In its annual universal registration document, Ubisoft publicly acknowledged (and considering that most people never read these things …) that “inappropriate behavior by employees“Was a new risk for the major publisher and developer and could result in the company losing talented people.
This universal registration document focuses on various aspects of Ubisoft, including financial risk, key people, company structure, and legal documents and rules.
There is a section in this large document describing how Ubisoft has faced retention and recruitment problems due to an “occurrence of inappropriate employee behavior”, with Ubisoft listing the risk of “failing to attract and retain talent.” hold “as” high “. .
The document goes on to explain that in mid-June 2020, Ubisoft faced growing pressure, both internally and externally, to stamp out toxic behavior within the company. In August 2020, Kotaku reported on these allegations and the following case. Several people left the company after it was alleged that the publisher’s supervisors ignored or mishandled complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct. In September, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot has apologized to “anyone who has been injured by misconduct at the publisher”. However, due to “time restrictions”, this video was not included in a Ubisoft Play livestream event that aired that day.
The document also includes information on what Ubisoft has been doing to combat toxic behavior and harassment, including mandatory training for all workers on harassment and sexism and the creation of a new position, VP of Global Diversity and Inclusion. Ubisoft claims this will promote “diversity, equity and inclusion” within the company.
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However, Ubisoft warns that the risks posed by a toxic workplace are not easily manageable, adding that it “cannot offer absolute guarantees that this type of risk will be controlled”.
While Ubisoft claims in this document it is working to fix some of the toxic problems plaguing some studios, the recent announcement of a new, massive Assassin’s Creed Project in addition to a reorganization of the Ubisoft studios allegedly upset some employees. The problem is that, according to them, some of those still responsible are people who have been accused of abusive behavior. A Ubisoft spokesperson told Bloomberg last week that any employee who has been exposed to allegations of toxic behavior and stays with Ubisoft had their case “rigorously reviewed by a third party” and those involved were either “exonerated or subjected to appropriate disciplinary measures”.
It seems that Ubisoft, like many other game companies, has a lot to do if they want to upgrade and fix toxic, harassment-filled jobs. And as usual with these things, it takes a long time to make progress.
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