Ubisoft suspends high-ranking game devs over sexual abuse allegations

Ubisoft apparently has a problem with sexual misconduct, and the company is taking disciplinary actions against alleged perpetrators.

Multiple Ubisoft employees have been accused of sexual abuse, misconduct, and infidelity. Victims are speaking up and sharing evidence on Twitter (a quick cursory search of Escoblades, for example, unearths multiple instances). First Assassin's Creed Origins game director Ashraf Ismail was caught cheating on his wife, then rape allegations were made against Ubisoft brand manager Andrien Gbinigie.

Now similar reports of manipulation and abuse are being made against high-ranking Ubisoft executives Maxime Beland and Tommy Francois, who serve as vice presidents in Ubisoft's editorial team, a games development creative roundtable that essentially controls the future of its biggest franchises.

Both Francois and Beland are accused of many infractions, including coercion and even physical harm.

Ubisoft is now taking action and has suspended both Beland and Francois, sources tell Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

Ubisoft's HR department head says it's "deeply concerned by these accusations" and this may be the beginning of a big cultural shift at Ubisoft. But employees who know this behavior well are apparently skeptical that things will change.

The French games developer says it is currently investigating all reports.

This controversy comes just weeks before Ubisoft's massive game stream reveal show where it'll announce Far Cry 6.

It also comes months before Ubisoft begins its next big fusillade of game releases starting with Assassin's Creed: Valhalla on current and next-gen consoles. Ubisoft plans to release four major AAA games this fiscal year, including a new Far Cry, Watch Dogs Legion, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, and Rainbow Six Quarantine.