🚨 “AC SHADOWS BOSS FIRED AFTER EPIC FLOP… NOW SUING UBI FOR $1M SEVERANCE SCAM!” 😡⚔️💰
Marc-Alexis Côté – mastermind behind Yasuke “black samurai” backlash – AXED 7 months post-launch! Claims UBI “CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL” to dodge FAT payout after Shadows TANKED!
4.3M sold? “Overperformed!” says UBI… but WORST in franchise? Steam peak 64K, stock CRASH, Tencent bailout! Demoted for CEO’s SON?? Devs RAGING! 🔥🤬
Woke heist on Japan history = DEATH KNELL? You WON’T believe the shady Vantage plot… 👇
In a bombshell legal filing that’s rocking the gaming industry, Marc-Alexis Côté – the longtime vice president and executive producer overseeing the blockbuster Assassin’s Creed franchise – has slapped Ubisoft with a $1.3 million Canadian lawsuit (roughly $950,000 USD). The Quebec Superior Court documents accuse the French gaming giant of “constructive dismissal,” claiming they orchestrated his abrupt October 2025 exit to dodge a massive severance payout after 20 years of service.
Côté, who reported directly to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot and spearheaded the franchise’s 2022 strategic reboot, alleges the company demoted him to a lesser role amid a controversial restructuring tied to new subsidiary Vantage Studios. Backed by a $1.25 billion investment from Chinese tech titan Tencent, Vantage now houses Ubisoft’s crown jewels – Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six Siege, and Far Cry – under the leadership of Guillemot’s son, Charlie. Côté claims he was sidelined from the top “Head of Franchise” spot at Vantage – which required relocation to France from his Montreal base – and offered a humiliating “Head of Production” gig or an even vaguer “Creative House” role on a smaller IP.
“I did not make the choice to leave Ubisoft,” Côté stated publicly in October 2025, adding he “stayed at my post until Ubisoft asked me to step aside.” Now, his lawsuit details a hard deadline to accept the demotion, followed by termination the day after he demanded severance. Ubisoft then spun it as a “voluntary” departure in internal memos and press releases, allegedly to enforce his non-compete clause and avoid 24 months’ pay – the suit seeks that full amount plus moral damages for reputational harm.
Ubisoft has yet to comment on the suit, but sources close to the company insist Côté’s exit was his decision after Shadows’ release. The timing? Seven months after Assassin’s Creed Shadows dropped in March 2025 – a title Côté greenlit that became a lightning rod for controversy.
Shadows promised dual protagonists: Naoe, a female shinobi, and Yasuke, the historical African retainer elevated to “black samurai” status. From reveal at Summer Game Fest 2024, it ignited fury over historical liberties – Yasuke as a noble warrior decapitating samurai? Destroyable shrines? Ubisoft patched some gripes but doubled down, delaying from November 2024 to March 2025 amid “polish” excuses that skeptics called backlash dodging.
Sales tell a murky tale. Ubisoft touts Shadows as “overperforming,” hitting 5 million players by mid-2025, topping U.S. dollar sales for March, and Europe’s best-selling new IP that year. The franchise crossed 230 million lifetime units, with Q1 2025-26 bookings up 39% to $567 million. Yet analysts paint flop portraits: Circana estimates peg lifetime sales at 4.3 million – 56% PS5, 26% Xbox, 18% PC – branding it one of the series’ weakest. Steam concurrent peaked at 64,825, far below Valhalla’s 173k launch. No second DLC planned, and Ubisoft’s stock cratered 50%+ in 2025 amid $92 million quarterly losses, 1,200 layoffs, and the Tencent lifeline.
Gamers piled on: X erupted with “Yasuke flop” memes, review-bombing hit 4.5/10 user scores vs. 82 critic Metacritic. Japanese outlets slammed inaccuracies; a reenactment group threatened suit over stolen banners. YouTubers like Vara Dark and EndymionTv roasted it as “DEI disaster,” tying to broader Ubisoft woes: Star Wars Outlaws bombed, XDefiant shuttered.
Côté’s tenure? He joined in 2004, shaping hits from Brotherhood onward. Post-Valhalla’s 2020 behemoth (20M+ sold), he pitched the reboot: fewer, meatier RPGs like Shadows (Origins-style) and experiments like multiplayer Invictus or Hexe (witch-hunt tale). Shadows embodied that – 100+ hours of feudal Japan parkour, but bloated open-world gripes echoed Mirage’s 2023 middling reception.
The Vantage pivot reeks of desperation. Announced post-Outlaws flop, it funnels IPs to a “profitable” silo, but insiders whisper it’s a fire sale – Tencent grabs 25% control, Guillemot family tightens grip. Côté’s suit blasts nepotism: Why boot a Montreal vet for a Paris newbie?
Ubisoft’s empire crumbles: Hacks exposed exec misogyny, Skull & Bones flopped at $200M cost, Avatar Frontiers underdelivered. Q3 2025 saw shares hit decade lows; investors fled amid “meltdown.” Shadows’ “success” masks it: No sales transparency, players ≠ buyers (Game Pass inflates).
Supporters rally: Black gamers praised Yasuke rep; Ubisoft’s Lemay-Comtois defended MTX as “sustainable.” Côté? No grudge publicly, but suit screams betrayal.
Legal road ahead: Quebec courts grind slow – years or settlement. Non-compete lift could see Côté jump ship; franchise fate? Hexe looms 2026, but Vantage’s Tencent oversight spooks creatives fearing China censorship.
For Ubisoft, already bleeding talent, this spotlights rot: Prioritize family over vets? Shadows’ shadow lingers – a “hit” that couldn’t save the boss who built it.
