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Assassin's Creed Valhalla Director Returns to Ubisoft as Game Director for Assassin's Creed Brand

Assassin's Creed Valhalla Director Returns to Ubisoft as Game Director for Assassin's Creed Brand

Eric Baptizat, who served as game director on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and lead game designer on Origins and Black Flag, is returning to Ubisoft.

Written by Manas Mitul | Updated: 7 August 2026 12:09 IST

Photo Credit: Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed Valhalla was directed by Eric Baptizat

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Highlights

The Assassin's Creed brand is now under Vantage Studios
Eric Baptizat also worked on Assassin's Creed Origins and Black Flag
Ubisoft announced a new leadership team for Assassin's Creed this year

Ubisoft has made yet another leadership change at the Assassin's Creed franchise. The director of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the series' best-selling title, is returning to the company to lead the popular stealth action franchise. The Assassin's Creed brand is now under Vantage Studios, a Ubisoft subsidiary set up last year to run the company's three biggest franchises.

Jean Guesdon, head of content for Assassin's Creed, shared on LinkedIn that Eric Baptizat, who served as game director on Assassin's Creed Valhalla and lead game designer on Assassin's Creed Origins and Black Flag, is returning to Ubisoft as game director for the AC brand.

Baptizat will join Guesdon, Martin Schelling, and François de Billy as part of the leadership team in charge of the Assassin's Creed franchise at Vantage Studios. He previously worked at Ubisoft for 16 years before moving to Electronic Arts, where he served as game director on Dead Space Remake and Battlefield 6.

Assassin's Creed Hexe Game Director Benoit Richer Has Left Ubisoft

“After an incredible professional journey, including 16 years at Ubisoft and then leading the critically acclaimed Dead Space remake at EA Motive, Eric Baptizat is coming back to the Assassin's Creed family as our new Game Director for the brand,” Guesdon wrote on LinkedIn.

“Éric needs no introduction in this universe. 16 years at Ubisoft, key contributions to Black Flag, Origins, and Valhalla as Game Director, his passion for gameplay craft and his deep connection to this franchise speak for themselves. Seeing someone with his expertise, his rigor, and his collaborative spirit step into this role fills me with confidence and honestly, a lot of excitement, for what's ahead for the brand.”

Assassin's Creed Leadership Changes

The Assassin's Creed leadership now includes Baptizat as game director, Guesdon as head of content, de Billy as head of production excellence, and Schelling as head of the entire brand. Ubisoft announced the new leadership team for its flagship franchise in February this year.

Remake of First Assassin's Creed Game Said to Be in the Works at Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed has seen several changes to its organisational structure since Ubisoft launched Vantage Studios, a Tencent-backed subsidiary that now handles the company's three biggest franchises: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six.

Following the launch of Vantage in October 2025, erstwhile Assassin's Creed boss Marc-Alexis Coté said he was asked to "step aside” from his role at the company.

This year, several senior members of the development team working on Assassin's Creed Hexe have left the project. In February, Clint Hocking, then-creative director of Assassin's Creed Hexe, left Ubisoft after the company announced the franchise's new leadership. Hocking was reportedly replaced by Guesdon.

Ubisoft Launches Tencent-Backed Vantage Studios to Run Its Biggest Franchises

In April, Assassin's Creed Hexe's game director Benoit Richer announced he was leaving Ubisoft to join an independent studio. Ubisoft has not officially confirmed his replacement. It is possible that Baptizat could now lead Assassin's Creed Hexe.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Assaults are lively, strategic
Mini-games are enjoyable and/or have purpose
Added realism in combat
Can dual wield weapons
Hidden Blade returns
Good NPC support in combat

Bad
Too much bloat
Cookie cutter side quests
Combat is clunky
Stiff character movement
Laborious attacks
Convoluted, uninteresting story
Narrative lacks continuity logic
Body language missing in conversations
Microtransactions
Bugs

Read detailed Ubisoft Assassin's Creed Valhalla review

Genre RPG

Platform Amazon Luna, PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC: Windows

Modes Single-player

Series Assassin's Creed

PEGI Rating 18+

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Further reading: Assassins Creed, Ubisoft, Vantage Studios, Assassins Creed Valhalla, Assassins Creed Hexe

Manas Mitul

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In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More