Former Assassin’s Creed Boss Says ‘Ubisoft Asked Me to Step Aside’

It was reported earlier this week the head of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Marc-Alexis Coté, has left Ubisoft after declining an offer of a leadership position at the newly created subsidiary that is partly owned by Tencent called Vantage Studios. Coté has now released his own statement on LinkedIn clarifying that he “did not walk away” and “Ubisoft asked me to step aside.” He has led the Assassin’s Creed franchise since 2022, however, before that he was the co-director on 2012’s Assassin’s Creed III and creative director on 2014’s Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. He has been a producer on every entry since 2014. Read the message from Coté below: The past 24 hours have been deeply emotional. Reading all your public and private messages has reminded me of so many moments, people, and shared dreams from the past two decades. I have been archiving all of them, something to revisit one day when I am old, smiling at what we built together. From the messages of colleagues, friends, and fans, a recurring theme has emerged that I feel the need to clarify. 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. The truth is simple: I did not make that choice. 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. As someone who grew up inspired by Star Trek (TNG!), in the later years of my career I came to see myself as the captain of the Assassin’s Creed ship, someone who leaves only once every soul on board is safe. And that is exactly what I have done for as long as I could. Thank you again for your messages of support. They mean more to me than you can imagine. Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky. Full Article.