Former Assassin's Creed Franchise executive producer Marc-Alexis Côté reportedly filed the lawsuit Ubisoft in Quebec and sought nearly $1 million in damages. The complaint centers on his high-profile departure from Ubisoft, an alleged constructive dismissal.
Côté spent more than 20 years at Ubisoft, most recently as vice president and executive producer Assassin's Creed franchise, a role he assumed in March 2022. In October 2025, Ubisoft announced his departure from its senior ranks, saying he had been offered a position at its new Vantage Studios, overseeing Assassin's Creed and several other IPs moving forward but declined the offer. Vantage co-chief executive Christophe Derennes said he was “disappointed” by the decision at the time. Shortly after, Côté took to LinkedIn to dispute the story, writing, “I didn't leave. I stayed in my position until Ubisoft asked me to step down.” In the same post, he emphasized that he holds “no grudges” over the circumstances surrounding his departure.
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Côté is reportedly suing Ubisoft for CAD$1.3 million
Côté is now apparently suing Ubisoft, according to a Jan. 16 Radio-Canada report, citing court documents. The former official is reportedly seeking approximately CAD$1.3 million (~$930,000) in damages, including two years' salary and CAD$75,000 (~$54,000) in moral damages. The filing claims that the former Assassin's Creed boss left Ubisoft as a result of constructive dismissal, forced to choose between a significantly reduced role and leaving the company entirely.
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Before Ubisoft launched Vantage Studios in partnership with Tencent, Côté was the top executive responsible for Assassin's Creed franchise, reporting directly to CEO Yves Guillemot. Following the announcement of the spin-off, he was offered the role of Head of Production at Vantage – reporting to the Head of Franchise Oversight Assassin's Creed, Far Cryand Rainbow Sixthree IPs under the scope of the new company. Côté was reportedly not considered for the franchise's leadership role because he was based in France instead of Quebec. He claims his influence “collapsed” after Vantage entered the picture and he was forced to choose between an “unacceptable” demotion and losing his job.
Since Côté refused the new position, Ubisoft treated his departure as a resignation and did not provide severance pay. But his lawyers argue that being forced to choose between demotion and termination constitutes constructive dismissal under Canadian labor law, entitling him to full severance pay. He is also seeking moral damages for what he says is an attack on his reputation, as well as the cancellation of a non-compete clause that he says limits his job prospects in an already weak hiring market, according to a Radio-Canada report.
Ubisoft has positioned Vantage Studios as a creative hub aimed at streamlining decision-making across its flagship brands, sharing technical resources and shortening the feedback loop between developers and players. The company also said the spin-off was intended to give teams more autonomy over their individual projects. The network of studios brings together subsidiaries in various locations, including Barcelona, Quebec, Montreal, Sherbrooke and Sofia, under a single management structure. The joint venture was announced during a challenging period for Ubisoft, which has seen a number of big-budget projects underperform. Star Wars Outlaws as the most recent example.
The creation of Vantage Studios also served as a strategic restructuring move 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 create a consistent pipeline of evergreen, cross-platform releases.
