Ubisoft: Employees show solidarity with Activision employees

Ubisoft

Activision Blizzard was sued by the state of California last week on allegations of systemic discrimination against women and countless cases of corporate sexual harassment. At the beginning of the week, over 2,000 employees published an open letter in which they strongly criticize the way those responsible have dealt with the issue. Work was also halted in a protest on Tuesday.

As a sign of solidarity, Ubisoft employees have now shared an open letter signed by almost 500 current and former employees. Ubisoft was also sued in France a few days ago over the same allegations. Already last year there were reports from the Ubisoft environment in which employees drew attention to the conditions in the company. Many of those responsible in this regard were fired by CEO Yves Guillemot - but it was only last week that information from Ubisoft Singapore made the rounds again, which also resulted in discrimination and harassment. Axios Gaming's Stephen Totilo shared the open letter on Twitter.

Recommended editorial content At this point you will find external content from [PLATTFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations are only displayed if you confirm this by clicking on "Load all external content": Load all external content I consent to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy . External content More on this in our data protection declaration. Also read 0

Ubisoft Singapore: Allegations of Discrimination and Harassment

The Ubisoft Singapore branch has been accused by former employees of tolerating discrimination and sexual harassment. 0

Ubisoft reported for systemic abuse of employees

Ubisoft is again confronted with allegations of systemic sexual harassment. The company was sued in France. 1

Tom Clancy: Ubisoft announces a new game today

Fans of Ubisoft's Tom Clancy games should keep this Monday evening free. var lstExcludedArticleTicker = '1376850,1376555,1376171,1376167'; "To the employees of Activision Blizzard. We hear you and want to loudly express our solidarity. Over the past few weeks the gaming industry has been rocked by revelations that many of us have known about for too long. Revelations made about Ubisoft a year ago The frequency of these reports shows that there is a widespread and deeply ingrained culture of abusive behavior in the industry. [...] Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions. " - it says in the letter, among other things.

Ubisoft takes the allegations in the letter from employees and former employees very seriously, as confirmed in a statement (in the tweet above). Whether there will be further investigations in the future, however, was not clear from the current text.

via Axios

---

Ubisoft workers slam bosses in open letter over handling of #MeToo scandals

Close to 500 current and former employees of “Assassin’s Creed” publisher Ubisoft are standing in solidarity with protesting game developers at Activision Blizzard with a letter that criticizes their company's handling of sexual misconduct.

Why it matters: Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard workers are framing the actions as part of a bigger movement meant to have lasting change in the industry and its culture.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

Driving the news: In the open letter shared with Axios, Ubisoft organizers directly address Activision Blizzard workers, who are expected to stage a walkout Wednesday, amid the fallout from California’s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard over harassment and discrimination at the company.

'We believe you, we stand with you and support you,' the Ubisoft workers write.

'It should no longer be a surprise to anyone: employees, executives, journalists, or fans that these heinous acts are going on. It is time to stop being shocked. We must demand real steps be taken to prevent them. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions.'

Organizers say the letter’s signatories come from 32 of Ubisoft’s studios in Asia, Europe and North America. It will be sent to company management, including CEO Yves Guillemot.

Details: The Ubisoft group says it is frustrated by the company’s actions since last summer’s cascade of accounts about sexual misconduct and toxic working conditions at many studios.

'We have stood by and watched as you fired only the most public offenders. 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.'

The workers call for 'a seat at the table when it comes to deciding how to move forward from here.'

Ubisoft dismissed or parted ways last year with several senior men at the company who were accused of misconduct, including its chief creative officer.

Story continues

Officials have pointed to the appointment of new executives responsible for diversity and anti-harassment initiatives and the revision and enforcement of its code of conduct as concrete actions over the past year.

But developers at the company have told Axios and other outlets they don’t feel the company’s culture has fundamentally changed.

What they're saying: 'We want to be very clear that we take this letter — and the issues it raises — very seriously,' a Ubisoft representative told Axios.

The company says many changes over the last year have been driven by employee feedback.

'We absolutely stand behind these efforts and the positive impact they have had on our company culture while also recognizing that we must continue to engage with our employees to ensure we are creating a workplace where they feel valued, supported, and most importantly, safe,' the rep added.

What’s next: The Ubisoft letter proposes that Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard and other top publishers and developers work together to 'set of rules and processes for handling reports of these offences.'

'This collaboration must heavily involve employees in non-management positions and union representatives. This is essential to ensure that those who are directly affected by these behaviours are leading the change.'

In their own statement earlier Wednesday, Activision Blizzard workers said their walkout was not a 'one time event that our leaders can ignore.' Instead, they described it as 'the beginning of an enduring movement in favor of better labor conditions for all employees.'

Go deeper:

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include Ubisoft's statement.

Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.