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Jason Schreier: Story on ubisoft misconduct
- Thread starter Milennia
- Start date
Wow at that AC:O info, Alexios always seemed like a lazy and generic character completed to Kassandra, now it makes sense why
What the fuck
What the fuck
OP
OP
On one occasion before this summer, when Ubisoft sided with an alleged victim, the company removed the woman's boss and rewarded the woman with a gift card, she says.
WHAT THE FUCK
I feel this thread should be kept open, or the other thread should be renamed. The thread about AC:O's female character buries the lead on all the allegation stuff.
Ubisoft really is a shithole to work for. And no this story is far from over, because this was all possible under Yves watch.
He is more responsible for this this, than anyone else.
And Hascoët, that fucking asshole of a one-trick-pony can go up in flames, if you ask me
He is more responsible for this this, than anyone else.
And Hascoët, that fucking asshole of a one-trick-pony can go up in flames, if you ask me
So I was right in calling him Maxime Bellend back when he took over Splinter Cell, he's even worse. What a horrible person.
The Toronto office was especially problematic, six current or former employees there say. The studio was run by Maxime Béland, his wife, Rima Brek, and another husband-and-wife management team. Brek served for a time as interim director of HR, the people there say. Two women who reported incidents to Brek and other HR representatives in Toronto say they felt ostracized afterward and were labeled as troublemakers. Brek didn't respond to requests for comment.
Béland was a trusted lieutenant of the creative chief. He was also known for his quick temper and a tendency to scream at subordinates during meetings, say four people who worked in the office. Two of those people say they saw Béland touch women inappropriately at holiday parties and other work events. Béland was also accused of choking an employee at a party, according to the video game website Kotaku. The choking story was regularly shared among staff in Toronto, say the people who worked there, as a warning about the executive. Béland didn't respond to multiple requests for comment.
Turns out that it's a lot easier to research a company operating in the West than it is one in China. Who'd have thought?
I'm still waiting for investigative reporters to go undercover into the Foxconn and other factories employing Uighur slaves to manufacture the new Playstation 5, Xbox Series X, and other tech gadgets. It's harder work than just interviewing employees in the western world with the same language and not living under a digital dictatorship where reporters are followed and questioned.
So I was right in calling him Maxime Bellend back when he took over Splinter Cell, he's even worse. What a horrible person.
The Toronto office was especially problematic, six current or former employees there say. The studio was run by Maxime Béland, his wife, Rima Brek, and another husband-and-wife management team. Brek served for a time as interim director of HR, the people there say. Two women who reported incidents to Brek and other HR representatives in Toronto say they felt ostracized afterward and were labeled as troublemakers. Brek didn't respond to requests for comment.Béland was a trusted lieutenant of the creative chief. He was also known for his quick temper and a tendency to scream at subordinates during meetings, say four people who worked in the office. Two of those people say they saw Béland touch women inappropriately at holiday parties and other work events. Béland was also accused of choking an employee at a party, according to the video game website Kotaku. The choking story was regularly shared among staff in Toronto, say the people who worked there, as a warning about the executive. Béland didn't respond to multiple requests for comment.
I remember him and I remember reading his name as bellend for years and what do you know. He actually is a bloody big bellend.
So that Ubisoft diversity disclaimer was literal performative progressiveness that meant nothing in the end with the games themselves.
The machismo of Ubisoft's offices seeps into the company's games, current and former employees say. Ubisoft's biggest franchise is Assassin's Creed, a series of open-world action-adventure games in which players explore historic settings and sneak around killing people. Most games in the series star male protagonists. This has been a point of contention as far back as 2014, when an Ubisoft creative director said Assassin's Creed Unity wouldn't let people play online as female characters because "it was really a lot of extra production work" to add women's clothing and animations to the game.
For the next game, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, an early outline of the script gave equal screen time to the twin protagonists, Jacob and Evie, according to three people who worked on the project. In the end, Jacob dominated the game. Assassin's Creed Origins, released in 2017, was originally going to injure or kill off its male hero, Bayek, early in the story and give the player control of his wife, Aya, according to two people who worked on it. But Aya's role gradually shrank over the course of development and Bayek became the leading figure.
Development of 2018's Assassin's Creed Odyssey went much the same way. The game tells the story of siblings Kassandra and Alexios. The team originally proposed making the sister the only playable character, according to four people who worked on the game, until they were told that wasn't an option. The final product gives players a choice between the two characters.
Current and former Ubisoft employees say these changes, which haven't been previously reported, are illustrative of the sexism ingrained within the company. All of the directives came from Ubisoft's marketing department or from Hascoët, both of whom suggested female protagonists wouldn't sell, the developers say. This false perception has been commonly held in the video game industry for decades. It ignores hits such as the Tomb Raider series or Sony Corp.'s Horizon Zero Dawn, which sold more than 10 million copies.
Developers say they were compelled to make big compromises to avoid changes from Hascoët that might be detrimental to their project or result in outright cancellation. For example, Hascoët openly expressed disdain for linear storytelling and cut scenes, the interstitial videos that exist between gameplay to advance the narrative. The writers had to find ways to keep his attention, and often that involved installing a strong male lead, the employees say.
By 2019, though, there were signs Hascoët was losing his creative magic. Ubisoft released two big flops: The Division 2, an online game that failed to meet sales expectations despite critical acclaim, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint, a tactical shooter that was widely panned. Ubisoft had developed a reputation, in large part because of Hascoët, for releasing games with similar tropes: large, open-world environments giving the player a list of tasks to accomplish and checkpoints to clear. By the end of last year, Ubisoft's stock declined more than 40% from its high a year earlier.
As a result of these failures, the company overhauled the editorial department, elevating seven vice presidents reporting to Hascoët. The goal was to distribute Hascoët's power and diversify the games, employees say. All seven vice presidents were men. Béland and François were among those promoted, despite a history of misconduct complaints.
Well that literally explains the immense stagnation that has plagued many of Ubisoft's AAA games over the past decade. Because they've all been made to cater to one individual. What a fucking moron.
My god, what a rotten, disgusting corporation. Unbelievable that all of this was going on for years and years being covered up as long as the games sold. Really happy i haven't given them any of my money in a long time because i don't care about the games they make. Last Ubi game i bought was probably Rayman Legends.
Incredible that the Ubisoft-Formula has become such a trope because every game was made more or less for the tastes of one person controlling everything.
Incredible that the Ubisoft-Formula has become such a trope because every game was made more or less for the tastes of one person controlling everything.
Almost done reading it but:
Worth point Cécile Cornet stepped down from her position but remains within the company.
And for Hascoet, we also should be extra careful because Ubisoft management was at some point looking at ways to keep him close to the company as a consultant.
Edit: Poke jschreier just in case. Excellent work as always!
And I almost forgot: Fuck Ubisoft top management. You have so many talented people in your teams but you decided to make the entire thing rotten to the core. And reading some testimonies since the first allegations, it is now spread very largely among many men working there. You created a hostile and dangerous environment.
Worth point Cécile Cornet stepped down from her position but remains within the company.
And for Hascoet, we also should be extra careful because Ubisoft management was at some point looking at ways to keep him close to the company as a consultant.
Edit: Poke jschreier just in case. Excellent work as always!
And I almost forgot: Fuck Ubisoft top management. You have so many talented people in your teams but you decided to make the entire thing rotten to the core. And reading some testimonies since the first allegations, it is now spread very largely among many men working there. You created a hostile and dangerous environment.
can someone explain to me what job HR has when they ignore all personnel complaints? Is it just handing out paystubs and onboarding the excessive amount of White men you're hiring.?
hr is there to protect the company from its employees. thats it.
Oh man. I wish I could say more explicit stuff. Maybe Jim Sterling has me covered. I genuinely despise these cretins
If you have good leadership, HR is there for you. If it's shitty leadership, HR is there for the leadership and you better not step out of line.
I actually didn't think about that, good point. Also, was the snark necessary?
Valid, I honestly didn't consider this, though I still find it strange that he's basically radio silent about it. But hey, he could trying to work something behind the scenes
User Banned (1 week): Whataboutism in a sensitive thread
I want to make it clear, Bloomberg and many other videogame outlets could still be covering the Uighur genocide movement and how it relates to videogame console manufacturing by citing investigative reports that have already been done and give it coverage in that way without having to do their own journalism. It's disappointing. But caring about the plight of muslims in the videogame space is very low on the totem pole.
I'm flabbergasted by the fact that Yves G can go on stage and look like your friendly uncle. Meanwhile his company is on the boiling point with bigotry.
Anyone else considering a boycott of AC, WDL and FC6? I like the look of WD (and I love the series) but the gross stories around the company has tainted all of these titles quite a bit.
This is an important issue but it's a REALLY WEIRD TAKE to use it to dismiss the abuse and suffering of Ubisoft employees.
So that Ubisoft diversity disclaimer was literal performative progressiveness that meant nothing in the end with the games themselves.
I thought it was very obvious that they put that in the first Assassin's Creed game because it was set in Syria, and they were scared of backlash from Muslims with the reframing of the Knights Templar.
I'm glad Jason decided to investigate this, since this is in English and much more accessible to people than the French article.
I wish the Guillemot's themselves would step down. It's clear they are the root of the problem.
I wish the Guillemot's themselves would step down. It's clear they are the root of the problem.
Yeah, this one is a lot more important. Needs a better title too.
It's fine imo. That thread really buried the lead. There is a very different discussion going on in that thread.
The sad part of this is, game industry or no, I can't think of any large company I've worked for who didn't have issues of this ilk. It completely infuriates me of the abuse of power within corporate America and abroad. The unethical are continuously rewarded.