Ubisoft Claim Lots Of Change, Employees Don’t

Well, this is going to be a fun article to write, and undoubtedly one for you to read. It has not been a great year for several reasons; however, the entire industry was slapped with several claims of sexual misconduct, rape, and general abuse claims all over. Claims have come against The Last of Us Part II developer Naughty Dog, Batman: Arkham and the upcoming Suicide Squad developer Rocksteady, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red. However, as we covered several times over the past year is Ubisoft‘s several departures and reshuffles.

A year on from the reveal that 25% of the staff at Ubisoft stepped forward with claims of being harassed or observing misconduct in the company, Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft CEO, has published a letter. Meant to show the steps forward over the last year taken by Ubisoft, the letter notes the several new appointments in the wake of such claims of misconduct, along with noting small changes the company has made to its own code of conduct. These things consist of additions or changes such as anonymity to those who come forward, training courses for all new employees, and compulsory basic half-day training for all employees.

However, Guillemot’s letter comes following a report by French paper, Le Télégramme, which reported on the other major court case in gaming right now. No, not the Apple Vs Epic one, the legal actions being taken following the claims of harassment within the developer/publisher’s workplace. For those of you who might not know French, GamesIndustry.biz also covered this last week, which makes Guillemot’s letter less than a week later one of suspicious timing. The case, taken largely by a video game worker’s union Solidaires Informatique Jeu Vidéo, is based on a call for testimonies by the union.

The article from Le Télégramme notes that what Ubisoft has done so far is, in fact, very little at all. Suspicion lays on new heads of HR and Global Diversity and Inclusion, Anika Grant and Raashi Sikka both coming from Uber, where they are claimed to have covered up several harassment issues in their positions there. Along with this comes the news that little has been done with some who have strong claims against them, such as Florent Castelnérac, who has been mentioned in several testimonies. Moreover, one union official noted “The management uses elements of language to protect it.” An example being Hugues Ricour, who was removed from projects at Ubisoft Singapore but is still within the company, according to his own LinkedIn.

Meanwhile, there are reports that those who have testified against harassers have themselves been sidelined. This includes Ubisoft Montreal headed by Christophe Derennes since last July, and according to a couple of employees, Derennes is Guillemot’s cousin. Some have reported that “Nothing has changed,” when talking with Le Télégramme. Another source went on to say, “We perceive the desire of the management [is] to leave the crisis from [the] Summer [of] 2020 behind as it represents a risk for the sustainability of the group.”

However, in the days following the release of the article from GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft has responded to a request for comment. “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,” said the representative to GamesIndustry.biz. They went on to state “These concrete actions demonstrate the profound changes that have taken place at every level of the company,” listing the anonymous reporting tools, training, and other changes noted in Guillemot’s letter days later.

This was closed with “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.” Though in Guillemot’s statement, he remarks, “Considerable progress has been made.” with notes of an anonymous tip line for those who either experience or see misconduct, several new appointees, the half-day training for employees, and the new code of conduct taking effect in June. There is still no clear statement of what action is being taken for those who are still within Ubisoft and have been named in testimonies.

Guillemot noted that all the anonymous reports from now on are taken care of independently and that Accenture is conducting an audit of the companies HR policies. This lead to the resulting changes to the code of conduct. The company has also set up a performance standard to its compensation scheme, with expectations for management, aimed to “foster a safe and respectful work environment.” With Guillemot stating, “Management, myself included, have a responsibility to act as role models and be exemplary for our teams. I want to stress my personal commitment to continue to improve our workplace culture and create real, lasting and positive change at Ubisoft.”

It goes without saying, but I’ll do so anyway. If employees are saying they feel ignored one week, and the CEO comes out weeks later saying, “we’ve done great things, and will continue to” there are still questions in the air. If reports are true that some within the Montreal studio have been sidelined since December for providing testimony, that’s a big question mark against Guillemot/Ubisoft’s claims. The simple fact Grant and Sikka are coming from a place dogged with claims of HR covering up misconduct is another question to be had. One can only hope that other appointees, programs set in place, and independent oversight can course-correct years of misconduct.