Three former senior Ubisoft employees – including one-time chief creative officer and second-in-command Serge Hascoet – have received suspended prison sentences and fines from a French court after being found guilty of harassment prior to their departure five years ago.
Hascoet – along with Ubisoft’s former editorial boss Tommy François and game director Guillaume Patrux – appeared in a French court earlier this year, accused of psychological and sexual harassment during their time at the company. All three left Ubisoft in 2020, as part of a wave of resignations and dismissals among senior employees and executives, after serious allegations of sexual misconduct become public.
As reported by the Guardian, Francois has now received a three-year suspended prison sentence and a €30,000 fine after being found guilty of sexual harassment, psychological harassment, and an attempted sexual assault. During the trial, it was alleged Francois had restrained a female employee while trying to kiss her on the mouth. He was also accused of forcing a female co-worker to do handstands while she wore a skirt, alongside other incidents.
Hascoët – who faced accusations of racist comments and other behaviour during the trial – was found guilty of psychological harassment and complicity in sexual harassment by the court, receiving an eight-month suspended sentence and a fine of €45,000. Patrux has been handed a 12-month suspended sentence and a fine of €10,000 after being convicted of psychological harassment. During the trial, it was alleged Patrux had punched walls, mimed hitting staff, and set fire to a colleague’s beard with a cigarette lighter, among other things.
Back in 2020, when asked how much he knew of the issues taking place in his company prior to the sexual misconduct allegations becoming public, Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot said, “I have never compromised on my core values and ethics and never will” in a carefully worded statement. “It has now become clear that certain individuals betrayed the trust I placed in them and did not live up to Ubisoft’s shared values,” he added.