The franchise lead for Assassin's Creed has reportedly stepped away from Ubisoft, just two weeks after the company's new Tencent-led reshuffle came into effect.
In case you haven't heard, Assassin's Creed as a whole — along with Far Cry and Rainbow Six — is now being spearheaded by the newly formed Vantage Studios, which is made up of several existing Ubisoft outfits.
This is all according to IGN, who cite correspondence from within the company.
The franchise boss in question is Ubisoft veteran Marc-Alexis Côté, who's been with the French publisher for more than 20 years. It's claimed that Côté was actually offered a role at Vantage Studios — assumedly as a key figure — but he turned the job down.
It's unclear whether Côté had simply felt the need for change, or whether he disagreed with the company's new direction. Or maybe it was a bit of both.
A Ubisoft statement sent to IGN reads: "While we are saddened to see him go, we’re confident that our talented teams will carry forward the strong foundation he helped build. We are deeply grateful for the impact Marc-Alexis has had over the years, particularly in shaping the Assassin’s Creed brand into what it is today."
It goes without saying that Côté's had a significant impact on Assassin's Creed over the years, acting as director, producer, and more across multiple games.
Côté was also, apparently, responsible for laying out the foundations for the franchise going forward. In other words, he would have overseen and greenlit the numerous Assassin's Creed projects that are currently believed to be in various stages of development.
Indeed, reports from earlier this year said that Ubisoft has six whole years of Assassin's Creed titles planned out. This includes mainline instalments, remakes, and maybe even multiplayer spin-offs.
What are your hopes for Assassin's Creed going forward? What do you think the future holds? Withdraw your hidden blades in the comments section below.