Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated that he’s dismayed by alleged “malicious and personal online attacks” that have been directed at Ubisoft team members and partners.
A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
In an interview with Lucy O’Brien, Ubisoft’s Director of Editorial Communications, that was published to Ubisoft’s website, Guillemot was asked, “I’d like to end with a two-part question. First part: What dismays you about the games industry right now?”
He responded, “One thing I am concerned about right now is the malicious and personal online attacks that have been directed at some of our team members and partners. I want to make it clear that we, at Ubisoft, condemn these hateful acts in the strongest possible terms, and I encourage the rest of the industry and players to denounce them, too.
“I am proud to support the amazing work of our teams and partners, and I will always trust in their creative choices. We should all celebrate the hard work and talent that goes into making videogames,” he concluded.
A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft
It’s unclear exactly what Guillemot is talking about given that he does not share any evidence or discuss what these “malicious and personal online attacks” are. However, two major upcoming games that Ubisoft is about to release in Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin’s Creed Shadows have been massively ridiculed by gamers for divisive character choices and designs as well as the narratives both games plan to tell.
Of note, Guillemot and Ubisoft do employ Community Manager Shauna Jones who appears to have an animus against white men based on numerous posts to social media that she has made.
Key art for Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
As shared via screenshots to X by user Kooks12_, Jones posted back in January 2020, “If you’re a white dude complaining that diversity being raised is an issue … then people are going to keep raising the lack of diversity until we see change. That s**ts got to change man.”
In another post in September 2020, she wrote, “Love that if you say you’re trying to be more body positive, white men assume that you’re saying you’re fat and tell you to go to the gym B**** I’m a size 12 …. Being body positive has nothing to do with weight.”
She also wrote in July 2020, “Please don’t tell me gender isn’t an issue in the games industry when you are a white male. Diversity in general is an issue in the industry, I guess as a white male who is not always represented …. its easier to not know or see the misrepresentation in studios.”
She also criticized streamer Ninja for not teaching about “White Privilege” on his streams. She wrote in January 2021, “Ninja is boasting about his ‘white privilege’ by doing this. He has the potential to influence millions of kids and chooses to be a sack of beans. Use your platform for good if you have the opportunity. Don’t do a Ninja.”
Former World of Warcraft Team Lead Mark Kern, would share a number of other posts from Jones as well as these after she was brought to his attention.
In December 2020, she wrote, “Gamer BOYS ruin online games.”
In August 2022, she responded to a post about Allan Cudicio claiming he was mistaken for a waiter at Gamescom. Jones posted, “This is shameful behaviour. Proof that we can’t make the games industry a safe and inclusive space when the higher ups don’t understand the importance of diversity and are all middle aged white guys.”
Concept art for Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
In January 2019, she took issue with Days Gone writing, “I’m enjoying playing Days Gone but at the same time, the lack of diversity really upsets me.”
She added in a response to another user, “Like even the camps are full of white people.”
A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
She also took issue with gamers back in 2017, “I know the industry itself is maturing, but the gamers … man they need to sort themselves out :(”
In 2019, she also posted “Yay !! Diversity finally. No more middle aged white men.”
It’s all yt’s fault. pic.twitter.com/7mlSF2H6k1
— Grummz (@Grummz) April 6, 2024
It’s no surprise that Guillemot would make the statement that he does. Back in April, YouTuber TheQuartering shared an internal document from Ubisoft that stated, “First, we want to make it very clear that we do not accept hate, harassment and other forms of abuse in any way, and we are deeply saddened to see the negativity and hatred currently spreading on our co-workers’ personal profiles, and on our and our partners’ social media platforms.”
It continues, “We are proud to represent the diversity and inclusion that exists in society as part of our everyday work. Representation is part of our DNA and will remain that way regardless of external pressure or influences.”
A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
Next, the document instructs, “If you are exposed to or witness any negative behaviours towards your colleagues online, do not hesitate to reach out to your manager, Arcade HR or the Communications Team. We are here to help. Should a situation escalate to a point where you feel unsafe, please contact the Ubisoft Security and Risk Management (SRM) team. SRM has a team of dedicated staff to manage security concerns: they will assess the severity of the situation and provide personalized guidance. As always, report immediate and severe personal safety concerns to your local emergency number.”
“Given the current polarization of this topic online, we believe that having a respectful and constructive dialogue is difficult – if not impossible – to achieve. In this context, we ask you not to engage in or interact with these conversations, as this could worsen the situation for yourself, our teams and our industry peers. You can also set your accounts to private and/or turn off private messages from people who are not in your list of trusted friends. Do this across all your social accounts, even if you are only receiving unwelcome messages on certain platforms.”
It then concludes, “Ubisoft firmly stands for diversity and inclusion in our workplace and our games, and we believe there is no room for hate in gaming.”
Ubisoft has been melting down internally over criticism of their DEI efforts. Quadruples down internally. pic.twitter.com/j9GGmDKsCw
— TheQuartering (@TheQuartering) April 21, 2024
What do you make of Guillemot’s comments?
