Top executives quit French gaming giant Ubisoft in sexual harassment probe

A number of senior staff have stepped down at French video game company Ubisoft as it conducts an internal investigation into sexual harassment claims.

Ubisoft will give away copies of "Assassin's Creed Unity", which allows gamers to explore Notre-Dame, after the cathedral was damaged in a devastating fire. © AFP/Getty Images - STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

Three top executives, including Serge Hascoet, chief creative officer, head of human resources Cécile Cornet and Canadian branch managing director Yannis Mallat left their posts, according to a statement released on Sunday.

The probe and resignations come as a number of current and former employees posted sexual harassment and predatory behaviour stories on social media.

"Ubisoft has fallen short in its obligation to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace environment for its employees," said Yves Guillemot, CEO and co-founder of the company that has published popular game series such as Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.

Ubisoft Axes 3 Top Executives After Widespread Claims Of Sexual Harassment And Misconduct https://t.co/m6yz9ppgOQ

— Glitchcraft 🦋 (@Glitchcraft1) July 12, 2020

"This is unacceptable, as toxic behaviours are in direct contrast to values on which I have never compromised – and never will," he said.

• Women claim their place in France's video game industry
• 'Twitching', live streaming and video games - the future of French entertainment?

Guillemot will be temporarily taking over Hascoet’s role while stating that Ubisoft will be "committed to implementing profound changes.”

Sexual harassment on a global scale

Ubisoft has a total of 18,000 employees worldwide, including 22 percent women.

Anonymous stories by employees and former employees being mistreated were posted on Twitter at the end of June, primarily about executives in Toronto and Montreal, but other employees in studios in Brazil, Bulgaria and the United States, also posted their stories, some of which were several years old.

The news from Ubisoft this week is a shock, and it isn't. I worked at Ubi Montreal 20 years ago, not realizing at the time how much I could and should expect better. #Ubisoft #harassment pic.twitter.com/LXQH1tuP6O

— Rachel Potvin (@PotvinRachel) June 28, 2020

Video game industry sexual harassment was initially brought to light during the “gamergate” controversy in 2014, where those who criticised the way women were portrayed in a number of violent video games received rape and death threats, pushing the industry to look inward to reform itself.