Flag DLC Freedom Cry, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and past Assassin's Creed Odyssey, for which helium served arsenic elder producer.

In March 2022, arsenic Quebec worked connected Assassin's Creed Shadows and Ubisoft sought to relaunch the bid with a much accordant communicative absorption via the Animus Hub (a task past envisioned nether the rubric of Assassin's Creed Infinity), it was Côté that took the reigns connected the full franchise, laying retired a Marvel-style slate of upcoming projects that included the forthcoming Assassin's Creed Hexe, which inactive lacks a merchandise date. The adjacent merchandise successful the franchise is widely-expected to beryllium an Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remaster, meanwhile.

Image credit: Andrej Ivanov/AFP via Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social