In the wake of the explosive allegations at Activision Blizzard, several other companies accused of abuse and harassment took the opportunity to try and shuffle back out of the spotlight. One such company was Ubisoft, which found itself under fire in summer 2020 amid accusations of harassment and sexual misconduct but has since reportedly made “minimal changes” following the revelations.
In response to this lackluster approach, a group of current and former Ubisoft employees, working under the banner of “A Better Ubisoft,” signed an open letter in August 2021 demanding more meaningful, fundamental action be taken by the company. In the time since then, the group has been publishing anonymized accounts of abuse, bullying, and harassment from Ubisoft employees, along with periodic updates on the company’s lack of response to their demands.
Earlier today A Better Ubisoft took to Twitter to mark 100 days since the publication of the open letter, with an image of Far Cry 6 protagonist Dani Rojas overlaid with the words: “You disappoint us, [Ubisoft CEO] M. Guillemot. 100 days, zero demands met. Surely you can do better than this.”
The Tweet also included a link to a new petition for supporters to sign and a refresher on the group’s key demands. These include a request to “stop promoting and moving known offenders from studio to studio,” a seat at the table in discussions about how Ubisoft moves forward, and demands for “cross-industry collaboration” with the involvement of non-managerial employees and union reps.
The petition, in particular, could prove helpful to the movement, as it could galvanize support from fans and other workers in the industry, rather than just Ubisoft employees. If it were to reach a critical mass it could finally prompt a direct response from the company, potentially opening up the doors to real negotiation. But with big titles like Ghost Recon Frontline and Assassin’s Creed Infinity on the horizon, it’s far from certain that Ubisoft will be willing to come to the table.
