The day before yesterday, about a thousand Ubisoft employees signed an open letter in support of their colleagues from Activision Blizzard. In it, they also criticized the way Ubisoft is struggling with its problems. Last night, CEO Yves Guillemot commented on this letter. Spoiler: The employees didn’t like his answer.
Source: Ubisoft Montreal
Recall that in a letter, developers from Ubisoft indicated that the company’s management did almost nothing to rectify the situation after the harassment scandal.
According to them, the culprits are still working at Ubisoft, and some have even been promoted.
The employees who signed the letter called for the dismissal of those who were involved in the scandal. They also demanded “real, fundamental changes at Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard and across the industry.” For example, for large game publishers to develop a common list of rules of conduct in the workplace.
In a response letter, the CEO of Ubisoft stated that the company took the issues raised seriously and accepted them as a guide to action. Guillemot noted that he wants to create “the best Ubisoft” and promised changes.
However, he did not say anything about the specific requirements of his employees. Instead, Guillemot spoke about the steps that the company has taken over the past year: conducted 3,000 group sessions with 1,500 employees, organized a corporate-wide survey and conducted a global audit. Ubisoft has also introduced new anonymous messaging tools, updated HR processes, launched mandatory trainings, updated the rules of conduct and changed the management in a number of offices.
Later, Ubisoft is going to conduct another large survey. The publisher will announce some other changes in the third quarter.
At the end of the statement, Guillemot added that employees can always ask him personally or contact their direct management.
The full text of his statement can be read here.
Developers from Ubisoft have already commented on the CEO’s letter. They are glad that improvements are being made in the company, and that the management agrees that what has been done so far has not been enough.
But they noted that Guillemot did not pay due attention to all their requirements:
“Ubisoft continues to cover the perpetrators of the scandal and their supporters. We see that the management is still avoiding this problem. It is also worth clarifying that an invitation to personally address the authorities is not the same as getting a seat at the table where decisions are made,” the developers said.
Ubisoft employees expressed hope to receive a new answer from the head of the publishing house, in which all questions will be answered.