Ex-Ubisoft staff detained by police over sexual misconduct claims – report

Five former Ubisoft staff members have been detained by police and questioned over allegations of sexual misconduct while employees of the company.

These ex-employees included the company’s now-disgraced chief creative officer Serge Hascoët, once the right-hand man to Ubisoft’s overall boss Yves Guillemot, as well as its former editoral boss Tommy François, French newspaper Libération reported today.

The five ex-Ubisoft employees were reportedly picked up by police over the past 24 hours and questioned at a police station in Paris. The action comes three years after claims of sexual misconduct involving Hascoët, François and others came to light, as part of a wave of allegations that rocked Ubisoft in the summer of 2020. Both Hascoët and François departed the company shortly afterwards.

Libération says it collected testimonies from 20 staff that described a “toxic culture” within Ubisoft’s editorial division, and allegations of “moral and sexual harassment and sexual assault”.

The article also mentions an alleged instance of sexual assault at a Ubisoft party, details of which were first reported in July 2020, where it is claimed François tried to forcibly kiss a female employee.

Eurogamer has contacted Ubisoft for comment.