Ubisoft Workers reportedly leaving because of low pay and dissatisfaction about the work environment
While it hasn’t been as public as Activision-Blizzard’s ongoing workplace legal battle, Ubisoft is also undergoing some significant workplace culture issues, which Axios is reporting has resulted in a mass exodus of workers in the past year. Employees who were interviewed about this trend called it “the great exodus” or “the cut artery”.
This trend can be best illustrated by taking a look at the developers working on some of the biggest projects in Ubisoft’s history. Axios reports that Ubisoft workers have left include a lot of top-credited people on projects such as Far Cry6 . Five of the 25 top contributors to the game’s are gone, while the game has been out for just over two months. The Assassin’s Creed Valhalla leadership and developers have also left. Twelve of the 50 most credited employees in the game have also left. This number was initially 13 but one has recently returned from earlier this year.
This is not just about leadership. In the last six months, Ubisoft’s Montreal- and Toronto studios have seen a decline in mid-level and lower-level employees. This has led to a slowing down of ongoing projects. A developer told Axios that a Ubisoft worker had to contact them after they quit the company in order to resolve a development problem. Everyone who knew about the system they were working with was gone. Axios’ sources which included several former and current Ubisoft developers, indicated that there are a variety of reasons why this happened. These include low pay, better opportunities, dissatisfaction at the company’s creative direction and disappointment with the company’s handling its ongoing workplace misconduct scandal.
Ubisoft representatives stated that the company has hired approximately 2600 employees since April. Chief People Officer Anika Grant told the outlet Ubisoft’s attrition rate is higher than it usually is, but “it’s still within industry norms.” Based on data supplied by Ubisoft and reported by LinkedIn, the publisher’s attrition rate is 12%, which is lower than Activision-Blizzard’s 16%, but higher than companies like EA’s 9%, Take-Two’s 8%, and Epic Games’ 7%. Ubisoft announced pay increases at its Canadian studios to address the pay gap. Grant stated that this had resulted a 50% increase in retention rates. This has apparently frustrated other Ubisoft developers who haven’t received similar raises.
More information about Ubisoft’s current state:
- Ubisoft Employees Are Dissatisfied with CEO’s Response to the Call for Real Changes in Company Culture
- Multiple Ubisoft High-Ups Subject to Workplace Harassment Complaint at French Court
- Ubisoft Fires Skull and Bones Director, but Not for Sexual Harassment
Ubisoft’s #MeToo campaign handling was discussed by one Ubisoft developer. He said that this had been a contributing factor but not necessarily the deciding factor in people leaving the company. The anonymous developer pointed out that harassment and misconduct can be directed at women and people of colour. Axios spoke to an ex-employee who said that they tried to use a hands-on approach in order to change the company’s culture but were not being heard by management.
The developer said that they emphasized “moving on” and “looking forward” while disregarding the complaints, concerns and cries from their employees.
Ubisoft leadership claims that its company standing is comparable to what one would expect for a large video game company. A recent survey was conducted across the company. Employees were asked to recommend Ubisoft to others. The results came back with a score 74. This is close enough to industry average, according a spokesperson for Ubisoft.
This news comes just a few days after the company announced that it is developing a remake Splinter Cell games and has begun integrating NFTs in Ghostrecon: Breakpoint. This is apparently not doing much to the company.
