Fans boycott Ubisoft games and demand company be held accountable after sexual misconduct allegations
Assassins Creed Valhalla. (Ubisoft)
Gamers are demanding Ubisoft be held accountable for alleged sexual harassment within the company.
Since early last year, allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Ubisoft have forced the company to face its so-called ‘toxic’ culture.
Those allegations came from various members of staff across multiple departments at the Assassins Creed and Far Cry developer (among other games). Then Vice President Maxime Beland resigned after allegations he choked a female member of staff at a Far Cry 4 launch party.
Now, a new report from 5 May in French magazine Le Télégramme claims that not enough change has been made at the company.
According to the report, HR director Cécile Cornet stepped down in July 2020 but only left recently. One source claimed that many HR personnel who oversaw the allegations remain in their roles without consequence. The source doesn’t “expect anything to come out of these appointments”.
A further source from Ubisoft’s Canadian office noted that since Christophe Derennes took over for Yannis Mallat as Managing Director, “nothing has changed” in the culture.
Mallat faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and Derennes is the cousin of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot.
Fans have taken to social media to air their disappointment in the company, with #holdubisoftaccountable trending on Twitter.
YouTuber LazerzZ released a video on the topic that soon gained traction across social media.
The video details the situation at Ubisoft and in it, LazerzZ vows to not buy another Ubisoft product.
“All we focus on now is how we move forward. And for me that is not buying another product from Ubisoft until they take responsibility and they are held accountable for their actions,” he says.
Whether my video is shared or not isn't important, I hope that people take the core message & share it. I hope people take the resources from the desc. & share those. Make noise, focus on what matters, let's fight for change.#HoldUbisoftAccountablehttps://t.co/62NTwxphla
— James (@ItsLazBoi) May 20, 2021
While some high profile members of staff have left Ubisoft due to the alleged sexual misconduct, others have been shifted around and remain at the company.
“I cannot continue to support this company, even if it’s to critique their games… I can’t continue giving them my money,” says LazerzZ.
Other fans have also shared their feelings and resources across social media.
2020 – 2021
Ubisoft doesn't give a shit about their employees well-being, so we should.#HoldUbisoftAccountable pic.twitter.com/RhLcMKjujx— Rexy 2: The Return (@BirthOfARexy) May 20, 2021
https://twitter.com/FoundedScarab/status/1395412247166476288?s=20
#HoldUbisoftAccountable because you can't get away with abusing your employees, hating women and then go and pretend like nothing happened. We won't post & promote any Ubisoft games until action is taken. https://t.co/9uzL3gtLLy— best of video games (@bestofvidgames) May 21, 2021
Ubisoft has yet to make meaningful changes to their company after numerous allegations of sexual abuse
As a member of the Assassin's Creed family I will be removing all scheduled Ubisoft streams until action has been made #HoldUbisoftAccountable 👏🏽👏🏽— BlackKrystel (@BlackKrystel) May 20, 2021
In a statement to PinkNews, Ubisoft said: “Over a period of several months, Ubisoft has implemented major changes across its organisation, internal processes and procedures in order to guarantee a safe, inclusive and respectful working environment for all team members.”
Those changes include anonymous reporting tools for misconduct, all allegations thoroughly investigated by external experts, global training on appropriate workplace conduct, and a revamp of the code of conduct.
New appointments include: Lidwine Sauer as Head of Workplace Culture, Anika Grant as a new Chief People Officer, and Raashi Sikka as a new VP of Global Diversity and Inclusion.
Ubisoft added: “These concrete actions demonstrate the profound changes that have taken place at every level of the company. 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.”
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