Ubisoft makes 5-point action plan to combat sexual harrassment

Ubisoft has detailed a 5-point action plan to address sexual harrassment allegations in the wake of scandals that have rocked the publisher.

Following a number of recent allegations involving a host of senior executives — Yannis Mallat, Serge Hascoët, Cécile Cornet, Maxime Beland and Tommy Francois — alongside Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s Ashraf Ismail, the company detailed the changes its making as follows:

1. A series of investigations led by independent external consultants is being carried out on the allegations with all the necessary rigor. In addition, a confidential third-party managed listening and alert platform has been put in place to enable employees as well as external individuals to anonymously report any harassment, discrimination or other inappropriate behavior. Based on the findings of these investigations, all appropriate measures are being and will be taken. The external company will issue regular reports to Ubisoft’s Board of Directors. To date, several people, including senior managers, have left the Group or stepped down from their role within the Company, some of whom have been dismissed or have resigned and others who have been suspended. A support and recovery unit has also been put in place, which will be overseen by an organization specialized in helping victims of harassment.
2. A review of the composition and reorganization of the editorial department has been undertaken under the leadership of Yves Guillemot, with an overhaul of the way in which the teams work together.
3. The Group has embarked on a transformation of its HR processes in order to better prevent, detect, and sanction inappropriate behavior. For that purpose, it has selected a leading consultancy firm to perform an external audit. It has also been decided that a portion of team leads’ bonuses will be tied to their ability to create a positive and inclusive workplace environment. And lastly, the Group intends to launch a harassment awareness-raising campaign among all of its employees which will take the form of training modules.
4. Ubisoft has launched a group-wide questionnaire to obtain their feedback on a totally anonymous basis and has put in place talking and listening sessions for employees on all of its sites with the aim of addressing their suggestions and concerns and identifying areas for improvement.
5. A Head of Workplace Culture has been appointed and a new position of Head of Diversity and Inclusion has been created, open to both internal and external candidates. Both of these roles will report directly to [CEO] Yves Guillemot.

“Each time we’ve been made aware of misconduct, we made tough decisions and made sure that those decisions had a clear and positive impact,” Guillemot said in a recent investors’ call.

“It has now become clear that certain individuals betrayed the trust I placed in them and didn’t adhere to Ubisoft’s shared values. So I have never compromised on my core values and ethics, and I never will.”

The news comes after a scathing report that’s detailed how Serge Hascoët actively limited female involvement in Ubisoft’s games, citing games with females didn’t sell as well as those with males.

Ubisoft today announced a second Ubisoft Forward livestream to take place in September.