The news broke recently that Marc-Alexis Côté, a Ubisoft veteran and strategic leader of the Assassin’s Creed series, had departed the company after more than two decades. In the reports that surfaced after Côté’s withdrawal from the firm, it was suggested that he was offered a leadership role in the newly formed Vantage Studios, but wasn’t happy with the position and stepped back.
In a new post on social media, Côté has set the story straight and explained that he remained business as usual until Ubisoft asked him to step down. He expressly confirmed that he did not walk away from the company he has called home for twenty years.
The Truth of Why Côté Left Ubisoft
In a lengthy LinkedIn post, Marc-Alexis Côté explained why he’d departed Ubisoft after twenty years, the latter portion of which had been spent managing the strategic direction of Assassin’s Creed. In his words, it wasn’t his choice, and he did not walk away willingly:
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.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.
It mostly gels with what the original report referenced, in that Côté left the company because of a situation related to the new Vantage Studios, formed after the merger between Ubisoft and Tencent.
Côté’s statement indicates his expectations were that he would lead the direction of the Assassin’s Creed franchise at Ubisoft, but that wasn’t the case. When that didn’t come through, Côté took it very personally and turned down whatever else was offered as a compromise, ultimately being asked to step down by Ubisoft because he (most likely) had no home in the new organization.
Côté wrapped up his post by saying:
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.
Were you surprised to see Côté leave Ubisoft, or are you expecting these kinds of departures as the merger continues to take shape? Let me know what you’re thinking on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that DS games could be coming to Switch 2
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