Marc-Alexis Côté was with the French publisher for almost 20 years, most recently as the creative mind behind Assassin’s Creed. However, he does not want to go down the same path as Tencent.
Marc-Alexis Côté began working on the Assassin’s Creed series in 2008 as lead level designer. He took on the role of co-director of Assassin’s Creed 3 in 2012, became creative director for Syndicate, and has since been jointly responsible for every subsequent game as producer.
Côté is undoubtedly a Ubisoft veteran and has contributed greatly to the entire Assassin’s series. However, both AC and other in-house brands such as Far Cry and Rainbow Six are to be further developed in the future at the newly founded studio Vantage. The main investor in the new Ubisoft subsidiary is the Chinese group Tencent.
Ubisoft veteran sets sail
In an official statement from the publisher to Videogamechronicle (VGC for short), it says:
Following the restructuring announced in March 2025, Marc-Alexis Côté has decided to pursue a new path outside of Ubisoft. We deeply regret his departure, but we are confident that our talented teams will continue to build on the strong foundation he helped establish.
Ubisoft also thanks Côté specifically for his work on Assassin’s Creed, as he made it the brand we know and love today.
Internal email reveals Ubisoft’s disappointment
VGC has obtained an internal memo sent to employees by the new co-CEOs of Vantage Studios, Charlie Guillemot and Christophe Derennes. It reads as follows:
While we are disappointed by his decision, we understand and respect that MAC [short for Marc-Alexis Côté] had his own expectations and priorities regarding the founding and future of Vantage Studios.
However, the memo also implies that Côté was unable to identify with Ubisoft’s new direction and is therefore leaving the company in the midst of a period of upheaval.
According to the internal memo, Côté turned down several offers to “be part of the leadership team shaping our strategic direction.”
Ubisoft announced another controversial partnership this year: a DLC for Assassin’s Creed Mirage was created in cooperation with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. In addition, according to a recent report, the publisher scrapped an entire game in the series because it was deemed “too political” due to its setting in the American Civil War.
