two executives accused of harassment are placed on leave

While Ubisoft investigates, several of its employees are placed on leave without pay. Last week, a wave of accusation harassment, sexual assault and rape involving employees and managers of the French video game studio surfaced. Since then, many other stories have been reported, sometimes even compiled (as below) on social networks. Ubisoft addressed the controversy in an official statement in which the studio announces to lead an internal investigation, specifying the intervention of external consultants. The first effects seem to be felt today. According to Bloomberg, the video game studio would have placed two of its executives on leave without pay: Tommy François, editorial vice-president at the Paris office, and Maxime Béland, his counterpart (and therefore also vice-president) in the Toronto office. Their two names have been cited repeatedly in different charges.

Ubisoft Thread: Organized by Studio & Offender.

I am not able to include every story shared. Some were too specific and I wish to protect the people who spoke up.

This is not a comprehensive list nor is the info collected verified in a court of law.

No story shared is my own pic.twitter.com/phnInbksjx

— Denny the Villain (@DennyVonDoom) June 26, 2020

As also reported engagd for his part, the creative director of the new Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Ashraf Ismail, would have resigned. After being accused of inappropriate behavior towards fans of his games, he reportedly said on Twitter: “I detach myself from my project to resolve the personal problems that concern my private life.” According to the sources of Bloomberg, Ubisoft would also have released another version of its famous internal press release. The latter would have been greeted with great skepticism on the part of the studio’s employees. Finally, other video game studios have been affected by this wave of accusations. Games Industry recalls, for example, that the screenwriter Chris Avellone, notably hired by Techland for Dying Light 2, has also been charged with sexual abuse. Ubisoft has not yet communicated more details on the case.

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