Maxime Béland has resigned from Ubisoft, where he had served as Vice President
Editorial, working on the
Splinter Cell,
Assassin's Creed,
Rainbow Six, and
Far Cry franchises. This is reported on
Gamasutra where they add that another unnamed individual has been fired from
Ubisoft Toronto for "engaging in behaviours that do not align with what is
expected of Ubisoft employees." Béland was placed on leave
last week following
allegations of misconduct. The Gamasutra article offers details, saying there
were "a stream of allegations posted on social media accusing the Ubisoft exec
of choking a female employee at a Far Cry party and several forms of sexual
harassment. Ubisoft was reportedly aware of those allegations but chose not to
act." They have an official statement from Ubisoft:
Hi – I’m providing an
update following the internal letter sent by Yves Guillemot yesterday, which
outlined a series of initiatives aimed at improving the way in which Ubisoft
operates.
Maxime Beland, Vice President Editorial, has resigned from his role at Ubisoft,
effective immediately. Despite his resignation, we continue to investigate the
allegations made against him. Additionally, effective as of yesterday, Tommy
François, Vice President Editorial & Creative Services, has been placed on
disciplinary leave pending the outcome of an investigation. One other individual
in our Toronto studio has been terminated for engaging in behaviors that do not
align with what is expected of Ubisoft employees. Other investigations are
ongoing and will be conducted rigorously.
Ubisoft will not tolerate workplace misconduct and will continue taking
disciplinary actions against anyone who engages in harassment, discrimination
and other behaviors that infringe on our Code of Fair Conduct.