Back in 2020,Ubisoftcame under fire for allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse occurring within the company. After much backlash and criticism, Ubisoft swore to meaningfully address its working conditions but, one year later, itsown employees felt dissatisfied with Ubisoft’s subsequent actions, or rather lack of action. For example, some managers who had specifically been accused of being abusive were still kept in senior positions.
This soon led to the formation ofA Better Ubisoft, a group of current and former Ubisoft employees who have been making very public calls for actual change within the company. Last August, the group shared four key demands and an open letter sent to upper management, which had been signed by over 1,000 current and former staff. Since then, it sounds like, unfortunately, nothing has really changed.
RELATED:Ubisoft Singapore Responds to Workplace Misconduct Report Findings
According to the A Better Ubisoft Twitter account, it has been 200 days since the letter was sent andUbisofthas failed to meet any of the demands made. Not only that, but it is apparently not even really engaging with the group.
In a new statement, it is claimed that chief people officer Anika Grant sent out an internal video to discuss the results of the past year’s global employee satisfaction survey. While Grant acknowledged that one of the main concerns raised by the survey was a desire for more transparency and accountability, the video was apparently only eight minutes long and “incredibly opaque,” summarizing the entire survey as six bullet points – half positive, half negative.
Aside from participation and engagements scores, no numbers were shared either, making statements such as “you have managers that are approachable and supportive” vague, since it’s impossible to tell what percentage of the workforce said that. As the statement points out, there is a stark difference between 95% of employees and 51% of employees. This feeds into making it more difficult for employees to compare notes and discuss their experiences with each other.
The statement adds that in an email sent out on December 14th, Grant said that 71% of employees felt comfortable being who they are at work but failed to acknowledge those who don’t. Furthermore, despite Grant’s claims to dig into understanding feedback from underrepresented and minority voices, the survey collected no other data beyond age and binary gender.
The statement concludes with:
“We’re tired of having to repeatedly explain these seemingly obvious points to a management team who are either accidentally ignorant or simply don’t want to listen. We push on because we care about our work. We care about the people we work with, the games we make, and we desperately want to repair this company. Our goal is a fairer, better Ubisoft.”
This is by far not the only controversy surrounding Ubisoft. The company has actively embracedthe NFT trend. Unlike some other companies, Ubisoft has yet to back down in the face of backlash from players, with one executive even saying that NFT critics simply don’t understand them.
Activision Blizzard’s reputation has also taken a severe hit following very similar allegations and a lawsuit by the State of California. However, some are hopeful that it being acquired by Microsoft will instigate real change.
MORE:Ubisoft’s NFT Initiative Crashing and Burning is the Best Case Scenario
