Ubisoft Employees Demand Further Reforms and Clarification on Harassment

Update, September 23, 2022: A Better Ubisoft has shared additional allegations with GamesIndustry.biz, criticizing Ubisoft's handling of workplace issues. According to the group, management has ceased responding to questions unrelated to town hall meeting agendas, leaving many concerns unaddressed. Employees report that anonymous abuse reports may still result in victim-blaming or requests for the victim's identity, despite requests for anonymity. One developer believes their report of sexual harassment was only taken seriously because it was submitted as a formal complaint. The group also criticizes Ubisoft's tendency to refer to the issues as a 'change of culture' without acknowledging specific problems like abuse, harassment, and toxicity. They argue that management ignores the root causes of these issues and that employee surveys are ineffective due to a lack of communication about the actions taken based on the data. Morale at one studio was reportedly so low that an employee decided to leave, citing both the toxic culture and low pay. Ubisoft declined to comment further. Original Story, September 16, 2022: Ubisoft continues to face criticism from its employees, who claim that changes made since the 2020 abuse allegations have had little impact. Staff members, including those at the Paris headquarters, are calling for improvements to the workplace. A game designer noted that a toxic culture produces harassers, rather than the other way around, and expressed hope that a lawsuit filed last year will provide explanations for the behavior of former employees. Employees are seeking more structural changes, including increased transparency and the hiring of more women. Sources suggest that while awareness of the problems has increased, the issues themselves remain unresolved, with some claiming that recent changes have had a superficial or even negative effect.