We may earn a commission when you buy through links in our articles. Learn more.

Ubisoft will tie leaders’ bonuses to their ability to create a “positive and inclusive” environment

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says he plans to "continue to run and transform Ubisoft"

Following a turbulent month of abuse accusations leveled against high-level Ubisoft managers and executives, CEO Yves Guillemot has said that he plans to remain in his leadership position, but that going forward, salary bonus packages for himself and team leaders will be tied to their ability to create a “positive and inclusive environment” at the company.

Current and former Ubisoft employees have over the past month shared accounts of workplace harassment at Ubisoft, which now employs about 18,000 around the globe. Developers who worked at Ubisoft have said they had to fight against the inclusion of playable torture scenes and were made to minimise the roles of women in games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and some have said they faced severe sexual harassment and even assault at the hands of leaders while working at Ubisoft. Several executives have resigned in the wake of the allegations.

Responding to questions from investors during a quarterly earnings call today, Guillemot announced several new measures Ubisoft is taking to address the problems at the company. Among these, Guillemot said, is an overhaul to management compensation schemes. Going forward, a portion of team leader annual bonus packages will be tied to a new performance metric that measures their “ability to create a positive and inclusive environment.”

This will include Guillemot’s own annual compensation – a diversity and performance criterion will be added to Guillemot’s salary and will be used in calculating his annual bonus. This move was approved by Ubisoft shareholders at a July 2 annual meeting.

One investor asked Guillemot what responsibility he believes he bears as CEO for the alleged abuses at Ubisoft, and Guillemot said he has no plans to step down.

“Each time we have been made aware of misconduct, we made tough decisions, and made sure that those decisions had a clear and positive impact,” he said. “It has now become clear that certain individuals betrayed the trust I placed in them and didn’t live up to Ubisoft’s shared values.”

Guillemot continued: “I have never compromised on my core values and ethics, and never will. I will continue to run and transform Ubisoft to face today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”