Update of 29/07 at 10:20 p.m. : The Solidaires Informatique Jeu Vidéo union, in particular the bearer of the complaint for “systemic sexual harassment” filed against Ubisoft, also supports the employees of Activision Blizzard.
While Ubisoft itself is mired in multiple cases of harassment and toxic management, 500 employees of the group have taken up the pen to support their counterparts at Activision Blizzard, currently demonstrating to improve their working conditions within of the group.
"We believe you, we are at your side, and we support you", write the signatories of this letter, which also calls for a total upheaval of working conditions in the video game industry.
Read also:Activision Blizzard: after a historic day of strike, the executive takes the floor but struggles to convince
"It's time to stop being shocked"
A year after investigations by Liberation, Numerama and even Gamasutra revealed countless cases of moral and sexual harassment and discrimination in the many Ubisoft studios, seeing the group's employees defending their colleagues has something moving thing. But it also shows that nothing, or very little, has changed in the space of a year.
“It is clear, given the frequency of these reports, that there is a deeply rooted and widespread culture of abusive behavior in our industry, analyzes the letter from Ubisoft employees. It should no longer come as a surprise to anyone: employees, managers, journalists or fans that these heinous acts are a reality.
It's time to stop being shocked. We must demand that real action be taken to prevent them from happening. The perpetrators of these facts must be held responsible for their actions”.
Employees hold Ubisoft to account
Halfway through, the letter hardens its tone and its signatories speak directly to their employer, Ubisoft. Tired of promises and rhetoric, the group's employees are demanding accountability.
“We've had enough. It has been more than a year since the first revelations of systemic discrimination and harassment within Ubisoft broke. At the time, you had played the surprise and we gave you the benefit of the doubt. But since then, we have seen nothing but sympathetic words, empty promises, and the inability or unwillingness to fire known abusers.”
“We no longer trust your commitment to solving these problems at the root. You need to do more,” employees warn.
For them, it will be impossible to appease the tensions which reign in the company and in the industry without “bringing down the pillars which support this system”. Indeed and despite the first actions taken by Ubisoft to dismiss some of the most “public” aggressors of its workforce, it appears that many people with problematic behavior still work in the company. “We have watched you fire only the most notorious harassers. You let others quit or, worse, promoted them, moved them to another studio, or transferred them to another team, giving them a second chance without consequences.”
Words that recall an investigation published last May in the Spanish daily Le Télégramme, which effectively highlighted a policy of "cleaning" less rigorous than what the wishes of the CEO of Ubisoft Yves Guillemot seemed to promise last September. .
Read also:Ubisoft targeted by a complaint for “institutional sexual harassment”
Ubisoft says it is continuing its efforts
Called for concrete actions by its employees, Ubisoft published a press release in which it said "to take this letter - and the problems it raises - very seriously", while recalling that commitments were made during the year to initiate a profound change in corporate culture.
"Ubisoft has made significant changes aimed at creating a safer and more inclusive workplace for everyone, and there is still work to be done," admits the company. We support these efforts and the positive impact they have had on our corporate culture while recognizing that we must continue to engage with our employees to ensure that we are building a workspace where they feel empowered. valued, listened to and, most importantly, safe”. However, no new measures have been announced by Ubisoft at this time.
Last week, shortly before a lawsuit was filed by the State of California against Activision Blizzard for similar facts, a Kotaku investigation shed light on the working atmosphere within Ubisoft Singapore. An antenna described by some and some employees as being “the most toxic” of the group.
A few days earlier, the Solidaires Informatique union filed a complaint against Ubisoft for reasons of “sexual harassment, moral harassment and attempted sexual assault”.
