Ubisoft has confirmed that high-level exec Tommy Francois has left the studio for good following sexual abuse allegations.
Ubisoft is slowly recovering from sex abuse scandals that've rocked the highest level of the company. Sources say Ubisoft's top brass culture is rife with misconduct, alleging creative forces behind hit franchises like Far Cry, Assassin's Creed, and Rainbow Six took part in sexual harassment and abuse.
Ubisoft has cleaned house since the news broke out, and now confirms that another accused exec has left. This time it's Tommy Francois, who previously helped lead Ubisoft's editorial team, a group that controlled and gate-kept big IPs. This team held all the power over creative decisions.
For example, Ubisoft Montreal originally wanted Kassandra to be the only playable protagonist in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, but Alexios was added because Serge Hascoet, who led the editorial team, said that "women don't sell games."
Three people of this team all had similar accusations: Serge Hascoet, who fostered the environment, followed by Maxime Beland and Tommy Francois.
"Tommy Francois has left the company, effective immediately," Ubisoft told Gamesbeat.
This scandal affects every aspect of Ubisoft's business, and the following people have been removed from the company as a result of the allegations:
- Ashraf Ismail - Resigned, Assassin's Creed creative director
- Serge Hascoet - Resigned, served on Ubisoft's editorial team responsible for gatekeeping all franchises and games
- Maxime Beland - Resigned, VP of Ubisoft
- Tommy Francois - Resigned, VP of editorial/creative services
- Stone Chin - Ubisoft PR director, faces allegations but was fired for actions unrelated to allegations
- Cecile Cornet - Resigned as Head of Ubisoft HR, but still with company
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot promises that change will continue at the company, and that workers will have more tools to report issues and hold abusers accountable.
Ubisoft is also completely overhauling its internal editorial team that was previously led by Serge Hascoet. This will lead to radical new changes in key franchises and IPs moving forward.