Sexual Harassment Investigation Leads to Arrest of Five Former Ubisoft Executives

A year-long investigation into Ubisoft and reports of sexual misconduct at the company has resulted in the arrest of five former executives. That's according to a new report from French outlet Libération, which has been translated by GamesIndustry.biz.

Apparently, three people were taken into police custody on 3rd October, with another two arrested yesterday, 4th October. Among the people arrested are former chief creative officer Serge Hascoët and ex-VP of editorial and creative services Tommy François, both of whom left the publisher after 2020 saw allegations arise regarding sexual harassment.

The public prosecutor's office in Bobigny, a district of Paris, is handling the case after complaints were made in 2021 from two victims and the Solidaires Informatique union. The plaintiff's lawyer told Libération the investigation, which included testimonies from around 50 current and former employees of Ubisoft, "reveals systemic sexual violence".

"Ubisoft has no knowledge of what has been shared and therefore can’t comment," the publisher said when asked to comment on the matter.

As mentioned, Ubisoft came under fire a few years ago when a wave of allegations were made regarding sexual misconduct within the company. Subsequently, Assassin's Creed Valhalla director Ashraf Ismail was fired, and the aforementioned executives resigned, along with head of HR, Cécile Cornet. The publisher committed to making "profound changes" in response, though this apparently did not manifest; Ubisoft employees in 2021 said "nothing" had changed.