Former Assassin’s Creed franchise boss sues Ubisoft for nearly $1 million, alleging ‘constructive dismissal’

Former Assassin’s Creed boss Marc-Alexis Côté left Ubisoft just 7 months after the release of Shadows, one of the most successful games in the series’ history. He stood up for the game as public figures like Elon Musk derided it, and the day after Ubisoft announced his exit from the company, he said it wasn’t his choice. Now, he’s suing.

When he originally spoke on the issue last October, he said on LinkedIn he was offered a role at the nascent Vantage Studios, but that “it did not carry the same scope, mandate, or continuity with the work I had been entrusted with in recent years.” It was evident back then he was not enthusiastic about leaving, as he said “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.”

Friday, Radio-Canada reported that a lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of Quebec claiming $1.3 million in damages (just under a million in US currency), including two years’ salary and $75,000 in moral damages. The lawsuit argues (obtained via machine translation) that “Mr. Côté’s influence would have crumbled since the creation of [Vantage Studios], which took charge of the Assassin’s Creed series, he who until then had received his orders directly from [CEO Yves] Guillemot.”

In other words, he was to be made “head of production,” who would have answered to the “head of franchise,” a position that oversees development of Rainbow Six, Far Cry, and Assassin’s Creed. Côté wasn’t considered for the head of franchise role, as it was based in France rather than Quebec, so he felt his only options were the apparent demotion or unwilling resignation. Radio-Canada’s report states that Côté considered all this “unacceptable” and constituted “constructive dismissal,” which if you’re unaware is when a resignation is considered involuntary because working conditions became hostile.

He’s been consistent on that since October, when he wrote “I did not walk away. I stayed at my post until Ubisoft asked me to step aside” on LinkedIn. Côté had worked on the series since 2010, during the development of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.