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Ash Parrish is a reporter who covers the business, culture, and communities of video games, with a focus on marginalized gamers and the quirky, horny culture of video game communities.
A court in France has sentenced three former Ubisoft executives for sexual and psychological harassment. Serge Hascoet, Tommy Francois, and Guillaume Patrux each received fines and suspended prison sentences for their actions that were discovered as a part of a years-long investigation into sexual harassment and bullying at the game publisher.
According to The Guardian, Hascoet, Ubisoft’s former chief creative officer, allegedly commented that a female employee’s mood could be improved if someone were to have sex with her in order to, “show how to calm her.” Francois, Ubisoft’s former editorial vice president, was additionally convicted of attempted sexual assault as well as sexual harassment related to an alleged incident where he tried to forcefully kiss a female employee at a party while colleagues held her down. Patrux, a former game director, was alleged to have thrown furniture in open-plan office space, throwing other objects at employees, and drawing swastikas on a colleague’s notebook.
Investigations into Ubisoft began in 2020 as a part of the #metoo movement in video games. Current and former employees took to social media in June 2020 to describe harmful incidents and attitudes at the Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed developer that spanned decades. An internal survey conducted at that time reported that out of 14,000 employees surveyed, 25 percent had seen or experienced workplace misconduct, while 20 percent said they did not feel safe or respected at the company.
In the aftermath, several Ubisoft executives, including Hascoet, resigned while others, including Francois, were fired. In 2023, five former employees, including Hascoet and Francois, were arrested by French police following an investigation into the company.
According to French newspaper Le Monde, Francois blamed company culture at Ubisoft for his behavior, saying he was a part of a culture that was “everywhere, in every department” and that he didn’t think it was “abnormal.”
The Verge has reached out to Ubisoft for comment.
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