Former Assassin's Creed lead Marc-Alexis Côté is reportedly suing Ubisoft, having departed the company in the latter half of last year. He had worked at the publisher for over 20 years.
It all sounds a bit messy, if we're being honest. Word of Côté's departure arrived just a couple of weeks after the publisher's deal with Chinese conglomerate Tencent came into effect.
Said deal saw Assassin's Creed and other major properties be gathered under a new creative umbrella named Vantage Studios, which was granted Tencent's financial backing.
There were suggestions that Côté had, effectively, been pushed out by the new management — and that's basically what the ex-franchise head is set to argue in a court of law.
Côté's apparently seeking close to $1 million from Ubisoft, with the lawsuit stating that he was part of a "disguised dismissal", and as such, he's owed severance pay.
In statement from Ubisoft that was published online back in October, the company wrote that it was "saddened to see [Côté] go", and that it was "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".
Clearly, things weren't quite so cut and dry. Again, Côté's lawsuit argues that the new role Ubisoft offered him — after a two-week period of reflection — was simply an "unacceptable demotion", as the publisher looked to hire a 'head of franchises', overruling his previous position.
What's your take on all of this? What are your thoughts on Assassin's Creed going forward? Stick to the rooftops in the comments section below.