Ubisoft Hit With $1.3M Lawsuit In Boss Battle With Ex-Assassin's Creed Head

When it rains it pours, and Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, is currently enduring a deluge. The company’s latest releases, which include its long running Assassin’s Creed franchise and tie-ins with popular IP such as Star Wars, have failed to make the splash it hoped for. Now, Ubisoft is facing a legal battle with former employee Marc-Alexis Côté, who was previously at the helm of Assassin’s Creed.

According to reporting by Radio-Canada, Côté has filed a suit against Ubisoft and is seeking $1.3 million CAD, or about $935,000 USD in damages and requesting to be freed from a non-compete clause. In the suit, Côté alleges that he was “constructively dismissed” by the company last year.


It came at a time when Ubisoft was looking to restructure itself and shift its best performing series over to its newly opened Vantage Studios, which would’ve meant a demotion for Côté and force a relocation of his family to France.

The suit felt like a matter of time after Ubisoft released a statement about his departure, which it described as “voluntary.” However, Côté shared on LinkedIn that, “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.”

While Assassin’s Creed Shadows didn’t meet the sales expectations Ubisoft had, it wasn’t a bad entry, managing to hit a respectable score of 81 on Metacritic. It will be interesting to see if whoever takes over the series next can do better, or if it will suffer from Côté’s exit. Hopefully, for the fans’ sake, it will mean future releases can continue to be fun experiences.