Ubisoft’s chief creative officer, Serge Hascoët, has resigned from the company, effective immediately, after allegations of misconduct and inappropriate behavior.
Also stepping down from their roles are Yannis Mallat, managing director of Ubisoft’s Canadian studios, and Cécile Cornet, the company’s global head of HR.
Ubisoft brought in external consultants in June to investigate the sexual harassment and abuse allegations within the company. The video game publisher and developer apologized to the people affected by the allegations and promised that it would be making changes.
Ubisoft said in a statement that the departure of the three executives is part of its work to “improve and strengthen its workplace culture.”
Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft co-founder and CEO, will take over as interim chief creative officer to “personally oversee a complete overhaul of the way in which the creative teams collaborate,” according to Ubisoft.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier tweeted his surprise at the departure of Hascoët, as Ubisoft keeps its promise of overhauling the company’s work environment.
Whoaaaa Ubisoft just announced that Serge Hascoet, the most powerful creative force at their company and the man at the center of multiple recent allegations involving abuse and abating abusers, is resigning.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) July 11, 2020
This is a *huge* deal for Ubisoft. Serge Hascoet was the man in charge of ALL of their games. With one word he could greenlight or cancel a project. Many Ubisoft employees believed he was too powerful and close to the CEO to ever be ousted, no matter how many allegations emerged
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) July 11, 2020
In a letter sent to all Ubisoft employees, obtained by Kotaku, Guillemot said that he is looking to “create an inclusive and open culture that embraces more diverse and multidisciplinary expertise.”
“Toxic behaviors are unacceptable and are in direct contrast to values on which I have never compromised — and never will,” wrote Guillemot.
With the departure of Hascoët, and Guillemot taking over as interim chief creative officer, it is not yet clear how the development of Ubisoft’s current projects will be affected. Digital Trends has reached out to Ubisoft, and we will update this article as soon as we hear back.
The resignations of the three executives come just before Ubisoft Forward, which is expected to feature Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Rainbow Six Quarantine, Watch Dogs: Legion, Gods & Monsters, and Far Cry 6.
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