Former Assassin's Creed boss sues Ubisoft in Quebec court alleging constructive dismissal

Pcgamer reports that former Assassin's Creed boss Marc-Alexis Côté has filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft in the Superior Court of Quebec seeking $1.3 million in damages (just under a million in US currency), including two years' salary and $75,000 in moral damages, alleging constructive dismissal.

Côté left Ubisoft seven months after the release of Shadows, one of the series' most successful entries. He has said on LinkedIn that he was offered a role at the nascent Vantage Studios but that "it did not carry the same scope, mandate, or continuity with the work I had been entrusted with in recent years," and that he "did not walk away" but "stayed at my post until Ubisoft asked me to step aside."

Radio-Canada's report says the lawsuit argues (obtained via machine translation) that Côté's influence "would have crumbled" since the creation of Vantage Studios, which would have made him head of production answering to a head of franchise based in France — a role he was not considered for — leaving him with what he viewed as an apparent demotion or unwilling resignation. Radio-Canada states Côté considered this "unacceptable" and constituting "constructive dismissal," and notes he had worked on the series since 2010 during the development of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

Key Topics

Business, Marc-alexis Côté, Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed, Vantage Studios, Constructive Dismissal