Ubisoft Developers Criticize Leadership: “Yves Guillemot Lacks Insight Into His Company”

Ubisoft developers are making their voices heard outside the company’s Paris offices this week, with over 1,200 participants, as reported by union representatives. They’re not just protesting; they’re also dancing, urging the Assassin’s Creed creator to reconsider its contentious return-to-office policy and demanding accountability from top executives, including co-founder Yves Guillemot.

Marc Rutschlet, a representative from the Solidaires Informatique union at Ubisoft Paris, expressed concerns, stating, “It’s evident that Yves Guillemot lacks awareness of his company and its workforce.” He highlighted ongoing cost-cutting measures and layoffs, noting that teams are already under pressure and often understaffed. After years of minimal pay increases, employees are bracing for another year without raises.

On the first day of the strike, February 10, the atmosphere was lively, with speakers blasting the 2014 Game Boy chiptune hit “Disco Sanwa” by Kenobit. Developers danced in the rain, showcasing their determination to protest the company’s current trajectory.

This three-day strike also involves developers from Ubisoft Milan and follows the French publisher’s announcement of a significant shift, which includes delaying major game releases and canceling several others. Alongside a new cost-cutting initiative that will lead to an additional 200 layoffs, Ubisoft is pushing for employees to return to the office full-time by the end of 2026.

This message, conveyed by CEO Yves Guillemot in internal communications and town hall meetings, has not been well received, particularly due to the source. Despite acknowledging the need for change, Guillemot and his brothers, who founded the company in the 1980s, continue to lead, bolstered by a $1 billion bailout from Tencent.

In Canada, one employee was terminated for criticizing the new policies in work channels, which Ubisoft claimed breached the company’s code of conduct. Unlike their French counterparts, Ubisoft’s major studios in Montreal, Quebec, and Toronto are not unionized. A smaller mobile gaming team in Canada briefly unionized earlier this year but was subsequently disbanded, with the company asserting that the closure was unrelated to labor organizing.

Unions have attributed this week’s walkout to the “arbitrary decision of the CEO who doesn’t even dare to engage with employees anymore.”