In a new interrogation with La Presse, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot appeared to accidental that toxicity successful the games manufacture comes from indispensable “friction” successful the originative process. The accusation was that it was astir inescapable. Two years into a workplace reckoning implicit intersexual harassment, misconduct, and browbeating astatine the steadfast behind Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, it sounded astatine champion code deaf, and astatine worst similar an endorsement of infighting among improvement teams. When asked to clarify his remarks, Ubisoft provided Kotaku with a much elaborate mentation from the CEO.

“I privation to beryllium clear, arsenic I person said earlier determination is perfectly nary spot for toxicity astatine Ubisoft oregon successful our industry,” Guillemot wrote successful a statement. “When I spoke of determination sometimes being friction, I was reasoning of the originative hostility that is communal and captious successful innovative companies similar ours, wherever radical person the state to situation ideas and person heated but steadfast debates.”

He continued:

To forestall this hostility from becoming antagonistic oregon to code it if it does, that’s wherever beardown policies, values and corresponding procedures are essential. Over the past two-and-[a]-half years, we person made a batch of advancement connected that beforehand successful bid to present harmless and large experiences to each of our teams. Healthy, respectful moving environments are our apical precedence and we’re pleased to accidental that according to our latest surveys, our squad members are reassured that we are connected the close track.

“Heated but healthy” goes to the bosom of immoderate of the biggest complaints of immoderate existent and erstwhile Ubisoft employees. Those Kotaku have spoken with often described an ambiance astatine definite studios that seemed to reward bullies portion ostracizing the little institutionally empowered radical who called them out. Whether it was a manager, plan lead, oregon director, respectfully questioning them oregon taking a principled basal during a squad gathering could get the dissenting worker pushed disconnected a project oregon stall their vocation indefinitely.

One of these bullies was reportedly Michel Ancel, the decorator down Rayman and the archetypal Beyond Good & Evil who was tapped to nonstop the sequel. According to a 2020 probe by French paper Libération, Ancel was disorganized, would marque impractical requests, and berate unit erstwhile helium disliked the enactment they showed him. Three sources acquainted with Beyond Good & Evil 2’s improvement astatine Ubisoft Montpellier felt the allegations successful the study were accurate, and that Ancel’s estimation arsenic a toxic manager was good known wrong the company.

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Did Guillemot know? Libération reported that helium did, citing a 2017 gathering where, erstwhile confronted with complaints astir Ancel, the CEO allegedly said Ancel’s stardom successful the games manufacture was some adjuvant for Ubisoft’s nationalist cognition but besides made him hard to manage, and that it would beryllium up to unit representatives and HR to support the radical who enactment nether him. It wasn’t until the larger workplace reckoning that Ancel was investigated and yet resigned successful September 2020.

In a recent interrogation with Axios, Guillemot claimed ignorance of anyone’s atrocious behavior. “You recognize that things happened precise adjacent to you, that you wouldn’t accept, had you known astir them,” helium said. “You’re upset by the information that it could hap and that you didn’t spot it.” But again the CEO had a arguable reply for wherefore a civilization that seemingly fostered and protected atrocious actors festered nether his watch.

“We were not organized capable to observe the problems and resoluteness them,” helium told Axios. “The institution was moving and determination were ways things were done. And past determination was a caller young generation, coming [into the company] with antithetic needs. And we had to adapt. I deliberation we didn’t accommodate accelerated capable to what radical expected and needed.”

The comment, which appeared to blasted a workplace reckoning that included intersexual maltreatment allegations connected a generational divide, was roundly mocked online. Guillemot has not attempted to clarify that one, and Ubisoft declined to remark contiguous erstwhile Kotaku asked astir the signifier of arguable suggestions from the antheral liable for starring the publisher’s taste transformation.