Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag creative director returns to help 'steer the brand’s ambitious new chapter'

Ubisoft's big restructuring has left the Assassin's Creed series under the control of Vantage Studios, one of five "creative houses" (and still the only one with a name) charged with carrying its brands into the future. What that means in practical terms is unclear: The only concrete impact up to today was the loss of former Assassin's Creed franchise boss Marc-Alexis Côté, who said he was forced out just seven months after the success of Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Today Ubisoft announced who will be taking the reins on the Assassin's Creed series, and it's not one guy but three guys, a "trio of experts of the series, who will bring their expertise, knowledge, and passion to guide Assassin’s Creed into its next chapter." They are:

Jean Guesdon, Head of Content: "He will lead the creative direction of the franchise, support ongoing projects, and help shape the franchise’s future while ensuring it remains true to its DNA. You probably remember Jean for his work as Creative Director on Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed Origins. But his history with the series goes all the way back to Assassin’s Creed II. His contribution to the brand is immense, and we are delighted to see him return to help shape this next exciting chapter."

François De Billy, Head of Production Excellence: "He will support our teams by strengthening production practices and execution across the franchise. François recently worked as Senior Director, Global Production, and contributed to several major Assassin’s Creed titles, including Revelations and Black Flag, and more recently as Production Director on AC Origins and AC Valhalla."

Composite photo of Martin Schelling, Jean Guesdon, and Francois De Billy — (Image credit: Ubisoft)

I won't pretend to fully grasp the distinctions between leading a creative franchise and leading a franchise creatively (which is why I quoted all of the above from the announcement post on Reddit), and it's fun to imagine that the entirety of De Billy's job involves wandering around the office telling people to "Be excellent!" like some kind of game dev Bill and Ted. (That's probably not it, though.)

Regardless of the specifics, all three have long histories at Ubisoft, although as the announcement suggests, Guesdon is the only one with specific Assassin's Creed roots, while Schelling and De Billy have been more Ubisoft generalists over the past several years. Guesden actually left Ubisoft in 2023 after 17 years at Ubi, but said in today's announcement on Reddit that "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. 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."

Assassin's Creed is one of Ubisoft's premiere properties, and as it goes, so goes Ubisoft. But this shakeup still feels a bit odd to me. Côté, the previous vice president and executive producer of Assassin's Creed, is a long-time veteran of the series himself, and had overseen a string of successes beginning with Assassin's Creed Odyssey in 2018. He was also a vocal defender of developers amidst the ugly backlash over the presence of Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows, which despite the fevered hopes of some portions of gamerdom proved to be a major success. All of which makes me wonder—why mess with it?

Joining Schelling, Guesdon, and De Billy at the top of the Assassin's Creed pile are Andrée-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. Ubisoft said they'll formally join the leadership team over the next few weeks, "where they are set to steer the brand’s ambitious new chapter."

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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