Halfway through 2020, multiple reports emerged shedding light on hostile working conditions across Ubisoft, covering everything from sexual misconduct and harassment to abuse of power in higher positions. Following that, it was reported that Ubisoft was taking steps to address many of these issues, including internal restructuring and the departure of various high profile employees at the company alleged of misconduct, but new report by French publication Le Télégramme (via GamesIndustry) claims that not a lot has changed at the company since then.
Games workers union Solidaires Informatique Jeu Vidéo is leading pending legal proceedings against Ubisoft, and through testimonies provided by various Ubisoft employees, has uncovered that there has been little to no forward movement at the company in light of aforementioned reports. Though changes have been made, their impact has been negligible, it’s been alleged.
Director of HR Cécile Cornet (who was also alleged of misconduct) has been replaced by Anika Grant, while Raashi Sikka was appointed as VP of global diversity and inclusion, but with much of the HR staff previously involved in misconduct allegations still at the company, Ubisoft employees “don’t expect anything to come out of these appointments.” It doesn’t help that many who were previously accused of misconduct are still at the company as well, including former Ubisoft Singapore director Hugues Ricour, and head of Ubisoft-owned studio Florent Castelnérac.
It’s also been alleged that new reports of harassment have also emerged since December 2020, but these have been sidelined by Ubisoft. A source has also said that Ubisoft wishes to “leave the crisis from summer 2020 behind as it represents a risk for the group’s durability.” They add: “Training must be renewed regularly and offered to new staff. For now, this request has not been addressed.”
A Ubisoft representative said to GamesIndustry in response to this new report: “Over a period of several months, Ubisoft has implemented major changes across its organization, internal processes and procedures in order to guarantee a safe, inclusive and respectful working environment for all team members.”
“These concrete actions demonstrate the profound changes that have taken place at every level of the company,” they added. “Additional initiatives are underway and are being rolled out over the coming months. We are committed to strengthening our culture and values in the long term, to help ensure every team member at Ubisoft is heard, respected and valued in the workplace.”