Ubisoft's Vantage Studios Unveils New Leadership Trio for Assassin's Creed Franchise

Vantage Studios, the Ubisoft subsidiary now overseeing the publisher's major franchises, has revealed a new leadership team for the Assassin's Creed series. This move comes as the company steers its flagship historical action-adventure brand forward.

Heading the franchise is Martin Schelling, a seasoned Ubisoft producer with deep roots in the series. Schelling previously held senior positions on Assassin's Creed titles like Black Flag, Origins, and Valhalla, and most recently served as Ubisoft's Chief Production Officer.

Supporting him is Jean Guesdon, a veteran of the franchise who will take on the role of Head of Content. Guesdon, who has worked on over a dozen Assassin's Creed games dating back to the original 2007 release, will oversee the series' creative direction, bringing his extensive design experience to the forefront.

Completing the trio is François de Billy, appointed as Head of Production Excellence. De Billy previously served as Production Director on Valhalla and Origins, bringing hands-on expertise to the production side of the franchise.

The new leaders will assume their positions in the coming weeks, following the unexpected exit of Marc-Alexis Côté, the former head of Assassin's Creed who left Ubisoft in October. According to an internal email, Ubisoft informed staff that Côté's departure was part of aligning Vantage Studios' leadership with its core objectives. IGN reported that Côté was offered a role within Vantage Studios' leadership but declined.

Since then, Côté has filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft, alleging he was effectively replaced in early 2025 by Vantage Studios' newly appointed leaders, Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot—the cousin and son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. Côté claims that with this new management layer above him, he learned in summer 2025 that Vantage was also seeking to hire a new franchise boss for Assassin's Creed.

In related news, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently confirmed that the company has "several" Assassin's Creed titles in development, including both single-player and multiplayer experiences. This follows Ubisoft's 2022 announcement of upcoming games like the now-released Assassin's Creed Shadows, the witchcraft-themed Assassin's Creed: Hexe (another single-player title), and the multiplayer game Invictus. Additionally, the long-anticipated remake of Black Flag is widely expected to be announced soon.