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<keyword id="19943739" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ubisoft" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ubisoft" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Ubisoft">Ubisoft</keyword>, the French gaming giant behind popular titles like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, has reacted to rumours of a possible buyout by <keyword id="20209720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="PUBG" source="keywords">PUBG</keyword> maker <keyword id="19904584" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tencent" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tencent" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Tencent">Tencent</keyword>. However, the company’s response, released in a cryptic statement on Monday, left fans and industry insiders with more questions than answers. A Bloomberg report had earlier said that Tencent might be exploring the possibility of teaming up with Ubisoft’s founding family, the Guillemots, to take the company private. Sources close to the situation had told the publication that talks were ongoing, with both parties consulting advisors. But for now, Ubisoft is keeping its cards close to its chest. According to a report in The Verge,Ubisoftsaid in a statement that it “regularly reviews all its strategic options in the interest of its stakeholders and will inform the market if and when appropriate.” The company also reiterated its commitment to its current strategy, which focuses on two key areas: Open World Adventures and GaaS-native (Games as a Service) experiences. And that was it—just a couple of lines, leaving the gaming community hungry for more details. <h2>The Guillemot-Tencent connection </h2> While nothing is confirmed, the possibility of Tencent teaming up with the <keyword id="23477147" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Guillemot-family" source="keywords">Guillemot family</keyword> to buy Ubisoft makes a lot of sense. After all, Yves Guillemot, the current CEO, and his family have a deep, personal stake in the company, which they founded decades ago. Tencent, on the other hand, has a 10% stake in Ubisoft and also owns nearly half of <keyword id="23477148" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Guillemot-Brothers-Ltd" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Guillemot Brothers Ltd" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Guillemot Brothers Ltd">Guillemot Brothers Ltd</keyword>, the family’s holding company. According to a report in wccftech, Tencent is interested in stabilising Ubisoft, which has had a rough few months. The company’s shares plunged by 19% last month, following disappointing sales of Star Wars Outlaws and delays to highly anticipated releases like Assassin’s Creed Shadows. For a company with Ubisoft’s pedigree, these setbacks have shaken investor confidence, and Tencent reportedly sees an opportunity to step in, boost its value, and potentially reshape the company’s future. <h2> </h2><h2>PUBG maker Tencent to acquire Ubisoft? Here is what the company says </h2> As mentioned already, if Tencent were to push forward with a buyout and take Ubisoft private, the move would not be all that surprising. There have been rumours for some time that Ubisoft has been considering such a step, especially as competition heats up in the gaming world and the company struggles to regain its footing. But going private could come with some major consequences. According to the wccftech report, a buyout could trigger significant changes at Ubisoft’s leadership level, including a new CEO and possible layoffs. The company has already seen its fair share of cuts recently, with layoffs hitting its IT and special effects teams, and more could be on the way if a takeover leads to restructuring. But for now, Ubisoft is staying tight-lipped. Fans, investors, and industry watchers will have to wait and watch for what comes next, especially with the company hinting that any updates will only come “if and when appropriate.” One thing’s for sure—whatever happens next, it’s likely to have a major impact on the future of the gaming giant.

Tencent to acquire Ubisoft? Here is what the Assassin's Creed maker says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President Donald Trump blasted Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious-disease expert, as a "disaster" in a campaign phone call on Monday, CNN reported.</li><li>"If I listened to him, we'd have 500,000 deaths," Trump reportedly said, adding: "People are saying whatever. Just leave us alone."</li><li>As part of the White House's coronavirus task force, Fauci has been one of the most visible faces for Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.</li><li>In a September ABC News/Ipsos poll, only 35% of Americans said they approved of how Trump had handled the coronavirus pandemic, with 67% of respondents saying he acted too slowly to combat the disease.</li><li>Later on Monday, Trump once again lashed out at Fauci, mocking his "bad arm" and saying he "threw out perhaps the worst first pitch in the history of Baseball!"</li></ul>President Donald Trump on Monday blasted Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious-disease expert, as a "disaster" in a campaign phone call, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/us-election-news-10-19-2020/h_dfd35d9cb231f19b0f870af6f13c55e1">CNN reported</a>.Trump, who has downplayed the severity of the coronavirus as it has spread throughout the US, dismissed Fauci's health recommendations and claimed that more people would have died had he listened to the longtime health official.Trump described Fauci as a "nice guy" who has "been here for 500 years," then said, "Fauci is a disaster," according to CNN, which said it got access to the call via a source."If I listened to him, we'd have 500,000 deaths," Trump reportedly said, adding: "People are saying whatever. Just leave us alone. They're tired of it. People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots."Trump revised the figure to 700,000 or 800,000 deaths before expressing indifference about whether his statements would reach reporters, CNN said."If there's a reporter on, you can have it just the way I said it, I couldn't care less," he said, according to CNN.Fauci has been the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 and was recently part of the White House's coronavirus task force.Trump's criticisms of Fauci had been relatively muted until recently. While <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-again-receives-poor-marks-on-response-to-coronavirus-2020-9">Trump has struggled for months</a> with unfavorable opinions about his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Fauci has remained one of the most trusted sources for health information.In a September <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/abc-too-slow-on-pandemic">ABC News/Ipsos poll</a>, only 35% of Americans said they approved of how Trump had handled the coronavirus pandemic, with 67% of respondents saying he acted too slowly to combat the disease.In an <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6938425/200266-NBCWSJ-June-Poll.pdf">NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll</a> in June, 50% of respondents said they viewed Fauci favorably, while only 11% said they had a negative view. And in a <a href="http://files.kff.org/attachment/Topline-KFF-Health-Tracking-Poll-September-2020.pdf">Kaiser Family Foundation poll</a> released in September, 68% of respondents said they had a great deal or fair amount of trust in Fauci when it came to the updates about the coronavirus.In an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/fauci-covid-cases-increase-latest-60-minutes-2020-10-18/">interview with CBS's "60 Minutes"</a> that aired on Sunday, Fauci said he was "absolutely not" surprised that Trump caught the coronavirus."I was worried that he was going to get sick when I saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded, no separation between people, and almost nobody wearing a mask," he said, referring to the White House ceremony for Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, on September 26."When I saw that on TV, I said, 'Oh my goodness. Nothing good can come out of that. That's got to be a problem,'" Fauci continued. "And then sure enough, it turned out to be a superspreader event."Trump announced on October 2 that he and first lady Melania Trump had contracted the coronavirus. He was transported later that day to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment, and he was released on October 5.The president has routinely dismissed the threat of COVID-19, urging state leaders to reopen businesses and claiming that <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/515223-trump-maintains-us-rounding-the-turn-on-coronavirus">the US is "rounding the turn" on the pandemic</a> and that the virus will "disappear."But Fauci offered a different perspective, telling CBS: "When you have a million deaths and over 30 million infections globally, you cannot say that we're on the road to essentially getting out of this. So quite frankly I don't know where we are. It's impossible to say."In the interview, Fauci also said that his media appearances hadn't always been in his control."During this pandemic, has the White House been controlling when you can speak with the media?" Dr. Jon LaPook asked."You know, I think you'd have to be honest and say yes," Fauci replied. "I certainly have not been allowed to go on many, many, many shows that have asked for me."Trump took another swing at Fauci on Monday afternoon, <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1318252740431155200?s=21">this time on Twitter</a>."Dr. Tony Fauci says we don't allow him to do television, and yet I saw him last night on @60Minutes, and he seems to get more airtime than anybody since the late, great, Bob Hope," Trump said. "All I ask of Tony is that he make better decisions." The president also accused Fauci of saying "no masks &amp; let China in."Trump went on to mock Fauci's ceremonial first pitch of the first 2020 MLB game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees in July."Also, Bad arm!" Trump wrote, adding that Fauci "threw out perhaps the worst first pitch in the history of Baseball!"Before a rally in Prescott, Arizona, on Monday afternoon, <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1318260842471751683?s=20">Trump pushed back on the notion</a> that he was criticizing Fauci because of Fauci's favorability among Americans."We let him do what he wants to do. He gets a lot of television. He loves being on television," Trump said, adding, "But he's called a lot of bad calls."This article has been updated.

Trump reportedly slammed Anthony Fauci as 'a disaster' on a campaign phone call

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tommy Francois, vice-president of editorial and creative services at video game giant <keyword id="172599" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ubisoft">Ubisoft</keyword>, has left the company after facing allegations of <keyword id="16048" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="sexual-harassment">sexual harassment</keyword>.</li><li>Sources with knowledge of the matter told Business Insider he was fired following an internal investigation of complaints made against him.</li><li>Ubisoft placed Francois on administrative leave in late June, pending an investigation.</li><li>Francois was named in a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubisoft-faces-new-allegations-of-sexual-harassment-and-toxic-culture-2020-7">Business Insider investigation</a> into sexual misconduct and HR failures at Ubisoft. He is the latest in a series of senior employees to step down.</li><li>Francois did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</li></ul>Tommy Francois, a senior employee at video game giant Ubisoft, has been fired after current and former colleagues accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior.Ubisoft confirmed his departure in an email to Business Insider. Sources with knowledge of the matter told Business Insider that Francois had been fired after an internal investigation into allegations against him. Francois was initially placed on leave without pay in late June, pending the results of that investigation.He is the latest in a series of senior employees to leave Ubisoft, which has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubisoft-faces-new-allegations-of-sexual-harassment-and-toxic-culture-2020-7">rocked over the last month by allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment, and assault</a>.Francois was vice-president of editorial and creative services, based in Ubisoft's Paris headquarters, and was the right-hand man of chief creative officer Serge Hascoet. Hascoet <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/three-more-executives-leave-ubisoft-over-sexual-misconduct-allegations-2020-7">resigned in July</a>. As one of only a handful of editorial VPs, Francois was among the most senior creative minds at Ubisoft, and helped steer the company's biggest franchises, which include <keyword id="370948" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Assassins-Creed">Assassin's Creed</keyword>, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and Tom Clancy's The Division.In a July 31 email seen by Business Insider, Ubisoft's CEO <keyword id="370612" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Yves-Guillemot">Yves Guillemot</keyword> informed editorial staff that Francois had left the company. An Ubisoft source with knowledge of the matter said Francois' departure did not include a financial settlement, although he will be able to keep any shares he has in the company.Read more... <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubisoft-faces-new-allegations-of-sexual-harassment-and-toxic-culture-2020-7">Current and former staff at gaming giant Ubisoft make new allegations of sexual harassment and HR failures, warning senior staff exits won't alter 'deep-rooted, toxic' culture</a>Francois did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Francois was named in a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubisoft-faces-new-allegations-of-sexual-harassment-and-toxic-culture-2020-7">Business Insider report</a> on July 24 into harassment and misconduct at the company, in which he was accused of boasting about masturbating during a business trip and massaging colleagues without asking. He also regularly commented on female colleagues' appearance, current and former Ubisoft employees said.Many of the stories told to Business Insider echoed those in an extensive report in French national newspaper Libération, <a href="https://next.liberation.fr/images/2020/07/01/recits-de-harcelement-et-d-agressions-sexuelles-a-ubisoft-les-jeux-video-c-est-fun-on-peut-tout-fair_1793062">published July 1</a>. Francois did not respond to Business Insider's investigation at the time but did deny the earlier allegations made in Libération via his legal representative.Other investigations are still ongoing, CEO Guillemot added in the email to employees. Francois joins Hascoet, head of Ubisoft's Canadian studios Yannis Mallat, global head of HR Cécile Cornet, and VP editorial Maxime Beland as senior staff who have stepped down in recent months. Cornet remains at Ubisoft in a different role.This article was updated after publication with new information about Francois' departure.<h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubisoft-faces-new-allegations-of-sexual-harassment-and-toxic-culture-2020-7?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">You can read Business Insider's investigation into allegations of Francois' conduct here</a>.</h2>

EXCLUSIVE: Ubisoft fires exec Tommy Francois after he was accused of sexual harassment

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Two more executives have left <keyword id="172599" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ubisoft">Ubisoft</keyword> following an <keyword id="49112" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Investigation">investigation</keyword> into <keyword id="338692" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="sexual-misconduct">sexual misconduct</keyword> at the company, Ubisoft announced Sunday.</li><li>Chief creative officer Serge Hascoët and the managing director of Ubisoft's Canadian branch Yannis Mallat have resigned, effective immediately.</li><li>The company's global head of HR Cécile Cornet is also stepping down from her position, but remains at the company.</li></ul>French games company Ubisoft on Saturday announced two more of its executives are leaving the company of sexual misconduct allegations and another is stepping down from her role, right after the company geared up for a big virtual event showing off its upcoming games.The company <a href="https://ubistatic19-a.akamaihd.net/comsite_common/en-US/images/pressrelease_downloadablemm_20200711_103822_20200711_pressreleaseen_tcm99-362812_tcm99-196733-32.pdf">announced on Sunday</a> its chief creative officer and second-most senior executive Serge Hascoët had resigned effective immediately, along with the managing director of its Canadian branch Yannis Mallat.Hascoët's role will be temporarily filled by CEO Yves Guillemot."During this time, Mr. Guillemot will personally oversee a complete overhaul of the way in which the creative teams collaborate," the company said in its statement.With regards to Mallat, the company said: "The recent allegations that have come to light in Canada against multiple employees make it impossible for [Mallat] to continue in this position." Ubisoft's global head of HR Cécile Cornet is also stepping down from her role, but remaining inside the company per a statement given to <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/multiple-senior-ubisoft-executives-step-down-follo/1100-6479604/">GameSpot</a>.Reports of sexual assault and misconduct at Ubisoft started to surface in late June, after community manager Andrien Gbinigie <a href="https://screenrant.com/ubisoft-rape-sexual-assault-accusation-andrien-gbinigie/">was publicly accused of rape</a>. Gbinigie denied the allegation in a Medium post, which has since been taken down. On June 26 <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-26/metoo-in-gaming-two-ubisoft-executives-placed-on-leave">Bloomberg</a> reported the company had placed two executives plus an unspecified number of other employees on administrative leave as part of an investigation into the allegations. On June 27, CEO Yves Guillemot wrote a letter to Ubisoft employees promising to "personally follow" each reported case of misconduct at the company."Ubisoft has fallen short in its obligation to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace environment for its employees," Guillemot said in a statement.The news came the same day the company hosted its big virtual event Ubisoft Forward, where it hyped up its upcoming next installment in the "Assassin's Creed" franchise "Assassin's Creed: Valhalla," and announced another installment in its popular "Far Cry" series "Far Cry 6."The company did not address the allegations, however, saying the event had been pre-recorded."Ubisoft Forward comes during a time of big internal change. Because all of the content has been pre-recorded, we wanted to recognise that the issues we're currently dealing with won't be addressed directly in the show. We still have significant work to do and are committed to this process. We will provide more updates soon," Ubisoft said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/Ubisoft/status/1282329452098342913">statement</a>.

Gaming giant Ubisoft sheds 2 executives amid huge uproar over sexual misconduct allegations

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="172599" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ubisoft">Ubisoft</keyword>, the video game giant, has been rocked through June and July by allegations of sexual harassment and assault made against senior staff.</li><li>CEO Yves Guillemot has promised sweeping changes as seemingly "untouchable" senior employees resign or are suspended pending the results of investigations.</li><li>But some staff are skeptical. More than a dozen current and former employees told Business Insider that misogyny was deep-rooted at the firm, which has 18,000 staff and offices around the world.</li><li>As well as making fresh allegations of sexual harassment, including against editorial vice president Tommy François, they warned that getting rid of individuals would not lead to widespread cultural change.</li><li>François did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Ubisoft declined to comment directly on specific allegations.</li></ul>During a business trip to Montreal in 2016, Tommy François, one of the most senior creative minds at video game giant Ubisoft, told male and female colleagues sitting around the breakfast table that he had spent the entire night masturbating, two people present told Business Insider.As everyone ate eggs and muesli from the hotel buffet, he showed coworkers a video he claimed to have watched during the night, they said. Five current and former Ubisoft employees who have worked in the same office as François told Business Insider that he regularly judged female colleagues' looks out loud, massaged people without asking permission ("He never asked, he just did it," one woman said), and touched men's genitals in the elevator by playing a French game called "chat-bite," which would roughly translate to "dick-tag." Many of the stories told to Business Insider echo those in an extensive report in French national newspaper Libération, <a href="https://next.liberation.fr/images/2020/07/01/recits-de-harcelement-et-d-agressions-sexuelles-a-ubisoft-les-jeux-video-c-est-fun-on-peut-tout-fair_1793062">published July 1</a>.Tommy François did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Business Insider. He denied the allegations in the Libération report through a legal representative, Jérémie Assous. Assous also did not respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.Ubisoft confirmed to Business Insider it has placed François on administrative leave, pending the results of an investigation. But allegations of misogyny at Ubisoft — which is best known for the Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Watch Dogs series and has offices all over the world — extend far beyond one man. For this article, Business Insider spoke to more than a dozen current and former employees whose careers at the company spanned the last 15 years. The majority said that the departures of individuals will not alone change the company's culture.Read more... <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/three-more-executives-leave-ubisoft-over-sexual-misconduct-allegations-2020-7">Gaming giant Ubisoft sheds 2 executives amid huge uproar over sexual misconduct allegations</a>Maxime Beland, an editorial vice president based in Toronto, resigned on July 5 after facing multiple accusations of harassment, and allegations that he put his hands around a female colleague's neck. The allegations first emerged on social media and <a href="https://kotaku.com/ubisoft-employees-have-grave-concerns-over-toronto-stud-1844277486">were reported by Kotaku</a>. Beland has so far declined to comment on these allegations, and Ubisoft said it would continue to investigate him after his departure.On July 12, three of Ubisoft's most senior employees stepped down amid growing allegations of harassment at the company.Serge Hascoet, the company's chief creative officer, resigned. An Ubisoft HR source told <a href="https://www.liberation.fr/futurs/2020/07/10/harcelement-sexuel-a-ubisoft-on-savait_1793985">Libération</a> that Hascoet was known "for his toxicity, his misogyny, his homophobia" — he didn't respond to questions from the newspaper.Yannis Mallat, head of the company's Canadian operations, including its world-renowned studio in Montreal, also stepped down. Ubisoft said the "recent allegations that have come to light in Canada against multiple employees make it impossible for him to continue in this position."And global head of HR Cécile Cornet left her role, but remains at the company in a new position. Ubisoft said she believed stepping down "is in the best interest of the company's unity."<div type="image" title="Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft" height="2000" width="3000" msid="77158006" hostid="261"></div>Ubisoft cofounder and CEO Yves Guillemot has promised "profound changes across the company to improve and strengthen our workplace culture," and, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubisoft-ceo-yves-guillemot-responds-sexual-harassment-allegations-at-studio-2020-6">revealed by Business Insider</a>, has pledged to "personally follow" each allegation. The company has brought in external investigators. And given both the tidal wave of similar allegations across the entire industry and the size of Ubisoft, which has a market cap of $8.5 billion and 18,000 employees, Guillemot's handling of his company could be a turning point in a long-standing battle against sexism in video game development.Some at Ubisoft remain skeptical. A sexist culture stretches from "top to bottom," one former editorial employee who worked for Ubisoft for four years in the 2010s said.She shared with Business Insider allegations that she was harassed by multiple men of varying seniority in Ubisoft's Paris office. One man badgered her about having sex with him on a near-daily basis, she said. She said he would sit next to her and ask where he fit into her calendar, and what room they would have sex in. "It was horrible," she said.Another man regularly greeted her with a kiss on each cheek, she said. "La bise" is a common greeting in France — but he also ran his hand from her neck to the bottom of her back as he kissed her, she said. She said that a third man, whom she trusted, and who still works at the company, put his hand on her leg while she was asleep on a flight. She awoke to his hand creeping up her thigh, she told Business Insider, and jumped out of her seat. That same day, she described the incident to another person who had been on the flight. That person confirmed to Business Insider they had heard the story.The culture spread outward from François, she said, through a tight-knit "boys' club" at Ubisoft's Editorial Creative Services (ECS) team, which comprises around 25 people, and out to other editorial staff in the Paris office. Nearly all the reports of misconduct in the Paris office stem from the editorial floor, according to the sources who spoke to us.When the former employee entered the office, or crossed the open-plan editorial floor, male colleagues would regularly talk about "how my hair was, how I was dressed, if it was good or not, how my body was," she said. This was confirmed by another person, who said they witnessed the behavior. She was too scared to wear high heels or certain dresses — and too scared to drink at work events, she told Business Insider. Two years after leaving the company, she said she is still afraid of working in an office. Several other employees told Business Insider they sought psychological help after working at the company.She is skeptical that getting rid of François will make a real difference — Ubisoft needs to "purge the studio" if it wants cultural change, she said. "François is one of many other men … I think it's much, much bigger. It's a male culture, and the roots are super deep."<div type="image" title="Tommy Francois (R), Ubisoft" height="1285" width="1713" msid="77158007" hostid="261"></div>Multiple sources said those roots stretch across the Atlantic, too. Chelsea O'Hara, who worked at Ubisoft Toronto between 2016 and 2018, <a href="https://chelseamarieohara.com/#/Papers/My-Story-Ubisoft-Toronto">wrote a blog post</a> on July 2 in which she described being groped in the back of a taxi by a coworker on the way home from an event. She told Business Insider that the incident occured in late 2017, and that she was drunk at the time, but aware of what was happening. She felt "shocked and vulnerable," she said. She did not later confront the man or report the incident to HR. A former colleague of O'Hara confirmed to Business Insider that she told him about the alleged assault in early 2018.O'Hara told Business Insider she was "super pessimistic" about the prospect of cultural change."Removing a few directors — that's just PR," she said. "You are going to have to upend the entire foundation of that company."Both O'Hara and the former Paris employee were critical of Ubisoft's HR department. Each Ubisoft studio has dedicated senior HR staff, and each project or game is assigned at least one HR rep. The former Paris employee said she could talk to neither HR nor her manager, because she felt both would protect the men who harassed her. She did not report the incidents described above to HR."The boys' club was protected by Tommy," she said, adding François was himself protected by other senior staff. O'Hara said people in HR had protected male colleagues, which is why she did not report instances of harassment and assault to the company. She also told Business Insider she "already had to carry the trauma," and did not wish to relive it. "Unless they get rid of HR leaders, directors, people that covered up … they are not going to be able to see real change." A third woman, who still works at the company, said she complained to HR about a manager who had commented on the clothes she wore, and discussed the appearance of other women. The manager also pitted her professionally against other employees and told her she couldn't be friends with certain colleagues, she said — it got to the point that she "couldn't stand going to work." Her HR rep seemed, at first, incredibly helpful, but later she was told not to make "too much of a fuss," she said.Employees were encouraged not to discuss their issues with one another, she added.Other current and former employees told Business Insider that complaints to HR about alleged harassment and toxicity resulted in no action. In a mail to staff on July 12, CEO Guillemot said the company needed to "strengthen our HR function, restructure it further and adapt to the new challenges of our industry."Official guidance could be part of the problem. <div type="image" title="Assassin's Creed Odyssey poster" height="1686" width="2500" msid="77158012" hostid="261"></div>An Ubisoft HR document from 2019, distributed to employees in Canada and reviewed by Business Insider, said that the first response to sexual harassment should be to talk to the harasser, rather than to a manager or HR.Anyone who witnesses harassment against a colleague should "discuss the matter directly with the people involved," it said. It only recommends reporting the incident to a manager, or to HR, if the harassment "persists." The guidance also describes a scenario in which an employee gets "recurring jokes about my outfit from the team I work with. At first they made me laugh, but now they are slipping into sexist remarks and I'm starting to feel uncomfortable. What can I do?" The recommended course of action is to talk to the people making the comments "so everyone understands and respects your discomfort." Employees should speak to their manager or HR if they are "not comfortable talking to the team directly.""Sexist jokes are not tolerated at Ubisoft," it said.Employees were asked to sign a package of HR guidance on anti-corruption, racism, and harassment that contained the document. One former employee, who worked in an Ubisoft Canada office for several years and said she had been "humiliated" by sexual jokes during a meeting, told Business Insider she refused to sign. "I didn't, because I actually read it," she said.She called the departure of people like Hascoet a "great start, but only a start." A former designer, who worked at the company in Paris for a decade, said Hascoet's resignation showed that nobody is "untouchable," but he feared "nothing will change in the long run.""Now Ubisoft needs to do a profound change to its systems, not just remove a few visible figures. Can they do it? I don't know. Habits die hard," he said.The most optimistic member of staff Business Insider spoke to, a current employee, said the departure of Francois and Hascoet would solve "most of the toxic behaviours within the editorial" team and "send a global message about how to treat such incidents in the future, i.e. nobody is untouchable." But even she wondered how the company "will deal with current and past complaints. If the effort stops here, it would be a shame."<h3>"I guarantee you there will not be a single white man in those three hires"</h3>Part of that effort will include hiring women in newly created senior roles, according to a source currently at the company, who wished to remain anonymous. The tight-knit group of editorial vice presidents — who control the creative direction of the company's games, and which previously included Maxime Beland — will grow from five to at least eight, and the shortlist for the roles is dominated by women, both from inside and outside the company, the source said. "I guarantee you there will not be a single white man in those three hires."Much of the responsibility for change, including new hires, will fall on the CEO's shoulders.But out of the dozen current and former employees Business Insider interviewed for this piece, many could not believe Yves Guillemot, who founded the company with his brothers in 1986, was oblivious to the toxic culture growing beneath him over three decades."In my 10 years in Ubisoft I have come to really like Yves … but he's too nice and loyal with people who have been there since the beginning, and overlooks a lot of nasty things as a result," the former Paris designer said.Yves Guillemot did not respond to an interview request.One current senior employee at Ubisoft's Paris HQ, who wished to remain anonymous, told Business Insider that staff are split about Yves Guillemot's sincerity. Most believe he genuinely wants change, and see Hascoet's departure as support for that. Others don't buy it. A third group thinks the recent wave of allegations are exaggerated. Many people don't know what to believe, and are awaiting evidence of organizational change, the source said. If Guillemot is fully on board, he will need to convince other senior staff.One current editorial vice president said in a recent Facebook post, seen by Business Insider, that he was "enraged" by the recent Liberation article containing allegations of harassment — not, apparently, by the alleged actions of his colleagues, but by the framing of the article itself. "I have a pretty good grasp of the reality and the abject manipulation of the reality to garner clicks makes me want to vomit," he wrote in a post on Facebook in French.When contacted by Business Insider, he asked that his name not be published. He said he "might not" have known every detail about the case when he published the post, but did not express remorse at posting it.Ubisoft declined to comment for this article, instead directing Business Insider to recent public statements. In the most recent, Yves Guillemot admitted that "Ubisoft has fallen short in its obligation to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace environment for its employees." The "toxic" behavior at the company is "in direct contrast to values on which I have never compromised — and never will. I am committed to implementing profound changes across the company to improve and strengthen our workplace culture," he said.It may take more than new hires and promises from Guillemot to change the culture at Ubisoft — and convince women that they are safe at the company.Another former designer, who worked at Ubisoft's Montreal office for several years in the mid-2000s and made multiple complaints about male colleagues' behavior to HR at the time, compared the recent departures of Hascoet and Mallat to the executions of two French monarchs in 1793. It was six years from their beheadings at the Place de la Concorde, 8km from Ubisoft's Paris headquarters, to the end of the French Revolution. Changing Ubisoft may take just as long, she said.Ubisoft has "chopped off Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's heads," she said. "Of course they're the root, but the next two layers ... I don't even know what they'll do with that problem."Additional reporting by Shona Ghosh.If you have been sexually assaulted, harassed, or otherwise harmed during your time in the video games industry, we want to hear from you. Contact Business Insider associate editor Samuel Horti via encrypted messaging app Signal (+447801504020), encrypted email (shortiBI@protonmail.com), standard email (shorti@businessinsider.com), or Twitter DM (@SamuelHorti). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by standard email only, please.

Current and former staff at gaming giant Ubisoft make new allegations of sexual harassment and HR failures, warning senior staff exits won't alter 'deep-rooted, toxic' culture

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul><li>Ubisoft shares plunged 16% on Friday after it released a profit warning, delayed a trio of video games, and announced an overhaul of its development process.</li><li>The gaming giant behind the "Assassin's Creed," "Watch Dogs," and "Far Cry" franchises cut its projected net bookings for the year to March 2020 by more than a third to 1.45 billion euros ($1.61 billion), and slashed its operating profit forecast from 480 million euros to between 20 million and 50 million euros.</li><li>Ubisoft blamed the downgrades on lower sales expectations for two Tom Clancy games, "Ghost Recon: Breakpoint" and "The Division 2." Their underperformance led it to push back the release dates of "Gods &amp; Monsters," "Rainbow Six Quarantine," and "Watch Dogs: Legion" into its next financial year.</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ubisoft_entertainment-stock">Watch Ubisoft trade live</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ubisoft_entertainment-stock">Ubisoft</a> shares plunged 16% on Friday after it <a href="https://ubistatic19-a.akamaihd.net/comsite_common/en-US/images/14ubisoft%20-%202019-20%20targets%20update_tcm99-358144_tcm99-196733-32.pdf">released a profit warning</a>, delayed a trio of video games, and announced an overhaul of its development process.The gaming giant behind the "Assassin's Creed," "Watch Dogs," and "Far Cry" franchises cut its projected net bookings for the year to March 2020 by more than a third to 1.45 billion euros ($1.61 billion), and slashed its operating profit forecast from 480 million euros to between 20 million and 50 million euros.Ubisoft blamed the downgrades on lower sales expectations for two Tom Clancy games, "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ghost-recon-breakpoint-release-date-trailer-2019-5?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;r=US&amp;IR=T">Ghost Recon Breakpoint</a>" and, to a lesser extent, "The Division 2." Their underperformance led it to push back the release dates of "Gods &amp; Monsters," "Rainbow Six Quarantine," and "Watch Dogs: Legion" into its next financial year."Critical reception and sales during the game's first weeks were very disappointing," CEO and cofounder Yves Guillemot said in a press release, referring to Breakpoint. Ubisoft underestimated the difficulty of drumming up interest in a sequel to a live multiplayer game, especially after updating and improving the original game, he said.The company also realized gameplay innovations "need to be perfectly implemented" after Breakpoint's changes "generated very negative reaction" and were "strongly rejected by a significant portion of the community," Guillemot said. A third problem was Breakpoint's failure to stand out, he added."We're not happy with the fact that our decision here impacts significantly the short term of our financials, but we believe that we're taking then this opportunity to definitely further elevate the quality of all of our games by coming with stronger identity features, differentiation," Guillemot said. Future games will also feature "original new formulas" and "highly optimized experiences," he added.Guillemot shared more details about Breakpoint's issues during a call with analysts. "There were more bugs than expected at the launch," he said, and players viewed its large online store as a cash grab and it was "really not appreciated at all."Ubisoft assumed a gap of 30 to 36 months would be long enough for a sequel, but that timeframe was too short to optimize gameplay and build enough anticipation and momentum, Guillemot said. Changes to gameplay can be "unsettling" so they have to be seamlessly introduced to win over players, he added. Ubisoft also recognizes all its games need to be "strongly differentiated," he said.The group tried to take the sting out of its profit warning by announcing bullish forecasts for the year to March 2021. It expects 2.6 billion euros in net bookings and 600 million euros of adjusted operating income, although those figures are flattered by anticipated revenues from the delayed games.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/10-up-and-coming-fintechs-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=finance&amp;itm_campaign=10-up-and-coming-fintechs-2019"></a>

Ubisoft plummets after slashing its earnings forecast and delaying the release of 3 games

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesYves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO of Ubisoft.</div></div></div><ul><li>Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot predicted the next generation of consoles will be the last.</li><li>After that, he believes cloud-based streaming services will dominate gaming, with blockbuster titles available on any screen.</li><li>Streaming services for gaming are still niche, but as the technology improves Guillemot believes they will move into the mainstream.</li></ul>The CEO of the $2 billion gaming company behind "Assassin's Creed" has predicted that games consoles are heading for extinction.In a recent interview with <a href="https://variety.com/2018/gaming/features/death-of-the-console-1202833926/">Variety,</a> Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said: "I think we will see another generation, but there is a good chance that step-by-step we will see less and less hardware."He added: "With time, I think streaming will become more accessible to many players and make it not necessary to have big hardware at home."Guillemot said the death of consoles will be good news for blockbuster games like "Assassin's Creed" and "God of War.""It is going to help the AAA game industry grow much faster," he said. "We have to work on the accessibility of those games, to make sure they can be played on any device, but the fact that we will be able to stream those games on mobile phones and television screens without a console is going to change a lot of the industry."Games being powered by server farms rather than home-bound consoles might seem like a distant future, but there are already streaming services available that allow people to play on basic laptops and screens.Playstation has its own paid streaming service "<a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/explore/playstation-now/">Playstation Now</a>," Nvidia's "<a href="https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/geforce-now/mac-pc/">Geforce Now</a>" is currently in free beta, and in May <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/17/17366662/steam-link-android-beta-valve-pc-game-streaming-service-launch">Valve released a beta </a>of its "Link" service, which allows people to stream their games to smartphones - albeit provided the phone is connected to a PC which is in turn connected to a router with an ethernet connection.These services are still relatively niche, but Guillemot predicts that as the technology improves they will become mainstream. "We think it's a trend and that it will continue to evolve. Eventually, the technology will improve dramatically, which will allow us to have a very smooth experience in the big cities of the world," he said. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-having-problems-bugs-2018-5">Why Apple is having so many problems right now</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

The $2 billion maker of 'Assassin's Creed' says the games console is nearly dead

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul><li>In 2019, Ubisoft is pausing its annual "Assassin's Creed" franchise.</li><li>Instead of a new game, the company will give the franchise a rest after this year's launch of "Assassin's Creed Odyssey." </li><li>Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot cited the company's previous decision to move its games away from annual sequels. Having more development time "gave the team the possibility to really bring what they wanted to" with "Assassin's Creed Origins" and "Odyssey,"&#xa0;<a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/no-new-assassins-creed-coming-in-2019/1100-6461327/">Guillemot told GameSpot</a>.</li></ul> One of the biggest annual game franchises in the world is taking 2019 off.In 2017, Ubisoft launched "Assassin's Creed Origins." In 2018, Ubisoft is launching "Assassin's Creed Odyssey."&#xa0;But next year, there won't be a new "Assassin's Creed" game - a surprise given the franchise's usually annual launch schedule.&#xa0;"We had a game [in 2018] and we have one this year, but we are not going to have a full-fledged 'Assassin's' next year," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/no-new-assassins-creed-coming-in-2019/1100-6461327/">told GameSpot in an interview this week</a>. That includes spin-off games, according to Guillemot.&#xa0;Instead, Ubisoft is planing to expand upon the foundation set in place by "Odyssey" later this year."What you'll have is lots of content coming [to 'Odyssey']," Guillemot said. "The team really wants to give, on a regular basis, some new possibilities for play, so when you get in this year, you're going to get in for a couple of years."It's a move that makes a lot of sense given Ubisoft's recent history.&#xa0;<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars developing major blockbusters, then hoping they sell enough at launch to turn a profit, Ubisoft has begun focusing on long-term support for its major blockbusters.Games like "Rainbow Six Siege," seen above, have expanded dramatically since launch in 2015 - it continues to be massively popular, despite becoming available nearly three years ago. The same could be said for Ubisoft's "The Division," as well as "For Honor" - it's a smart strategy that Ubisoft has pioneered to great effect in the last several years.And now, it sounds like that same strategy is being deployed with the massive "Assassin's Creed" series."Assassin's Creed Odyssey" is scheduled to arrive on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on October 5 - check out the game in action right here:Get the latest Microsoft stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/MSFT-Quote"> here.</a><div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/machine-perfectly-pours-concrete-gutters-curbs-power-curber-paver-2018-7">This machine perfectly pours concrete</a></h3> <div> </div> </div></hr>

One of gaming's biggest annual franchises is taking a year off in 2019

A major CEO in the video game world has seen Nintendo's new console, codenamed "NX."The verdict? It's "really great."According to a <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/07/20/ubisoft-ceo-yves-guillemot-has-seen-the-really-great-nintendo-nx">transcription by IGN</a>, Yves Guillemot, the CEO of Ubisoft, which makes games like "Assassin's Creed" and "Watch Dogs," said the following during an earnings call with investors:"What we have seen is really great. We think having a new machine coming is going to help the industry to continue to grow, and to take lots more casual players back to the industry."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">NintendoThe other major game coming to NX in March 2017 is "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild."</div></div></div>Ubisoft is currently developing "Just Dance 2017" for the NX, so its developers have certainly spent a good amount of time with the console (in one form or another) already.Unsurprisingly, Guillemot's comments indicate that the NX, whatever it may be, will likely attempt to emulate the success of the wildly popular Wii console, which succeeded largely because of its appeal to casual and hardcore gamers alike.That's because Nintendo's current console, the Wii U, has not sold nearly as well as was initially expected. In four years, it's only sold about 13 million units - this was quite a disappointment for everyone at Nintendo, especially since <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/07/08/nintendo-wii-u-sales/">some expected it would sell 100 million units</a>.If 13 million sounds like a lot, compare it to the PlayStation 4, which has <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/playstation-4-sales-2016-5">sold 40 million units since its launch</a> in 2013. That's a full year after Nintendo released the Wii U.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://pdfaiw.uspto.gov/.aiw?docid=20150355768&amp;PageNum=1&amp;&amp;IDKey=C8E8E2EA0592&amp;HomeUrl=http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1%2526Sect2=HITOFF%2526d=PG01%2526p=1%2526u=%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsrchnum.html%2526r=1%2526f=G%2526l=50%2526s1=%25252220150355,768%252522.PGNR.%2526OS=DN/20150355,768%2526RS=DN/20150355,768">USPTO</a>The above is from a patent Nintendo filed, which some are speculating might be the controller for the NX.</div></div></div>But Nintendo seems to be taking the Wii U's failure to heart: All signs are pointing towards the NX being a major change - it <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/nintendo-nx-console-will-use-physical-media-2016-6">might even have old-school cartridges instead of discs</a>.This isn't the first time someone at Ubisoft has spoke highly of the upcoming console, either. In late June, <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/nintendo-nx-will-be-as-big-as-the-original-wii-2016-6">Alain Corre said</a>, "We have done a lot of products and successes with Nintendo in the past, and we believe that the NX will recapture a lot the lapsed Wii players. So we will see when they release it, but we are confident."We're just ready to finally see what this thing looks like. Please, Nintendo? <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-gamers-want-from-next-nintendo-console-2016-7">Here's what gamers want from Nintendo's next console</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="ByaWZrNDE6zYbSC3mkn1u6vYz0N5DeAg" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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