Former Assassin's Creed boss Marc-Alexis Côté is reportedly suing Ubisoft, alleging that his departure from the company was actually a "constructive dismissal," following claims that he "did not make that choice" to leave.
As reported by Radio-Canada (in an article that's been machine translated and verified by GamesRadar+), Côté – who previously served as the head of the Assassin's Creed franchise as vice president executive producer – is reportedly seeking $1.3 million Canadian dollars, including $75,000 in moral damages (in total around $936 million USD) in a lawsuit that comes around three months after his departure from the company.
It's claimed that Côté discovered that Ubisoft's new subsidiary, Vantage Studios – which manages the development of Far Cry and Rainbow Six, as well as Assassin's Creed – was looking to hire a head of franchise role to oversee all three IPs. It's said that this role would absorb most of Côté's original responsibilities, but allegedly, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot opposed Côté's application since the new position was based in France.
Instead, it's alleged that Côté was offered a head of production role, working under the head of franchise, before eventually being offered the option to lead a "creative house." Vantage Studios is described as one of these creative houses, and last year, the company outlined plans to set up more of them. Reuters previously reported that creative houses would work autonomously, with each tailored towards specific genres. In Côté's case, however, this apparently would have seen him work on second-tier series.
Ultimately, all of this reportedly led to Côté feeling like he'd been offered an "unacceptable demotion," and more than that, given a "disguised dismissal." He took two weeks to reflect on the situation, and was informed that he'd need to give his final decision on whether he accepted the new position afterwards.
Côté apparently requested that Ubisoft grant him severance pay, and shortly after, his departure was announced by the company, in a manner it's now claimed would help avoid paying severance and maintain a non-competition clause since it's implied he left voluntarily.
Since his departure from the company, Côté has been very clear in his assertions that "I did not walk away," and "I stayed at my post until Ubisoft asked me to step aside." He previously stated that "I want to be clear that I hold no resentment," adding: "Ubisoft has been my home for all my professional life, and I will always be grateful for the people, the projects, and the belief that together we could create worlds that inspire millions."
