The next Assassin's Creed game loses its creative director

Engadget

by Will Shanklin

February 25, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

The next Assassin's Creed game, codenamed Hexe, has lost its creative director, Clint Hocking, a 20-year veteran of Ubisoft who was known for his work on games like Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Watch Dogs: Legion. His departure, announced during a staff meeting this week, is part of a broader shakeup at the company. Jean Guedson, who previously served as creative director for Assassin's Creed Origins and Black Flag, has taken over Hocking's role to ensure development continues smoothly. Ubisoft has been undergoing significant changes in recent years. The company reorganized its structure into "creative houses," with Vantage Studios, partially owned by Tencent, now overseeing the Assassin's Creed franchise. This shift followed a series of challenges, including layoffs, high-profile failures of major titles, and leadership departures. Marc-Alexis Côté, the former franchise head, left in October under unclear circumstances and later filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft. Despite these disruptions, some within the company are thriving, particularly those connected to the upper management. Charlie Guillemot, son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, has risen to co-CEO of Vantage Studios, suggesting that nepotism plays a role in the current leadership structure. This context highlights the broader issues affecting Ubisoft's stability and its ability to maintain consistent creative direction across its franchises, including Assassin's Creed. The departure of Hocking and other high-profile figures underscores the challenges facing Ubisoft as it navigates internal restructuring and external pressures. While development on Hexe will continue under Guedson, the频繁的 leadership changes raise questions about how these shifts might impact the game's quality and the overall health of the franchise. For readers interested in tech and gaming, this situation illustrates the importance of organizational stability in maintaining creative output and long-term success in the highly competitive gaming industry.

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Originally published on Engadget on 2/25/2026