Former Assassin's Creed Head Marc-Alexis Côté Sues Ubisoft Over Disputed Departure
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Former Assassin's Creed franchise lead Marc-Alexis Côté is suing Ubisoft for nearly £700k, alleging a disguised dismissal and disputed departure following corporate restructuring.
Former Assassin's Creed franchise leader Marc-Alexis Côté is taking legal action against Ubisoft following his unexpected exit from the publisher last year. According to a report by Eurogamer, Côté is seeking roughly £700k in damages through a lawsuit filed via Radio Canada, claiming severance pay and moral damages while demanding the removal of his non-compete clause. The legal filing alleges that Côté was quietly pushed out of his role after a corporate restructure involving Tencent and the creation of Vantage Studios, which introduced a new leadership layer that effectively sidelined him from his flagship series.
The dispute reportedly escalated when Côté was passed over for a top franchise role because he was based in Canada rather than France, subsequently being offered what he viewed as an unacceptable demotion. Following tense internal discussions and a brief period of reflection, Côté sought severance for what he characterizes as a disguised dismissal. While Ubisoft publicly maintained at the time that Côté had chosen to leave voluntarily to pursue new opportunities, his lawsuit claims the publisher framed the departure this way specifically to avoid paying severance and to enforce a non-compete restriction.
Côté spent two decades at Ubisoft, spending the last 15 years deeply embedded in the Assassin's Creed series as a designer, director, and producer before ultimately taking charge of the entire franchise in 2022 and overseeing the launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows. For a community that follows the behind-the-scenes machinations of major studios as closely as the games themselves, this high-stakes legal battle offers a rare, unfiltered look at executive-level friction during a period of massive corporate shifts. Ubisoft has not yet issued a public response to the lawsuit filing, as reported by Eurogamer.
Source: Eurogamer
Tags: Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed, Industry News, Business, Marc-Alexis Côté
Original article: Eurogamer