In an open letter shared with Axios, Ubisoft employees are standing in solidarity with the protesting developers from Activision Blizzard.
“To the workers of ActivisionBlizzard, we hear you and want to loudly declare our solidarity with you” the letter from nearly 500 of Ubisoft’s current and former staff reads.
In the letter, the Ubisoft workers acknowledge that this isn’t an isolated incident, writing that a year ago, they were the ones in the spotlight after their own round of abuse and harassment cases.
“It is clear, from the frequency of these reports, that there is a widespread and deeply ingrained culture of abusive behaviour within the industry,” the letter continued. “It is time to stop being shocked. We must demand real steps to be taken to prevent them. Those responsive must be held accountable for their actions.”
Here's the letter in full. It doesn't just stand with AB workers, doesn't just criticize Ubisoft bosses. It calls for industry-wide action and change, with publishers and developers getting involved. pic.twitter.com/WMNmRHjrq0
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) July 28, 2021
After standing with Activision Blizzard employees, the letter goes on to slam Ubisoft management for their “empty promises and an inability or unwillingness to remove known offenders,” after reports of abuse and harassment at the company came to light.
“We no longer trust your commitment to address these issues at their core. You need to do more.”
“This is a matter of people’s lives, their mental and physical health,” the letter continues, railing against Ubisoft’s management after the company has failed them. “By choosing profit over our security you are literally toying with our lives. We should not have to choose between work and our safety.”
“We need real, fundamental changes within Ubisoft, within ActivisionBlizzard, and across the industry,” the workers continue before proposing a solution where “publishers and developers collaborate and agree to a set of rules and processes for handling reports of these offences.”
Ubisoft has responded with a statement to the letter, writing that “we want to be very clear that we take this letter – and the issues it raises – very seriously. Over the past year, we have committed to engaging with our employees to enact fundamental changes.”
Despite Ubisoft’s response stating that “Ubisoft has made significant and meaningful changes that seek to create a safe and inclusive work environment for all, and there is still more work to be done,” this letter from employees shows that what’s been done already is clearly not enough.