Maxime Béland, the vice president of editorial at Ubisoft, has resigned after allegations of misconduct and abuse were made against him, and subsequently being placed on administrative leave by the company.
The other VP to be suspended, vice president of editorial and creative services Tommy François, remains on leave while Ubisoft investigate.
In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft said that Béland’s resignation was “effective immediately”, but that this would not be the end of the matter internally. “Despite his resignation, we continue to investigate the allegations made against him,” they said.
Another unnamed employee has also been “terminated for engaging in behaviours that do not align with what is expected of Ubisoft employees.” They were from Ubisoft Toronto, the studio where Béland was based. There are a number of other investigations being conducted with assistance from an outside firm.
Béland’s decision to resign comes as Ubisoft react swiftly to widespread allegations made against both individuals and the general culture within some of its studios.
Ubisoft have reacted quickly to acknowledge the allegations, launch investigations and make some integral changes at the top of the company. In a statement last week, CEO Yves Guillemot outlined the immediate changes being made.
This started with the appointment of a Head of Workplace Culture, with Lidwine Sauer moving across from her role as a Projects Director in the Strategic Innovation Lab. “She is empowered to examine all aspects of our company’s culture and to suggest comprehensive changes that will benefit all of us,” he said. Further to this, they are seeking to fill a new Head of Diversity and Inclusion role, also reporting directly to Guillemot.
It’s been a tumultuous few weeks within the games industry as all of these allegations have come to light or resurfaced. A number of Twitch Partner streamers have been implicated, with the streaming platform issuing a statement that they are actively investigating the allegations, while several game companies have distanced themselves from games writer Chris Avellone, and Insomniac Games issued a statement regarding allegations of a culture of sexual harassment within the studio. Even Nintendo have had to respond, with a slew of allegations made against competitive Super Smash Bros. players, the Japanese company saying they “condemn all acts of violence, harassment, and exploitation against anyone and that we stand with the victims.”
rapidly-greying
With a surname like Bellend, you were only ever going to be an abuser.
Where did I put my glasses1
rapidly-greying
Glasses1 should be glasses.