Five former Ubisoft executives have been arrested in the wake of a sweeping systemic sexual violence investigation that began in 2021, according to French newspaper Libération. Among those arrested are former chief creative officer Serge Hascoët and former vice president of editorial and creative services Tommy François. Three were arrested on Oct 3, and two were arrested on Oct. 4, the newspaper reports.
Maude Beckers, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, told Libération she has never seen an investigation of this scope into systemic sexual violence, and claims the company appeared to have turned into a big “playground” and that those working there had a “schoolboyish atmosphere” imposed on them. “HR knew all about this and systematically hushed things up. What’s unique in this case is the complicity of the company’s white-collar workers,” Beckers said.
The investigation is being handled by the public prosecutor’s office in Bobigny, one of Paris’s districts.
In July 2021, Ubisoft workers penned an open letter to the studio following Activision Blizzard’s walkout, expressing solidarity with the American company’s workers, and demanding that their own senior leadership take allegations of sexual harassment more seriously. “We have stood by and watched as you fired only the most public offenders,” the letter read. “You let the rest either resign or worse, promoted them, moved them from studio to studio, team to team, giving them second chance after second chance with no repercussions. This cycle needs to stop.”
In 2022, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told Axios he thought that, “we are a very good company and we had problems, we solved them and the goal is to be again the best place.”
The investigation, and arrests, come years after the gaming industry’s Me Too movement, which saw multiple studios reach settlements or be placed under investigation due to their conduct towards those they allegedly wronged.
“Ubisoft has no knowledge of what has been shared and therefore can’t comment,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz.
Published: Oct 4, 2023 08:37 am