Changes are coming to Ubisoft. The company’s CEO Yves Guillemot intends to eradicate harassment and sexism within its walls. He is reforming the editorial team after several of them were accused of harassment.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Guillemot informed employees about this last week in a corporate letter.
The document was published on the Ubisoft website.
First of all, the changes will affect the team of editors who carry out creative control. Guillemot formed it anew in January of this year — and now intends to change its composition again.
Recently, several members of the team, including Tommy Francois and Maxime Beland, were suspended from work and placed on administrative leave. This happened against the background of an investigation into sexual abuse in the company.
In particular, Kairos Media employee Kathryn Johnston accused Ubisoft product manager Andrian Gbingie of rape and manipulation. Several developers from Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft San Francisco and Ubisoft Sofia were also accused of harassment.
The story of the creative director of the future Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is also indicative. Ashraf Ismael left the position at the end of June, as his infidelity to his wife and harassment were revealed.
To avoid such situations in the future, Guillemot will reassemble the team of editors, as well as:
- appoint the project head of the Strategic Innovation Laboratory, Ludwine Sauer, responsible for corporate culture;
- will hire a lead on racial diversity and integration;
- will strengthen the responsibility of managers for all cases of harassment within the walls of Ubisoft;
- will attract auditors to analyze editorial policy and work processes;
- will conduct a survey of all staff on the topic of harrasment, as well as hearings with the involvement of independent observers;
- it will create a platform for anonymous complaints of harassment and discrimination.
“We have a lot to do to improve interaction and collaboration (at Ubisoft),— said Guillemot. — I personally advocate fundamental reforms. We must quickly implement these profound changes at all levels.”
In recent weeks, the industry has once again been overwhelmed by a wave of allegations of sexual harassment. One of the most high-profile cases was the scandal involving game designer Chris Avellone. Several game studios broke off relations with him at once.
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