Ubisoft Employees Demand "Real Change" With Open Letter After Last Year's Allegations

Just last week, the State of California filed a lawsuit reprimanding Activision Blizzard for a discriminatory and sexist working environment. Following this, thousands of employees hosted a walkout yesterday.

After signing a letter condemning Activision Blizzard's behavior, various Ubisoft employees have performed a similar action, emphasizing Ubisoft's weak management in delivering changes after last year's allegations.

Read More: World Of Warcraft Dev Says "Almost No Work" Is Being Done Since The Announcement Of The State Of California Lawsuit

Ubisoft Employees Demand "Real Change" With Open Letter After Last Year's Allegations

Almost 500 Ubisoft employees from the French publisher's 32 studios have signed an open letter denouncing the company's management towards last year's sexual harassment and discriminatory allegations.

The letter begins with the employees supporting the Activision Blizzard walkout that occurred yesterday:

We hear you and want to loudly declare our solidarity with you. Over the past week, the games industry has once again been rocked by revelations that have long been known by too many of us. Revelations that a year ago many were hearing about Ubisoft.

Employees also discuss how these discriminatory actions seem to be widespread and unfortunately, too common within the industry:

It is clear, from the frequency of these reports that there is a widespread and deeply ingrained culture of abusive behaviours within the industry. It should no longer be a surprise to anyone: employees, executives, journalists, or fans that these heinous acts are going on. It is time to stop being shocked. We must demand real steps be taken to prevent them. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions.

Despite claiming to make various improvements, the letter highlight's Ubisoft's lack of management towards dealing with last year's allegations, stating the changes asserted are and were "empty promises".

It has been over a year since the first revelations of systemic discrimination, harassment and bullying within Ubisoft came out. At the time, you acted surprised to hear of these acts going on within your own company and we gave you the benefit of the doubt. However, we have seen nothing more than a year of kind words, empty promises, and an inability or unwillingness to remove known offenders. We no longer trust your commitment to address these issues at their core. You need to do more.

The employees highlight how many of those accused haven't faced proper repercussions. Rather, they've been "studio to studio, team to team, giving them second chance after second chance".

The letter finishes with the employees asking Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, and other publishers and studios for industry-wide, and more effective changes to toxic working environments.

Ubisoft did respond to the open letter, claiming that the French publisher has "carefully read" the statement and that they are taking these issues "very seriously".

Ubisoft's statement reads: