Unusual drama is already brewing around Ubisoft and Tencent’s new joint venture Vantage Studios, the owner of the Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 franchises. Marc-Alexis Côté, formerly the head of all things Assassin’s Creed at Ubisoft’s North American studios, says his recent departure from Ubisoft was not, as previously reported by outlets like IGN, of his own volition.
Ubisoft had told IGN that Côté “has chose to pursue a new path elsewhere outside of Ubisoft,” saying he had been offered a position in leadership at Vantage Studios but that he declined the offer.
Côté disputed this characterization of events in a post on LinkedIn. “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,” he wrote. “The truth is simple: I did not make that choice.”
The former Ubisoft exec went on to write that Ubisoft had transferred leadership of the series to “someone closer to its new organizational structure,” and that it offered him a different position in the new company. (Ubisoft said as much in its statement to other outlets). This position apparently “did not carry the same scope, mandate, or continuity with the work I had been entrusted with in recent years,” according to Côté.
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He stated that he holds “no resentment” toward Ubisoft, and he’s grateful for his time at the company. “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.” He stressed this fact by saying that he saw himself as the captain of the metaphorical Assassin’s Creed ship, someone who would only leave “once every soul on board is safe.” (It should be noted that sources speaking to Game Developer accused Côté contributing to a toxic work environment in 2020.)
Game Developer has reached out to Ubisoft for comment and will update this story when the company responds.