Following reports of creating a toxic workplace environment, former Ubisoft developer Michel Ancel has issued a response, denying that any investigation was part of the reason for his departure from the company. Ancel took to Instagram to address the situation in a lengthy post, in which he claimed the allegations against him were "fake news."
"I will fight for the truth because such accusations are a shame," Ancel says in the Instagram post. He went on to address the allegations against him point-by-point, including the alleged toxic management style, reports of indecisiveness, and reports that the 2017 Beyond Good and Evil E3 demo was fake.
An initial report published by French publication Libération, later translated by Kotaku, alleged that Ancel's mismanagement directly led to a toxic workplace environment during his time working on Beyond Good and Evil 2. Later, Ubisoft confirmed that it had launched an investigation into Ancel's behavior in the workplace. Ancel recently retired from the video game industry to work at a wildlife sanctuary.
Ancel's Instagram post also acted as a scathing indictment of the Libération itself. Ancel says that "the news from [Libération] contains fake [information] revealed by [a] few people who [want] to destroy me and the projects." The former developer went on to claim that the technology used in the game demo was cutting-edge, in addition to refuting the allegations of toxic behavior.
During his exit from the company, Ancel claimed his departure was not part of Ubisoft's ongoing investigations into reported toxicity and sexual harassment throughout its many studios. The investigations have landed Ubisoft in increasingly hot water due to the outpouring of stories circulated by current and former Ubisoft employees. The ensuing investigations have seen a number of prominent Ubisoft developers depart from the company, such as former Assassin's Creed Valhalla Director Ashraf Ismail, who was fired for attempting to engage in an extramarital affair with a fan.
Ubisoft has not disclosed what actions will be taken against Ancel if the allegations are found to be credible, rather, the statement confirming the investigation simply stated that the investigation will "respect the confidentiality" of the matter. It's still unclear precisely how far-reaching the investigations will span, and what actions Ubisoft will take against those that were complicit in any findings beyond firing.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot issued an apology to fans shortly before the September 10 Ubisoft Forward presentation, though the move was criticized for not being included in the presentation itself, which Ubisoft said was due to time concerns. Criticism against Ubisoft management, including Guillemot himself, has risen in wake of the reports, with some calling for the CEO to step down from his position.
Source: Kotaku