In July, several Ubisoft executives resigned over allegations of widespread harassment and abuse within the company. They include Vice President Maxime Belin, Chief Creative Officer Serge Hascoe, Managing Director of Ubisoft's Canadian studio Yannis Marat, and Global Human Resources Director Cecile Cornet. One person who did not step down was CEO Yves Guillemot, who said others had "betrayed their trust" and vowed to make "significant changes" to the company to make it a safe and inclusive place to work.

As part of the process, Ubisoft commissioned a third-party research firm to conduct a company-wide investigation into its experiences with employee misconduct. In a lengthy statement released today, Guillemot shared some of the results of this survey, which collected nearly 14,000 anonymous responses, and the steps Ubisoft is taking to address them.

The survey found that approximately 25 percent of Ubisoft employees have experienced or witnessed "some form of workplace misconduct" in the past two years, and 20 percent "do not feel adequately respected or safe in their work environment." Women were 30 percent more likely than men to report experiencing, witnessing, or hearing of discrimination, harassment, or inappropriate behavior, and 43 percent more likely among non-binary employees. Only 66% of employees who reported misconduct felt they received an appropriate level of support.

Gilmo said the survey results highlight four areas where the company should focus particular attention:

The statement touches on the various steps the company is taking to address each of these points, including new channels for anonymously reporting and escalating complaints (external handled by partners), and the establishment of a "specialized help and support unit" for employees. Anti-sexism and anti-harassment training has been strengthened and expanded throughout the company, and Guillemot has committed to increasing the percentage of women on Ubisoft teams from 22% to 24% by 2023.

Guillemot also said that he had a meeting with the U.S. Anti-Racism Committee a few weeks ago, shortly after Ubisoft apologized for using a raised fist to represent a villain in "Tom Clancy's Elite Squad." A representative of Ubisoft described the committee as "a group of Ubisoft team members, primarily from the San Francisco office marketing team (but also from Los Angeles, Raleigh, and Montreal) who have come together to fight and eliminate racism and xenophobia. described as a "grassroots group. "

"These interactions have been very enlightening and their efforts to move Ubi forward on these topics have been particularly ambitious. We will work with your MDs (Managing Directors) to further advance in this area and support these virtuous ecosystems by giving them more support and resources," Guillemot said.

A new head of diversity and inclusion at Ubisoft will be selected within the next two weeks, and Ubisoft has also begun the process of establishing a "review committee" to ensure that game content and marketing do not repeat previous mistakes

Ubisoft has also begun the process of establishing a "review committee" to ensure that game content and marketing do not repeat previous mistakes.

Gilmo acknowledged that some people have "doubts about our ability to change," but said Ubisoft will continue to be as transparent as possible as the transformation progresses.

"As a major player in the industry, we must lead the way by example on all of these subjects. My goal is to build a company that we can all be proud of. Of course, we can't transform everything overnight, but I want to assure you that we are putting considerable energy into these challenges. I am personally following these changes and will keep you all updated on the progress of these initiatives.

Thank you, Kotaku.