Former Assassin's Creed boss says he "did not make that choice" to leave Ubisoft after 20 years – the company "decided to transfer the leadership… to someone closer to its new organizational structure"

Assassin's Creed franchise head Marc-Alexis Côté departed from Ubisoft a few days ago after 20 years, right as the studio launched a new Tencent-backed company to handle the franchise – and according to the former lead, leaving wasn't his choice.

Côté reveals as much in a bittersweet new post on LinkedIn, starting by admitting the "past 24 hours have been deeply emotional." He continues: "Reading all your public and private messages has reminded me of so many moments, people, and shared dreams from the past two decades. I have been archiving all of them, something to revisit one day when I am old, smiling at what we built together."

The former Assassin's Creed boss then explains that concerns have been circulating regarding his "decision" to leave Ubisoft – one that he apparently never actually made himself. "From the messages of colleagues, friends, and fans, a recurring theme has emerged that I feel the need to clarify," writes Côté. "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."

He goes on: "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." As difficult as it all is, though, Côté says, "I want to be clear that I hold no resentment."

The Assassin's Creed veteran is still "grateful" for everything along his decades-long journey. "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," as he puts it. "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."

Côté describes how he "came to see myself as the captain of the Assassin's Creed ship, someone who leaves only once every soul on board is safe," stating "that is exactly what I have done for as long as I could." After thanking everyone, he concludes with a heartfelt sign-off – one that fans of everything from old Assassin's Creed games to Assassin's Creed Shadows will recognize: "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."

As seen under Côté's employment history on LinkedIn, he first started working at Ubisoft in 2005 as a software engineer before climbing the ranks to his role as executive producer of Assassin's Creed in 2019, and vice president executive producer in 2022.

Assassin's Creed Shadows leaks keep pointing to a Switch 2 release in early December, but Ubisoft doesn't have the best timing as Metroid Prime 4 releases a mere one day earlier.