Ubisoft has appointed three game development veterans to oversee the future of the Assassin’s Creed franchise as it enters a new era. As previously announced, these games are now set to be developed at Vantage Studios, a new Ubisoft subsidiary, which has backing from Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent.
New Assassin’s Creed leadership team – quick links
The new leaders of Assassin’s Creed
As shared by Ubisoft, the Assassin’s Creed leadership team will soon gain the expertise of Martin Schelling, Jean Guesdon and François de Billy, all of whom have played a key part in the growth of the series.
Martin Schelling will be the Head of Assassin’s Creed Brand, with the Ubisoft announcement stating he will be responsible for ‘overall strategy and long-term vision of the brand’. He previously contributed to production of titles including Revelations, Black Flag, Origins and Valhalla, and was formerly Ubisoft’s Chief Production Officer.
Jean Guesdon is now Head of Content, after serving as Creative Director on Origins and Black Flag. In his new role, Guesdon will lead ‘overall creative direction, support individual games, and guide the future of Assassin’s Creed while staying true to its core DNA’.
François de Billy is now the Head of Production Excellence, and will serve to ‘strengthen production practices and execution across the brand’. Previously, he served as Production Director on Vahalla and Origins.
Per Ubisoft, the trio is currently transitioning into their new roles, with intentions for them to integrate with the other appointed franchise leads – Anne Boisvert, Producer for Assassin’s Creed’s cross-brand initiatives and Head of Technological Excellence, and Lionel Hiller, VP Brand and Go-to-Market Strategy – in the coming weeks.
Black Flag experience will serve the new leadership team well
What’s most notable about these appointments is that Schelling and Guesdon both came up in Ubisoft working on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. It’s been a terribly-kept secret that a remaster of this game is currently in development, with various leaks – including an official art book and a tease from Edward Kenway actor Matt Ryan – suggesting more news is on the way.
Should this remaster turn out to be legitimate – and at this stage it would be more of a surprise if it weren’t – it would make sense to have veterans of the game guiding its direction.
Former Assassin’s Creed director has filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft
With these newly-announced appointments, it’s also worth noting Ubisoft is also currently dealing with a lawsuit from one member of its former franchise leadership team, as related to this restructuring and redirection.
In early January 2026, former franchise director Marc-Alexis Côté reportedly sued Ubisoft, alleging he was owed severance pay and damages due to the handling of his departure, which he claimed was a ‘disguised dismissal’.
Côté alleged Ubsioft had ‘decided to transfer the leadership of the Assassin’s Creed franchise to someone closer to its new organisational structure’ in its transition to Vantage Studios, and as a result, he chose to leave.
While he confirmed he was offered a new position at the company, he claimed it was a ‘different position’ that ‘did not carry the same scope, mandate or continuity with the work [he] had been entrusted with in recent years’.
At this stage, there have been no further updates on legal proceedings, and whether they will impact future developments at the company.
Also on ScreenHub: Former Assassin’s Creed director is suing Ubisoft for CAD$1.3 million
Former Assassin’s Creed franchise director Marc-Alexis Côté is suing Ubisoft for CAD$1.3 million (AUD$1.4 million), alleging the company owes severance pay and damages due to a ‘disguised dismissal’ in 2025.
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