Ubisoft has stayed in the news recently, and not for the best of reasons. Becoming a focus in conversations about sexual harassment and toxic workplace environments, the studio has had some horrible things come to light.
Not long ago in June, there was a massive swell of courageous women in the gaming industry coming forward to share their stories of sexual abuse. During this time, there were more than a few that shared stories of the toxicity they suffered at Ubisoft.
In response to this, Ubisoft issued a brief statement to the gaming outlet PCgamer, who reported it thusly:
“We are deeply concerned by these accusations. We take any allegations of abuse or harassment very seriously and we are looking very closely into the allegations to determine the next steps.”
As dozens upon dozens of stories continued to flood social media, pressure built for Ubisoft to do more than simply say they were taking it seriously and to show some tangible evidence of them treating the horrible situation with the attention and respect it deserves.
Recently, Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, issued a public statement of Ubisoft’s plans to deal with the toxicity and problematic working place that they’ve incidentally created. Discussing the toxicity, Guillemot said the following:
“No one should ever feel harassed or disrespected at work, and the types of inappropriate behavior we have recently learned about cannot and will not be tolerated. To those of you who have spoken up or have supported colleagues, I want to be clear: you are heard, and you are helping drive necessary change within the company.”
Further discussing the changes, Guillemot discussed placing former projects director Lidwine Sauer as a Head of Workplace Culture. Sauer will serve as one of the forefronts of the effort to eliminate the toxicity, being given the power to help make incredible change.
Additionally, there are extensive investigations towards those that were accused to see if the allegations are true in any way. While Guillemot states that he understands the eagerness of the public to hear the results of this investigation, he states that they will be taking the time needed to ensure the investigations are rigorous.
It’s important to note that, while we’re discussing Ubisoft directly, they’re far from the only company that will be needing to undergo change. The overwhelming number of extremely courageous voices that shared their stories to help expose the toxicity and sexual abuse have ensured that these companies cannot ignore the situation. Whether they tackle it with the same intensity and transparency that Ubisoft seems to be bringing is all that remains to be seen.
