Ubisoft’s Skull & Bones studio changes leadership following misconduct allegations

The managing director of Skull & Bones studio Ubisoft Singapore has been replaced following misconduct allegations.

In August, Gamasutra reported that Ubisoft Singapore MD Hugues Ricour was accused by multiple sources of sexual harassment.

And in a recent internal email obtained by Kotaku, Ubisoft chief studios operating officer Virginie Haas confirmed Ricour had been removed from his leadership position.

“Effective immediately, Hugues Ricour is no longer Managing Director of Ubisoft Singapore,” reads the email. “The results of the leadership audit that was conducted in the last few weeks by our external partners makes it impossible for him to continue in this position.”

A Ubisoft spokesperson subsequently told Kotaku: “We can confirm that Hugues Ricour is both stepping down from his role as MD and also leaving the Singapore studio, but will remain at Ubisoft.”

Ricour had served as Ubisoft Singapore MD since early 2018, overseeing pirate naval battle game Skull & Bones as well as co-production duties on the Assassin’s Creed series and Immortals Fenyx Rising.

Last month Ubisoft published the results of an internal survey carried out in response to multiple allegations of workplace misconduct which have tarnished the French publisher’s reputation.

An anonymous survey of almost 14,000 Ubisoft employees found that 20% of respondents didn’t feel “fully respected or safe in the work environment” and that 25% had witnessed or experienced workplace misconduct over the past two years.

The study was conducted by a third-party research firm in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment, sexism, and racism this summer. The allegations resulted in a handful of senior Ubisoft figures stepping down or being fired including chief creative officer Serge Hascoët, who oversaw all of the company’s games as head of its influential editorial team.

Ubisoft’s Canadian studios MD Yannis Mallat, global head of HR Cécile Cornet, veteran creative director Maxime Béland, and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail are also no longer with the company.

In a letter published alongside the survey results, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the company had introduced new anonymous harassment reporting mechanisms, was in the process of updating its code of conduct, and was carrying out compulsory company-wide anti-sexism and anti-harassment training.

Ubisoft said in September that it’s pursuing a “new direction” with Skull & Bones. Confirming a VGC exclusive from July, the game’s new creative director Elisabeth Pellen said Ubisoft Singapore had “dreamt something bigger” and that fans would see the game again sometime next year.

Further reading

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