The situation at Activision is generating a chain reaction that has ended up reaching Ubisoft. Activision Blizzard employees wrote a letter that already exceeds 1,000 signatories and which they directed to their company management in search of answers and solutions.
And it is that the state of California published an investigation that leaves a bad place for Blizzard. The accusation affirms that there is a toxic work culture in the developer’s offices, as well as sexual harassment and machismo that led to the suicide of an employee.
Revive the problems
Something similar happened with Ubisoft a year ago, however, the French developer controlled the issue indoors and did not reveal the measures it took. The spark of Activision Blizzard employees lit the fuse at Ubisoft as now they too demand answers.
The first letter was sent two days ago and merited a response from Yves Guillemot, CEO and founder of the company. However, the response has not left anyone happy as employees now claim that Guillemot’s email does not address any of the most pressing concerns.
The new employee charter makes very relevant demands. the first is to stop protecting abusers and / or accused by changing departments. Which reveals that Ubisoft’s measurements weren’t the best a year ago.
The second requirement is a meeting formed with the Ubisoft board of directors so that the employees are taken into account in the future decisions of the company. And the third calls for collaboration across the entire industry to begin setting rules regarding toxic culture in workplaces.
At this time Guillemot has not responded to any of these requests and it is unlikely that he will. What Ubisoft employees are asking for is basically the start of a developer union, something that would be very good for employees and not so good for companies.
They can read the first letter, Guillemot’s response and the second letter in the thread by journalist Stephen Totilo.
