Former Ubisoft Executives Arrested After Sexual Harassment Investigation

Several former Ubisoft executives have been arrested in France following an investigation into sexual harassment at the company.

According to Libération (via GamesIndustry.biz), three of those executives were arrested yesterday, with two more brought into custody today. Those arrested include Serge Hascoet and Tommy Francois, who were the chief creative officer and the VP of editorial and creative services, respectively. The two of them left the company in 2020 as allegations emerged about abuse, harassment, and discrimination at the game developer’s studio. These allegations resulted in an investigation.

Outside of those five, Ashraf Ismail, who served as creative director on Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, stepped down from Ubisoft in 2020 following accusations made against him. He was later fired by the company.

Maude Beckers, the lawyer for the plaintiff in the case, characterized what was happening at Ubisoft as beyond just the behavior of individuals but instead revealing of “systemic sexual violence” at the company.

When asked for comment by GamesIndustry.biz, an Ubisoft spokesperson said, “Ubisoft has no knowledge of what has been shared and therefore can’t comment.”

The accusations against Ubisoft emerged during the #MeToo Movement, which saw people across various industries reporting sexual harassment and other negative experiences with bosses based, generally, on gender and/or exploitative power dynamics.