Two former employees Ubisoft and member of the Trade Union of Digital, Consulting and Video Game Professionals Solidaires Informatique sued a French publishing house, accusing the company’s management of creating a system that allows sexual harassment in the workplace. The information was published by the press service of the trade union.
Among the accused are the following top managers:
- general director Yves Guillemot – allegedly bears responsibility for everything that happens within the company, including cases of harassment;
- former vice president Tommy Francois – allegedly used his position for harassment;
- former Chief Creative Officer Serge Hascoet – allegedly molested the employees of the publishing house and did not interfere with such activities of his subordinates;
- ex-HR director Cecile Cornet – allegedly encouraged a toxic atmosphere flourishing in the company;
- personal assistant to Serge Hascoet – allegedly used his position for harassment;
- several HR employees – allegedly covering up for their sexually dissatisfied superiors.
Most of the Ubisoft managers listed in the documents have long left the company. At the same time, Hascoet was considered a key figure in the publishing house for many years. It was because of his approach that game design solutions, ideas, gameplay mechanics and technologies (a large open world, the capture of camps with towers, and so on) migrated from one game to another.
Solidaires Informatique said it took about a year to gather evidence. Recently, the union also accused the management of Ubisoft Montreal covering up three managers who are accused of harassment and toxic behavior.
It should be noted that the Solidaires Informatique trade union is an extremely peculiar organization, to which there are many questions. So, in June, the court considered the claim of the Quantic Dream studio against the French publications Le Monde and Mediapart, published in 2018 a large investigation into the “toxic atmosphere” within the company.
A little later, representatives of Solidaires Informatique published a report from the meetings, which was teeming with inaccuracies and strange passages. This was pointed out by the journalists of the portal. Gamesindustry.bizwho cross-checked the document with the comments of the people in the courtroom.
The union claimed that the CEO of Quantic Dream David Cage allegedly burst into tears during the meeting. In reality, the game designer said that the media tried to interfere in his business, and the issues raised in the court affected his “honor.”
The organization’s report also included a number of statements allegedly raised in court, which David Cage allegedly once voiced in the office. Among them are the following: “all the women in my games were whores”, “we at Quantic Dream do not make games for [представителей нетрадиционной сексуальной ориентации]”and” not enough boobs in the office. ”
Solidaires Informatique also said that the second CEO of the studio Guillaume de Fondomier allegedly stated: “If I am not under oath, then can I lie?” Gamesindustry.biz sources called the quote a “misinterpretation”.
In response, the press office of Quantic Dream accused the union of publishing fabricated quotes and misinterpreting information. The company recalled that the “unfair publications” in Le Monde and Mediapart were not based on evidence and serious research. As a result, the compromising material severely damaged the company’s reputation. And Guillaume de Fondomier generally suggested that the investigation was the revenge of one of the journalists who did not receive a VIP invitation to a party organized by the studio.
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