Ex-Assassin’s Creed Boss Sues Ubisoft for Nearly $1M

• Key Takeaways:
• Marc-Alexis Côté, former head of Assassin’s Creed, has filed a lawsuit in Quebec claiming constructive dismissal and seeking CAD 1.3M (~USD 935K).
• The suit alleges he was effectively demoted after Ubisoft reorganized major IP under Vantage Studios, a new unit backed by Tencent funding.
• Côté says he was offered lesser roles that required relocation to France or reduced responsibility; Ubisoft later announced his departure as voluntary.
• He is also asking the court to lift a non-compete clause that limits his future roles in the industry.

What the lawsuit says

Marc-Alexis Côté, a 20-year Ubisoft veteran who led Assassin’s Creed since 2010, filed the claim in the Superior Court of Quebec seeking CAD 1.3 million in damages.

The complaint, reported by Radio-Canada, describes events after the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and alleges Côté was pushed out following a corporate restructuring.

Reorganization and the rise of Vantage Studios

In 2025 Ubisoft created Vantage Studios, a subsidiary intended to consolidate its most profitable franchises — Rainbow Six Siege, Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed — backed by roughly $1.25 billion from Tencent.

Vantage is led by Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot, and the new model included a Head of Franchise role based in France. According to Côté’s filing, that structure would have made him ineligible for the top role without relocating from Canada.

Offers, demotion and public messaging

Côté says Ubisoft offered him a reduced position — either franchise production head or a role leading a “Creative House” over a lesser franchise. He declined and says he requested severance in October after effectively losing his leadership of Assassin’s Creed.

Instead, Ubisoft announced his departure as voluntary, both internally and publicly. On LinkedIn Côté wrote, “The past 24 hours have been deeply emotional… The truth is simple: I did not make that choice.”

Timeline and franchise context

The lawsuit arrives near the one-year anniversary of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the last title shipped while Côté was in charge. He had guided the franchise through a 2022 strategy reboot that shifted Assassin’s Creed toward longer development cycles and multiple parallel tracks, including projects like Hexe, Invictus and the mobile title Jade.

Côté is asking for damages, severance and release from a non-compete clause that he says restricts his ability to work elsewhere in games.

Response and next steps

Ubisoft and Côté did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Quebec court will now process the filing, and the case could clarify how internal reorganizations and employee relocation policies intersect with Canadian employment law.