Ubisoft Puts Veteran Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Leadership at the Helm of the Assassin’s Creed Brand
Ubisoft has confirmed a new long term leadership structure for the Assassin’s Creed brand, appointing 3 veteran developers with deep franchise history to guide the series through its next era. The announcement arrives in the wake of Ubisoft’s broader organizational reset and follows earlier internal changes that included the formation of Vantage Studios and the departure of former franchise head Marc Alexis Côté.
In Ubisoft’s official update, Martin Schelling has been named head of the Assassin’s Creed brand. Schelling has been with Ubisoft since 2003 and has worked on Assassin’s Creed since Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, where he served as a producer. He later worked as a producer on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and moved into senior producer roles on Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Ubisoft notes that he most recently held the chief production officer position under the prior organizational structure, making him a leadership continuity pick with direct production experience across multiple eras of the franchise.
Joining him is Jean Guesdon as head of content for the Assassin’s Creed brand. Guesdon is one of the most recognizable creative names attached to the series, having served as creative director on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed: Origins. After 17 years at Ubisoft, he left in 2018, worked as an advisor at Classcraft, then moved to Behavior Interactive as senior creative director. He returned to Ubisoft in 2024 in the director of strategic visualization role, and now steps into a position that directly influences what Assassin’s Creed becomes creatively, from the worlds and characters to the broader content direction.
The third key appointment is François de Billy as head of production excellence. De Billy has been with Ubisoft since 2001, initially working on the original Splinter Cell on the original Xbox. His Assassin’s Creed history stretches back to the beginning, including production manager on the first Assassin’s Creed, associate producer on Assassin’s Creed II, and production leadership roles on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Ubisoft states his most recent role was global senior production director, a position he has held since 2021. In a franchise that now operates at massive scale, production excellence is not just process, it is the difference between a smooth content pipeline and a release cadence that buckles under its own ambition.
Beyond the corporate announcement, Ubisoft also shared Guesdon’s personal message with the community via the Assassin’s Creed Reddit. His tone is a clear attempt to rebuild connective tissue with long time fans and to signal that this leadership change is not only structural, but also emotional, a return to the franchise for a creator strongly associated with one of its most beloved entries.
From a brand strategy perspective, this trio signals a pivot toward operational stability and franchise familiarity at a time when Ubisoft needs reliable pillars. Assassin’s Creed remains the company’s most consistent revenue engine, and putting the series in the hands of leaders who have shipped the biggest modern entries and understand the internal production machine is the safest way to reduce execution risk. The opportunity now is to pair that stability with creative clarity. Players do not just want more Assassin’s Creed, they want a confident vision that respects what made the series iconic while still evolving the format for modern expectations.
The next chapter is not guaranteed to be brighter, but this is a leadership lineup designed to earn back trust through delivery. For Ubisoft, the objective is straightforward: prove the reset is real by shipping high quality experiences, at a sustainable cadence, with a stronger relationship to the community than the brand has had in recent years.
Do you feel more confident about Assassin’s Creed with veterans like Schelling, Guesdon, and de Billy leading the brand, or do you think the series needs a more radical creative reboot to win you back?
