Skip to main content

Ubisoft sued in French court for "institutional harassment"

French workers union brings complaint against the videogame giant

Ubisoft have had a complaint filed against them in French court by workers union Solidaires Informatique and two former Ubisoft employees. The complain accuses Ubisoft of "setting up, maintaining and reinforcing a system where sexual harassment is tolerated." It names several Ubisoft executives, including CEO Yves Guillemot and several current and former employees named in public allegations of harassment last year.

In a statement released on Twitter (and in a translation provided to Kotaku), Solidaires Informatique wrote that the "complaint targets Ubisoft as a legal entity for institutional sexual harassment for setting up, maintaining and reinforcing a system where sexual harassment is tolerated because it is more profitable for the company to keep harassers in place than to protect its employees."

Yves Guillemot is reportedly named in the complaint not for specific acts, but because as CEO and co-founder he is ultimately responsible for what happens within the company. A spokesperson for Ubisoft told Kotaku that they did "not have further details to share regarding the claim filed against Ubisoft."

Since allegations surfaced online last year against Ubisoft's senior management and culture, the company has attempted to clear house. Chief creative officer Serge Hascoët, managing director of Ubisoft's Canadian studios Yannis Mallat, and head of HR Cecile Cornet resigned, as did VP of Ubisoft's editorial department Maxime Béland. Tommy François, Vice President Editorial & Creative Services, resigned after being put on disciplinary leave. The creative leads on several Ubisoft games also departed amid investigations, including the managing director of Skull & Bones and the creative director of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Some of these people are named in this latest complaint.

However, Solidaires Informatique also claim that several Ubisoft managers accused of harassment remain in their positions. Last month, Bloomberg reported that a lack of perceived action had led to "a fresh round of complaints on Ubisoft's internal message board."

Read this next