Maxim Beland, creative director of Splinter Cell and Far Cry, who returned to Ubisoft earlier this year after working at Epic Games, has left the company. Beland's departure comes after several employees alleged inappropriate behavior in the workplace, shared via Twitter.

"Maxime Beland, Vice President of Editorial, has resigned from his position at Ubisoft effective immediately. Despite his resignation, we continue to investigate the allegations against him," Ubisoft said in a statement acknowledging his departure. [Additionally, as of yesterday, Tommy Francois, Vice President of Editorial and Creative Services, has been placed on disciplinary leave pending the outcome of the investigation. In addition, one other Toronto studio employee has been terminated for conduct unbecoming of an employee of Ubisoft. Other investigations are ongoing and will be strictly enforced.

One of the most serious allegations against Beland, detailed in this detailed Kotaku report, is that he choked a female employee at Ubisoft Toronto's Far Cry 4 launch party. But the report also points to broader, organizational problems at the studio, including a "party culture" that can sometimes lead to hostile situations for female employees.

"The permissive culture at Ubisoft Toronto around sexual harassment certainly added rampant alcohol and partying as a method of entrenchment, but it did not create it," a former employee of Ubisoft Toronto told the site.

According to the report, more than 100 Ubisoft Toronto employees sent a letter to studio management on June 26, expressing "serious concerns about the ongoing reported harassment and the inability to feel safe and protected within their own studio." The letter said. The letter did not name Beland or anyone else at Ubisoft Toronto, but it called for greater accountability in cases of harassment and abuse, greater transparency about how specific complaints are handled, and mandatory harassment training for all studio managers. They also called for mandatory harassment training for all studio managers.

A few days later, an all-hands video conference was held, during which Alexandre Parizeau, managing director of Ubisoft Toronto, announced that two employees had been suspended and a third fired. A few days later, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot issued an official statement promising "significant" reforms "at all levels of the organization" to address issues of sexual misconduct and abuse at the company.

Interestingly, one of the first changes Guillemot promised to make was to reform Ubisoft's editorial department; Beland returned to Ubisoft in January and was named vice president of the department.