With Ubisoft's massive organizational shake-up and "major reset" officially revealed last month, there have been a lot of changes at the company. Even before it was properly revealed, though, big changes had been made, with the establishment of Vantage Studios and the departure of the former head of the Assassin's Creed franchise, Marc-Alexis Côté.
Today, we learned who would be replacing Côté, with three veteran Assassin's Creed developers at the helm of the franchise for the foreseeable future. The first is the new head of the brand, Martin Schelling, who has been with Ubisoft since 2003. He has worked on the AC series since AC: Revelations, where he was a producer. He was also a producer on AC IV: Black Flag, and then a senior producer on AC: Origins and AC: Valhalla. He moved further up the ladder since then and was most recently the chief production officer under the old organizational structure.
Second, is Jean Guesdon, who has been named the head of content for the Assassin's Creed brand. Fans of the series may recognize Guesdon as the creative director behind both AC IV: Black Flag and AC: Origins. After 17 years with Ubisoft, he left the company in 2018 to become an advisor at Classcraft and then moved to Behavior Interactive to be the studio's senior creative director. That only lasted a year, and in 2024, he came back to Ubisoft to take on the director of strategic visualization role, before now becoming the head of content for the entire AC brand.
Last but not least is François de Billy, who will become the head of production excellence in this new structure. He has remained with Ubisoft since 2001, where he initially worked on the first Splinter Cell game on the original Xbox. He's also been with the AC series since its beginnings, working as a production manager on the first AC game, associate producer on AC II, and as production manager on AC IV: Black Flag, AC: Origins, and AC: Valhalla. His most recent role has been the global senior production director, which he has held since 2021.
"It is wonderful to be back after all these years. Assassin’s Creed has been a defining part of my professional life and being back feels like coming home. This universe, these characters, these worlds, and of course the community have always meant so much to me," said Guesdon in a post shared to the Assassin's Creed Reddit page from Ubisoft's official account.
"I’m especially grateful to be sharing this journey with all of you again, and look forward to sharing more about the next steps ahead for the franchise. Until then...Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted"
For all of Ubisoft's recent woes, the Assassin's Creed brand remains its biggest driver of revenue during its current troubles. Placing the franchise in the hands of three people who clearly have a lot of familiarity with it, including one person who was a key member in creating one of the most beloved entries in the series, should point to a brighter future for both Ubisoft and Assassin's Creed. That's the hope, at least.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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