Ubisoft Execs in Court in France as Harassment Case Unfolds

Three former Ubisoft executives are now on trial in France for harassment. But for many of the people who spoke out, this isn’t just about them, they hoped the company itself would finally be held responsible.

Starting June 2, Serge Hascoët, Tommy François, and Guillaume Patrux are being tried at the criminal court in Bobigny. They’re facing charges of moral and sexual harassment, and one of attempted sexual assault, after being accused by six women, three men, and two unions. All three deny the allegations.

According to documents reviewed by franceinfo, this is the result of years of silence at the top levels of Ubisoft. One former employee said he was shut down in 2017 when he tried to speak up: “Stop talking about this right now. There’s no problem at Ubisoft.”

Things changed in July 2020, when a major report by Libération exposed what was going on inside Ubisoft’s Montreuil office. That’s when dozens of stories started to come out, stories of sexist jokes, humiliations, and inappropriate behavior. An internal audit done that month said “humiliations were common” and that any resistance was crushed quickly.

Employees said the workplace felt like a boys’ club. One former worker, Clarisse (not her real name), said she felt like she was “in a bar all the time, constantly being hit on.” Another woman said, “I’d cry while putting on makeup before work. I couldn’t tell anymore what was inappropriate and what was normal.”

Some even described games like “chat-bite” and “the olive” being played in the hallways. Several said meetings ended with drawings of male genitals on whiteboards and walls. Tommy François admitted the company had a “locker room culture” and said people had to join in “if they didn’t want to be left out.”

Racist and sexist comments were also common, according to multiple witnesses. One woman said her Black colleague was called “Bamboula” and had his body talked about. She also said coworkers left bacon sandwiches on her desk during Ramadan and changed her computer wallpaper to pictures of bacon.

At the center of it all was Serge Hascoët. He was known as the one person everyone had to please to get their games made. “Serge had power over everything,” one employee said. Others said HR was powerless and often laughed along with the abuse. A former HR director even admitted that “there was no disciplinary system in 2015.”

People stayed silent out of fear, of losing their jobs or being blacklisted in the industry. “Ubisoft felt like a cult,” one employee said. “You had to stay loyal, no matter what.”

Some tried to fight back but were left alone. One woman, Bérénice (not her real name), said she suffered a breakdown in 2015 after being constantly humiliated and overworked. Her boss reportedly told her, “You don’t have anything else, so we take advantage of it. You’ll never say anything.”

Despite the case now going to trial, Ubisoft as a company is not being held legally responsible. Lawyers for the victims and unions say this is a mistake. One lawyer told franceinfo, “The real problem is Ubisoft’s culture. This trial should have included the company too.”

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!