A Better Ubisoft group criticizes publisher’s response: “You offer nothing more than your assurance”
A Better Ubisoft (ABU) group has reacted to the company’s latest response to the employees’ key demands regarding management failures. While the group is pleased that the publisher is taking steps towards creating a better workplace, it still calls the overall response weak.
ABU issued a statement on October 29, thanking Ubisoft chief people officer Anika Grant for responding to their key demands. However, the group still thinks that the company takes no visible steps to fix the problems.
“16 months since Ubisoft was forced to take limited action following public posts on Twitter, you talk about a ‘strategic roadmap of change for HR’ that you are ‘getting ready to start rolling out’ giving no timeline for delivery nor any hint of what those changes will be,” the statement reads.
The group also criticized Ubisoft for “offering nothing more than your assurance,” as the publisher still offers no evidence and oversight of promised investigations and actions.
76 days later, Ubisoft offers a weak response to our key demands. We have the following statement.#EndAbuseInGaming #ABetterUbisoft pic.twitter.com/4IL4AjhjgP
— ABetterUbisoft (@ABetterUbisoft) October 29, 2021
ABU cited Activision Blizzard, which is now facing discrimination allegations, as an example of a game company that is committed to taking some real actions. “In just 3 months it seems that they have listened to the concerns of employees and acted on them,” the group said. “While our demands are not identical, many overlap and could be addressed through similar actions just as swiftly.”
Last week, Activision Blizzard proposed five key changes to make the company better. Bobby Kotick also asked to reduce his salary to a minimum of $62.5K and apologized for letting so many people down.
Ubisoft found itself amidst a harassment scandal last year, with CEO Yves Guillemot outlining steps to change the company’s toxic environment. Employees later claimed that only a few things have changed ever since, as the publisher still has a lot of workplace issues regarding harassment, discrimination, and other misconduct.
