Eric Baptizat, game director on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and a Ubisoft veteran of almost 16 years, has returned to the publisher after a five-year absence, where he will lead the direction of the long-running franchise. In addition to his work on Valhalla, Baptizat also served as lead game designer on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, senior game designer on Assassin’s Creed Unity, and project lead on game design for Assassin’s Creed Origins. After leaving Ubisoft in 2021, he worked at EA Motive Studio where he served as game director on the remake of Dead Space and game design director on Battlefield 6. Now, speaking on LinkedIn, Jean Guesdon, head of content for Assassin’s Creed, confirmed that Baptizat has returned to Ubisoft. Ubisoft announced in March 2025 Assassin’s Creed franchise is now being overseen by its new Tencent-backed company alongside Far Cry and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.