Union Sues Ubisoft For Harassment Cases

Well this doesn’t look hunky dory, does it? You might remember unless you have very short-term memory loss, that the kings and queens of bland open worlds with one or two interesting ideas have had a bit of trouble recently. “Trouble” is underselling sexual assault, harassment, and general behavior that is not befitting management. Some of those things were protected by those at the top. While in May, Ubisoft’s top boss Yves Guillemot claimed change had happened over the previous year and employees said otherwise. It has now (Thanks PC gamer) come to light that the workers union Solidaires Informatique is suing Ubisoft for “Institutional sexual harassment.”

Of course, translating from French, “In June 2020, dozens of testimonies emerged on social networks, quickly supported by articles from various media […] denouncing cases of sexual harassment within the Ubisoft group with the complacency of HR departments, protecting stalkers and silencing victims.” Moving on a little bit it states: “on July 15[th], 2021, a complaint was filed in the Bobigny criminal court by Maude Beckers, representing both the Solidaires Informatique and several victims of the company.” This is is followed up on the site (linked above in French) with a list of everyone the complaint is aiming at.

The list (as you might have guessed) features heads of departments that are reportedly responsible for these actions: Serge Hascoët, Tommy François, Cecile Cornet, Yves Guillemot, and among all of this, Hascoët’s assistant and several of those in HR are also implicated. The Union goes on to note, “More importantly, the complaint targets the Ubisoft group as a legal person for institutional sexual harassment. For putting in place, maintaining and strengthening a system where sexual harassment is tolerated because it is more profitable for the company to keep harassers in place than to protect its employees.” It wraps up with a note about top echelons of the company creating and using the system. That’s what this “complaint” wants to dismantle.

Of course, this isn’t the first time we’re talking about it. It also isn’t the first time I’ve uttered Hascoët’s name, as he’s the bloke that forced the male or female protagonists in Assassin’s Creed instead of there just being a female protagonist, alone. Yes, apparently “women don’t sell games,” if you ignore the fact that women are used as sex objects to sell everything from cars to games. Nonetheless, the company has gone through several reshuffles, departures, and generally an uncomfortable year as it tries to squirm out of responsibility for every horrible instance of harassment/unsafe working environment.