Yves Guillemot responds to Ubisoft employees and reiterates his commitment: “It is a long process, and there is still more work to be done”
It is clear that the workers of the video game industry are asking their companies for a change regarding the situations of harassment and discrimination , both labor and sexual. Although cases can be found in different studies, the media focus has been directed towards two large companies: Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard .
The French publisher has been the subject of several controversies in recent years. Situations such as that of Ashraf Ismail , director of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla , or the marketing manager of Watch Dogs Legion , Andrien Gbinigie , led to dismissals and statements by employees . Many of them recounted how a toxic environment had taken shape among the workers.
Ubisoft responded by claiming that they were investigating each of the cases, and in May of this year they issued a new statement , in which they indicated their intention to create an “inclusive, safe and respectful” environment . A collective complaint a few weeks ago from France once again set eyes on the company.
The case of Activision Blizzard: Yves Guillemot responds to Ubisoft employees and reiterates his commitment: “It is a long process, and there is still more work to be done”
This last month it has been the turn of the company led by Bobby Kotick. The California Department of Housing and Fair Employment filed a lawsuit last week against the company , pointing directly to the board for not having taken the appropriate measures in the face of harassment and discrimination experienced by its employees.
Activision’s response was negative, noting that the descriptions made by the legal text did not correspond to the current reality . Former leaders of the brand made their own individual comments, regretting what happened and apologizing . The magnitude of the situation increased, with a letter signed by more than 2,000 employees of the entity requesting responsibilities and rectifications from their superiors.
After making the decision to go on strike and with a letter from Bobby Kotick in response, up to 500 Ubisoft employees got involved . They themselves published another letter, showing their support for the employees and going back to Yves Guillemot, CEO of his company, and pointing out that the measures carried out so far were not enough.
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Yves reply
A new open letter has been published by the manager, in which he has insisted on “personally reiterating our commitment to creating lasting change at Ubisoft .” Here you have the full text:
Hi all,
As many of you may know, an open letter signed by current and former members of the Ubisoft team was posted yesterday. For those of you who didn’t see it, you can find the article here along with our external statement. This letter expressed strong support for Activision Blizzard developers and advocated for large-scale change within our industry. It also raised concerns about Ubisoft and our culture. We review this letter as a leadership team and take the issues it raises seriously. So I want to personally reiterate our commitment to creating lasting change at Ubisoft.
We have made significant progress in the past year. Since last summer we have implemented new tools for anonymous reporting, revamped our HR processes, including new global policies to prevent and manage discrimination, retaliation, harassment, a new code of conduct was created, mandatory workshops were implemented, a content review group was established and new leadership is being incorporated in major studios, HR, R&D, Editorial and Production. These are important steps forward, but this is a long process, and there is still more work to be done.
Yesterday’s letter expresses the concern of employees who want to make Ubisoft a better place. We have clearly heard in this letter that not everyone trusts the processes that have been put in place to handle reports of misconduct. This is one of Anika’s top priorities, who continues to ensure that they are strong and independent. In addition to our current processes, we are currently hiring a new VP of Global Labor Relations.
I have always valued freedom of expression at Ubisoft and strongly believe that this is key for us. This is because last year we launched more than 300 listening sessions with more than 1,500 team members, as well as the company-wide survey and global audit. The feedback from these initiatives has been invaluable in driving our plan forward, and we will offer new sessions for all of you to share additional thoughts and comments on these topics. A new company-wide survey (formerly known
as Express Yourself) will launch before the end of the year. We will also continue to empower our Employee Resource Group (ERG) network, creating more visibility, and leadership support to continue bringing new ideas and initiatives to the table.
You can expect another update in Q3, including next steps in the Values Project, R&D, and our HR Roadmap. I encourage you to continue sharing your comments and experiences; you can contact me personally, talk to your management or share comments in Mana. I and the entire leadership team are committed to building a better Ubisoft for all of us.
