Previous Assassin's Creed franchise producer Marc-Alexis Côté has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft in Quebec and demanded the equivalent of nearly $1 million in damages. The complaint concerns his high-profile exit from Ubisoft, alleging constructive dismissal.
Côté spent over 20 years at Ubisoft, most recently as Vice President and Executive Producer of Assassin's Creed franchise, a role he assumed in March 2022. In October 2025, Ubisoft announced that he was stepping down from leadership, stating that he had been offered a position at its new Vantage Studios, which will oversee Assassin's Creed and several other IP addresses forward, but declined the offer. Vantage co-CEO Christophe Derennes said he was “disappointed” by the decision at the time. Shortly thereafter, Côté took to LinkedIn to challenge that narrative, writing, “I didn't leave. I stayed in my post until Ubisoft asked me to step aside.” In the same post, he stressed that he harbored “no resentment” over the circumstances of his exit.
A massive Assassin's Creed announcement appears to be imminent, new evidence suggests
Ubisoft's worst-kept secret in a while may finally be nearing an official announcement in early 2026, according to some new evidence.
Côté is reportedly suing Ubisoft for CAD 1.3 million
Côté is now reportedly suing Ubisoft, according to a January 16 Radio-Canada report citing court documents. The former official is said to be seeking approximately CAD 1.3 million (~$930,000) in damages, including two years' salary and CAD 75,000 (~$54,000) in moral damages. In the report it is claimed that the former Assassin's Creed the executive left Ubisoft as a result of constructive dismissal, forced to choose between a significantly reduced role and leaving the company entirely.
Côté's “unacceptable” Ubisoft demotion explained
Before Ubisoft launched Vantage Studios in partnership with Tencent, Côté was the senior executive responsible for Assassin's Creed franchise, reports directly to CEO Yves Guillemot. Following the spin-off announcement, he was offered a role as Production Manager at Vantage – reporting to the Head of Franchise Oversight Assassin's Creed, Far Cryand Rainbow Sixthe three IPs under the new company's business area. Côté was reportedly not considered for the director of the franchise role because it was based in France instead of Quebec. He claims his influence “declined” after Vantage came into the picture and he was forced to choose between an “unacceptable” demotion and losing his job.
Since Côté declined the new position, Ubisoft treated his departure as a termination and provided no severance pay. But his lawyers argue that being forced to choose between a demotion and quitting constitutes constructive dismissal under Canadian labor law, entitling him to full severance pay. He is also seeking moral damages for what he claims is an attack on his reputation, as well as the lifting of a non-compete agreement, which he claims limits his job opportunities amid an already weak job market, according to Radio-Canada's report.
Ubisoft positioned Vantage Studios as a creative hub aimed at streamlining decision-making around its flagship brands, sharing technical resources and shortening the feedback loop between developers and players. The company also said the spin-off was meant to give teams greater autonomy over their individual projects. The studio network brings together subsidiaries in several locations, including Barcelona, Quebec, Montreal, Sherbrooke and Sofia, under a unified management structure. The joint venture was announced during a challenging period for Ubisoft, which had seen a string of big budget projects underperform, with Star Wars Outlaws is the latest example.
The creation of Vantage Studios also served as a strategic restructuring and a source of financial support. Tencent invested €1.16 billion (~$1.35 billion) in exchange for a roughly 25% stake in the new subsidiary, providing a significant cash infusion while allowing Ubisoft to retain creative control over the joint venture. Ubisoft said the long-term goal of the initiative is to accelerate the growth of key franchises and establish a consistent pipeline of evergreen, multi-platform releases.
