Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Hexe loses 50 developers amid launch doubts

Assassin's Creed Hexe has taken another hard blow, losing 50 developers after already shedding two directors in 2026. The shakeup adds to the sense that Ubisoft's witchcraft-themed project is no longer just in a normal production wobble, but under real pressure as questions mount over whether a 2026 launch still makes sense.

The turbulence hit leadership first. Creative director Clint Hocking exited Ubisoft in February, and game director Benoit Richer left in April to cofound an indie studio. Jean Guesdon, now the Head of Content for the Assassin's Creed brand, stepped in to oversee Hexe after Hocking's departure. Richer brought a long Ubisoft resume to the project, with credits on Batman: Arkham Origins, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Rainbow Six titles and VR game Transference.

Ubisoft has publicly described Hexe as a project built by a veteran team at Ubisoft Montreal, calling it a "unique, darker, narrative-driven" Assassin's Creed experience. In March, the company said it was taking more time to deliver on its "ambitious vision" and would stay quiet on the game for a while longer. That kind of wording usually signals a publisher trying to buy time while the team deals with scope, leadership, or production issues, and Hexe now has all three hanging over it.

The broader company backdrop is no help. Ubisoft launched Vantage Studios on October 1, 2025 as the new subsidiary responsible for Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six, grouping thousands of developers across Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona and Sofia. But the same month, Ubisoft said it would cancel six games, shut studios and expect a €1 billion pretax loss in fiscal 2025-2026, driven by about a €650 million writedown. The company also entered talks to cut up to 200 jobs at its French headquarters.

Hexe was first announced in 2022 as part of Ubisoft's future Assassin's Creed lineup, and the game has long been linked with a darker setting in the latter stages of the Holy Roman Empire, with horror and witchcraft elements. It is one of four announced premium Assassin's Creed titles in development, but the latest cuts make it harder to read as a stable pillar of the franchise. If recent reporting is right and Hexe slips into 2027, Ubisoft's Black Flag remake could end up carrying the series' biggest spotlight in 2026.