Employee unions at Ubisoft are calling for CEO Yves Guillemot to step down. Union representatives Marc Rutschlé and Chakib Mataoui told Game Developer that recent decisions made by Ubisoft’s leadership feel like a betrayal. This demand follows the company’s announcement of restructuring plans, which involve canceling projects and reducing costs.
Referring to the 2020 accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct, Rutschlé pointed out that Guillemot seems to only associate with people who agree with him. When asked if he thought a leadership change might happen, Rutschlé said he fully expected it, stating, “I don’t expect anything good from this guy.”
Mataoui also criticized a perceived issue with Guillemot’s leadership: favoritism. He pointed out that Guillemot’s son, Charlie, co-leads Vantage Studios, and highlighted a general lack of diversity among the company’s highest-ranking leaders.
He explained that simply hiring people from the same background – specifically, his white male friends – doesn’t foster diversity or bring in fresh perspectives. In a creative field like game development, new ideas are essential for innovation, and currently, the team lacks that kind of creative thinking.
He criticized the company’s leaders, saying they weren’t considering their obligations to their employees. He feels employees should have a bigger role in choosing their managers, stating he’d prefer a leader his team approves of over one they don’t trust. He explained that currently, the employees lack faith in the company’s leadership.
Okay, so things are really hitting a breaking point at Ubisoft. This guy Rutschlé basically thinks the only way to fix things is for Yves Guillemot to step down. He says the amount of negativity towards him is too much and that Ubisoft needs to rebuild trust. Honestly, it’s been rough since 2020 – they haven’t been able to win back the faith of their employees, and that whole NFT thing really didn’t help. It feels like a fresh start is what a lot of us are hoping for.
A significant source of conflict has been the recent requirement for employees to return to the office. Ubisoft even terminated the employment of a lead level designer at their Montreal studio after they publicly opposed the policy. According to Mataoui, the announcement created anxiety among many workers, particularly those who live far from the Ubisoft Paris office.
Employees were extremely worried about the return-to-office announcement because many had built their lives far from Paris and the studios, and now face the financial challenge of living in an expensive city on their current salaries. Rutschlé agrees, pointing out that the company hasn’t shown any decline in work quality or innovation from employees working remotely.
Regarding the company’s recent restructuring, Rutschlé described it as a strategy to deliver positive news to investors.
Recently, unions have been critical of Ubisoft. Several French unions—Solidaires Informatique, STVJV, and CFE CGC—instructed employees to pause work if Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot visited the office. The company’s recent restructuring announcement also led Solidaires Informatique to organize a half-day strike.
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2026-02-04 17:57