Ubisoft’s uncovered problem with widespread sexual harassment is (rightfully) not a finished matter. The Solidaires Informatique, a French game workers union, has officially filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft, representing victims of the 2021 scandal and accusing several members of management, CEO Yves Guillemot, and the company as a whole of fostering “institutional sexual harassment.”
The lawsuit was filed this past Thursday, which took longer than people might expect because the union needed roughly a year to collect all of the evidence and testimony it could according to a representative. “Institutional sexual harassment is a charge that is very rarely seen in court in France, and the lawyer, Maude Beckers, wanted to have the strongest complaint possible,” the rep said. “However, we consider that the changes made by Ubisoft are superficial. […] The situation inside hasn’t changed much, and we hope the evolution of the case will also keep bringing attention to its evolution, and keep putting pressure on Ubisoft to commit to its promises.”
Incidentally, Ubisoft has announced that several of its games, including the multiplayer shooter Rainbow Six Extraction and the multiplayer open world racer Riders Republic, are being delayed. Specifically, Rainbow Six is moving from September 2021 to January 2022, and Republic is moving from its September 2nd launch date to October 28th – the second such shift of the game’s release date. This lines up with an official Ubisoft document that mentioned the company’s sexual harassment scandal has made it hard for the company to find and retain talent, which in turn has resulted in game delays as positions remain unfilled and dev teams are feeling left adrift.
