Ubisoft Montreal’s Level Design Team Lead Fired After Criticizing Return-to-Office Mandate

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Ubisoft is undergoing significant changes, and as part of that, the company is now requiring employees to return to the office full-time. This decision has faced pushback from some staff, including David Michaud-Cromp, a level design lead at Ubisoft Montreal. Michaud-Cromp publicly voiced his concerns on LinkedIn about the new policy, which requires employees to be in the office five days a week.

Okay, so Ubisoft is trying to get us back into the office five days a week, saying it’s about ‘collaboration.’ Honestly, it feels pretty insulting. We all know what’s really going on, and it definitely isn’t about making things more efficient or actually working better together.

This resulted in Ubisoft suspending Michaud-Cromp without pay for three days. He stated the company disciplined him because of his public criticism of their return-to-office policy. More recently, Ubisoft appears to have taken further action, ultimately firing him.

He announced on social media that Ubisoft fired him, effective immediately. He stated this was not his choice and that he wouldn’t be sharing any details about the situation. He plans to take some time to consider his options and will provide an update later.

Ubisoft told WCCFTech that they fired Michaud-Cromp because he violated their company Code of Conduct, which all employees agree to annually. The company declined to provide further details but confirmed they have standard procedures in place for handling such issues, including steps for escalating concerns.

Ubisoft stated that employees won’t be fired for offering respectful feedback or opinions. The company has a Code of Conduct that all employees agree to annually, outlining expectations for safe and respectful collaboration. When this code is violated, established procedures are followed, with consequences varying based on the issue’s seriousness and frequency. Ubisoft declined to provide further details.

Honestly, as a gamer, I’ve been pretty concerned hearing about what’s going on at Ubisoft. First, they scrapped the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, which was a huge bummer for a lot of us. Then, I saw reports that they were basically offering buyouts to people at their Paris studio – a ‘voluntary’ exit, they called it. It just feels like things aren’t great over there, and it’s worrying to see employees and unions speaking out about it.

French unions—Solidaires Informatique, STVJV, and CFE CGC—have asked Paris office employees to temporarily halt work if CEO Yves Guillemot visits today.

Unions are urging Ubisoft Paris employees to walk out if CEO Yves Guillemot visits their offices, stating they will no longer tolerate his mistreatment of workers. A distributed pamphlet calls for employees to leave their workstations and protest outside the building if he enters the premises.

Solidaires Informatique was quick to criticize Ubisoft’s recent restructuring, calling it a damaging announcement. Last month, the union organized a half-day strike, focusing on three key requests: allowing employees to continue working remotely, providing fair pay increases this year, and stopping Ubisoft’s efforts to cut costs.

Ubisoft has also reassured fans that the development of Beyond Good and Evil 2 is continuing as planned, despite recent company changes.

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2026-02-03 14:42