Ubisoft 'undertook profound actions' to address studio culture concerns, says CEO

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says that the company is making progress on addressing the concerns raised following numerous accusations of harassment and misconduct across several Ubisoft studios this summer, but notes that the company still has a ways to go.

Guillemot shared a brief update in the company’s quarterly financials this time around, saying that Ubisoft “undertook profound actions to create a safer and more inclusive workplace and to transform our corporate culture” over the last three months.

He doesn’t mention explicitly the reason for this reform in his statement, but this all comes after several individuals, both outside of and within Ubisoft, came forward about moments of sexual harassment, abuse, and racism experienced in the workplace or at the hands of Ubisoft employees.

Those stories highlighted a structural issue at Ubisoft that enabled misconduct, and Ubisoft says both in this latest comment and in previous statements that it is committed to addressing those issues.

Guillemot notes in this update that the company conducted an internal audit of its HR processes and collected feedback from over 14,000 employees. Some of that data has been shared previously by Ubisoft PR through a report that found 20 percent of Ubisoft staff don't feel respected or safe at work and 25 percent say that they’ve observed or witnessed misconduct at work themselves.

That report, explains Guillemot, “helped give us a deep understanding of the situation and create a roadmap to guide our improvement.”

“While much remains to be done, our teams’ testimonies showed a deep attachment to Ubisoft and a strong desire to defend the values of respect and benevolence on which the Group was built. We are committed to making the necessary changes to create an exemplary workplace culture of which everyone at Ubisoft can be proud.”