Three former Ubisoft executives have appeared in court, so it is safe to say that harassment occurred at Ubisoft.

Three of the executives received suspended prison sentences in a trial that began in March and was postponed until June. According to the French publication Le Monde, the former vice president of editorial and creative services, Thomas François, was found guilty of moral and sexual harassment, as well as attempted sexual harassment. He was fined €30,000 and given a three-year suspended prison sentence.

Serge Hascoët, former Ubisoft creative director, was accused of making lewd and racist remarks and of harassing a Muslim employee by replacing his desktop wallpaper with pictures of food and placing food on his desk while he was fasting for Ramadan. Hascoët was fined €45,000 and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence. Guillaume Patrux, a former Ubisoft game designer, was charged with psychological harassment. He received a 12-month suspended prison sentence and a €10,000 fine.

Patrux, Hascoët, and François were all part of the toxic culture that Ubisoft allowed to run rampant. Employees called attention to this culture in an open letter in 2021, calling for a better Ubisoft. While Activision Blizzard employees criticized the leaders who perpetuated ABK’s toxic culture, Ubisoft employees supported Activision Blizzard King employees and called attention to problems at their own studio.

A year later, Ubisoft employees lashed out at CEO Yves Guillemot for his apparent failure to respond to their demands to improve company culture. However, the CEO claimed that he took their concerns seriously. One of the main problems employees raised was that, when they addressed issues with managers such as Hascoët, the managers were transferred to another position within the Ubisoft global team instead of losing their job.

It’s worth noting that Hascoët was never officially fired from the company. Instead, he resigned, allegedly following a conversation about the allegations against him.

Source: WCCFTech