Marc-Alexis Côté is seeking $1.3 million in compensation and damages.

The former lead on the Assassin's Creed series at Ubisoft, Marc-Alexis Côté, is suing his former employer for $1.3 million in compensation and damages. The lawsuit was filed with the Superior Court of Quebec.

According to initial reporting from CBC Radio Canada, Côté says that he was the victim of a "disguised dismissal." When Côté parted ways with Ubisoft in October 2025, it was initially believed that Côté left on his own volition with the cited reason being that "his own expectations and priorities related to Vantage Studios' creation and future." Vantage Studios being the name for the new subsidiary formed between Ubisoft and Tencent.

After leaving Ubisoft, Côté took to LinkedIn to say that no, actually, he didn't leave on his own. He was instead forced out of Ubisoft after 20 years with the company.

Now Côté is taking Ubisoft to court after being forced out of his position and employment with the studio. According to CBC Radio Canada's report, Côté was took part in a management meeting at Ubisoft in late summer 2025. In this meeting, Côté was told that Ubisoft and Tencent were looking for a new "Head of Franchise" for Assassin's Creed at Vantage Studios, which would be responsible for "most" of Côté's current responsibilities. Côté was not offered this new position. Instead, he was offered the position of "Head of Production" at Vantage, which would have him reporting directly to whomever was named "Head of Franchise."

According to the lawsuit, Côté was given an offer to lead a vaguely defined "Creative House." Under this "Creative House" Côté would be in charge of what would essentially be second-tier franchises owned by Ubisoft. The exact meaning of this is unclear.

After taking two weeks to think about his options, Ubisoft asked him to make a decision. Côté saw the offer as an "unacceptable demotion" and called it a "disguised dismissal." He gave notice to the company and told them to prepare his severance pay. In response to his notice and demand for severance pay, Ubisoft reportedly told him not to report for work on his next scheduled day (October 13, 2025). They also apparently told him to continue his period of thinking about the options until the company had time to respond to his formal notice.

On the very next day Ubisoft shared a memo with employees stating that Marc-Alexis Côté just left the company voluntarily in order to "explore new opportunities." According to his lawsuit, Côté says that his termination was listed as a "voluntary departure," which the suit says "is a strategy to avoid paying him compensation and maintain the applicable non-compete clause."

Côté is seeking compensation in the form of two years worth of salary. He cites that it is difficult to find a job at present due to the current overall "slowdown" (presumably meaning mass layoffs and major market upheaval) within the games' industry. He is also seeking an additional $75,000 in damages over what he says is "an abuse of power and damage to his reputation." Together, this total amount comes to $1.3 million.

Côté is also hoping that the court will dismiss the non-compete clause, which would allow him to more easily find a new job. Côté's lawyer, Catherine Asselin Jobin, says that they would like to see "a swift, satisfactory, and negotiated resolution to the matter." Ubisoft has not issued any sort of public statement about this lawsuit.