Ubisoft Brings Back Black Flag Veterans to Lead Assassin’s Creed
▼ Summary
– Ubisoft has appointed three Assassin’s Creed veterans, Martin Schelling, Jean Guesdon, and François de Billy, to lead the franchise at its new Tencent-backed Vantage Studios.
– Schelling is now head of the brand, de Billy is Head of Production Excellence to optimize workflows, and Guesdon is head of content to lead creative direction.
– These appointments fill a leadership void following the recent departure of Marc-Alexis Côté, who is suing Ubisoft over his exit.
– The move aims to stabilize and grow the franchise, which has faced challenges with narrative cohesion, timely shipping, and recent corporate restructuring.
– Multiple new Assassin’s Creed games, including a Black Flag remake and both multiplayer and single-player titles, are currently in development.
Ubisoft has placed the future of its flagship Assassin’s Creed franchise in the hands of three seasoned developers with deep roots in the series’ most celebrated titles. This strategic move comes four months after the former brand head’s departure and signals a clear intent to stabilize and guide the historical action series within its new Tencent-backed operational structure, Vantage Studios.
The publisher confirmed that Martin Schelling, Jean Guesdon, and François de Billy will now steer the franchise. Each executive brings decades of combined experience from pivotal entries like Origins, Black Flag, and Revelations. Their appointments aim to consolidate leadership following a period of transition and external challenges for the company.
Martin Schelling assumes the role of Head of the Assassin’s Creed Brand, tasked with defining the overall strategy and long-term vision. His extensive 17-year tenure at Ubisoft includes production roles on major releases such as Assassin’s Creed Revelations, Black Flag, Origins, and Valhalla, most recently serving as the company’s chief production officer.
François de Billy takes on the newly created position of Head of Production Excellence. Having served as production director on Black Flag, Origins, and Valhalla, and earlier as an associate producer on Assassin’s Creed 2, his focus will be to optimize processes and streamline complex production workflows. This role is widely seen as a direct effort to improve development efficiency and mitigate delays that have plagued some projects.
Jean Guesdon returns to Ubisoft as Head of Content for Assassin’s Creed, leading the overall creative direction while supporting individual game teams and shaping the franchise’s future. Guesdon previously served as creative director on Black Flag and Origins. He left the company in 2023 for Behaviour Interactive, where he was reportedly leading an unannounced voxel-based game, codenamed “Renaissance.” That project was later canceled amid Ubisoft’s broader struggles to launch new intellectual properties.
This leadership trio fills a significant void left by several high-profile exits, most notably that of Marc-Alexis Côté, who led the franchise for nearly two decades before departing in 2025. Côté has since filed a lawsuit alleging forced dismissal, a claim Ubisoft disputes, stating he declined a leadership role at Vantage Studios.
The restructuring underscores Ubisoft’s imperative to safeguard its most valuable franchise. Recent years have seen the series grapple with managing a cohesive overarching narrative and meeting release schedules. Ambitious plans to more deeply interconnect future games have yet to fully materialize. The commercial success of 2025’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows provided crucial stability as the company navigated its major partnership with Tencent.
That partnership resulted in widespread layoffs, canceled projects, and the formation of co-owned subsidiaries like Vantage Studios, which now oversees Ubisoft’s key franchises. In a recent interview, CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed multiple Assassin’s Creed games are in active development, encompassing both multiplayer and single-player experiences. Among these projects is the highly anticipated remake of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag, signaling a return to the beloved nautical adventures that first defined the series for many fans.
(Source: Kotaku)
