Executives behind Assassin’s Creed face sexual harassment allegations

Three former senior executives from Ubisoft, one of the world’s most prominent video game companies, appeared in court in France on Monday to face a series of disturbing accusations, including sexual harassment, bullying, and in one case, attempted sexual assault. The trial marks one of the first major legal cases tied to the #MeToo movement within the gaming industry.

The hearing, taking place in Bobigny, a suburb of Paris, centers on events that allegedly occurred between 2012 and 2020 at Ubisoft’s Montreuil office, east of the capital. The company, known globally for hit franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Just Dance, is accused of fostering a toxic workplace culture described by one employee as a “boys’ club above the law.”

According to complaints filed with the police, women reported a pattern of sexually charged remarks, crude gestures, and degrading treatment by male supervisors. Some say they were mocked for their appearance, pressured to wear revealing clothing, or subjected to offensive comments, including one executive allegedly saying of a woman’s red-lined coat, “That’s an invitation to rape.”

Further accusations detail explicit behavior inside the office — pornography allegedly played in communal areas, sexual drawings left on desks, and senior staff making inappropriate physical contact under the guise of “relaxing” female colleagues. One woman described being taped to her chair and sent to a random floor via elevator, unable to move. Others reported being humiliated with crude drawings on their faces or forced into degrading stunts.

Male employees were also reportedly targeted. One disturbing incident involved a game where men would have their genitals touched through their clothing if caught during an office chase.

A young Muslim employee said she was subjected to religious discrimination, particularly during Ramadan, and after the 2015 Bataclan terror attack in Paris, she claimed she was alienated and asked whether she supported Daesh.

Among the defendants is Serge Hascoët, 59, former Chief Creative Officer at Ubisoft. Accused of harassment and making sexually explicit remarks, he allegedly once joked about needing to have sex with a colleague in a meeting room “to calm her.” He also reportedly handed a female staffer a tissue used to blow his nose, telling her it was “worth gold at Ubisoft.”

His lawyer, Jean-Guillaume Le Mintier, stated, “Serge Hascoët categorically denies having harassed a single colleague. He denies any knowledge of reprehensible acts committed by collaborators at Ubisoft and did not receive any reports of this.”

Tommy François, 52, former Vice President of Editorial and Creative Services, is charged with harassment and attempted sexual assault. At a 2015 holiday party, he allegedly tried to kiss a female colleague while others restrained her. She described the event as “traumatizing.” François denies the allegations.

The third defendant, 41-year-old Guillaume Patrux, a former game director, is accused of violent outbursts and intimidation, including cracking a whip near colleagues’ faces, setting a coworker’s beard on fire with a lighter, and drawing swastikas in a female colleague’s notebook. He too denies all charges.

Ubisoft, which has yet to issue a public statement regarding the trial, previously responded to the initial wave of allegations in 2020. CEO Yves Guillemot told staff at the time that “inappropriate behavior would not be tolerated,” and pledged internal disciplinary action.