Since the summer of 2020, the French Ubisoft has been in turmoil, while an investigation lifted the veil on internal harassment and discrimination practices. Unable to meet the demands of employees, the group is now facing a huge wave of departures.
Resignations follow one after the other within Ubisoft: according to information from journalist Stephen Totilo, the French video game giant has for some time been witnessing “an unprecedented wave of departures” in its history. This summer, an internal document already worried about potential future resignations:
If the Risk factors category firstly focuses on the adaptability of troops following the Covid-19 pandemic, Ubisoft considers that the risk of “departure of key talents” is now “high”, as is that of a failure to attract new ones.
Ubisoft hit hard
The facts seem to prove Ubisoft right, since the information published by the Axios site reveals some figures which attest to the extent of the phenomenon:
By month 5 of the 25 makers of Far Cry 6, Ubisoft’s biggest game of 2021, are already gone. 12 of the 50 managers of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla have also left the company.
The workforce is also decreasing among so-called “intermediate” employees, in particular in the large Canadian studios of Ubisoft, which is normally growing. LinkedIn shows that studios in Montreal and Toronto have each lost at least 60 total employees in the past six months.
This statement is obviously to be put in relation to the announcements of the month of November, since all the Canadian studios of Ubisoft promised (among other things) salary increases, more flexibility and six weeks of paid leave, speaking of a ” new life” :
And come what may
And yet, Ubisoft employees interviewed by Stephen Totilo sometimes denounce their salary level deemed too low, the lack of vision of the company in terms of creation, or the rather calamitous management of the scandal of summer 2020.
The reassuring words of the new director of so-called human resources Anika Grant therefore do not seem to find an echo for the time being, as evidenced by a former Ubisoft:
They only talk about “getting on with it” and “getting ahead” while ignoring the complaints, concerns and cries of their employees.
This wave of departures is obviously not without consequences for the release schedule of the group, which recently announced the postponement of Prince of Persia The Sands of Time Remake and Skull & Bones. Ubisoft Singapore, responsible for developing the pirate game, is also under investigation after the filing of several complaints this summer.
