While we have been discussing the Assassin's Creed series, and how it is an example of a AAA, major videogame production, we have so far omitted perhaps the most important and troubling aspect of Ubisoft; the many serious allegations which have been made against the company. It is important to be aware of this, as from Curran and Seaton's perspective, this is a symptom of aggressive and monopolistic media practices. When an organisation are based solely around profit and power, and the establishment of aggressive hierarchies, bullying, sexual assault and exploitation unfortunately become more commonplace.
Despite the severity of these accusations, Ubisoft still are able to exist as a family friendly company. This is testament to the power clout they wield in the videogame industry, and is a depressing reminder that as long as media industries continue to become aggressively conglomerated, we will see those in power exploit those beneath them, to establish power and to maintain profit.
Accusations made against Ubisoft
- Hascoët, head of Ubisoft's editorial team had been accused of misogyny, homophobia, and attempting to drug teammates.
- Many employees have stated the work culture is 'Mafia like'. Key members are protected and employees that try to file complaints are forced out - but Ubisoft say departures are voluntary.
- Apparently, at least five of the top 25-credited people on Far Cry 6 have left the company, with the game only having just been released on October 7, 2021.
- In the anonymous survey of nearly 14,000 employees, one in four respondents said that they had either witnessed or experienced workplace misconduct themselves in the past two years, and one in five said that they didn’t feel “fully respected or safe in the work environment.”
- The results also noted that women and non-binary employees witnessed or were more likely to experience or witness harassment than men.
- Employees feel like since initial controversies Ubisoft haven't done anything to resolve issues within the company.
- Ubisoft claim that they are working to create a safer and better workforce, and revising company code of conduct and giving diversity training across the company.
- In 2020, amidst a worldwide call for racial equality, the company incited controversy for misusing racial symbols. The game's trailer used the raised fist symbol synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement as the fictional Umbra's emblem. The community's reaction was swift, and Ubisoft apologised on Twitter, admitting that the symbol's inclusion was "insensitive and harmful." Ubisoft removed the content from all versions of the game two days later.
Criticisms of Ubisoft games
• impossible unlocks - one Reddit user discovered that unlocking every cosmetic in 'For Honour' would take a casual player two and a half years — or $800. Ubisoft responded by stating that it was never the intention for players to unlock everything
• misuse of BLM imagery - despite having diverse portfolio and character features, criticism of misusing racial symbols in promotional materials for Tom Clancy's Elite Squad, admitting that the symbol's inclusion was "insensitive and harmful." Ubisoft removed the content from all versions of the game two days later. When the company first released promotional art for Far Cry 4, the art depicted a light-skinned, blonde-haired man in a throne with his hand on a kneeling character with an Asian appearance. While the developers released more information about the ethnicity of the featured individuals and their relationships, it still shocked consumers.
• assassins creed unity - Bugs and glitches plagued the game at its release, including an unsettling missing face error and rampant collision detection problems. promised female characters available for co-op, with creative director stating that including them was simply too much work.
• yearly releases - fans accused them of publishing unfinished games. While this schedule put a lot of content in fans' hands, it can dilute the franchise. In fact, after Ubisoft took a year off from the Assassin's Creed franchise for the first time in seven years, the next title was praised as one of the series' best. Ubisoft has stated that they intend to back away from annual releases to pursue a games as a service strategy
• misleading trailers - trailers that seemed to represent gameplay but did not (for 'watch dogs'), featured next-generation lighting, weather effects, and animation however when next trailers were released visual quality was dramatically reduced. When questioned about it, Ubisoft admitted that the trailer, rendered on a high-end PC, showed graphics far beyond what customers would find on consoles - or most PCs.
• Lack of server support - 'Rainbow Six Siege' when the game launched, its critical multiplayer component suffered from a lack of server support. launched without dedicated servers for some of its most popular modes, instead opting for peer-to-peer connections with player-hosted servers. Players also experienced frequent server outages that kept them from connecting to the game at all. Ubisoft launched Operation: Health to improve server performance. Players of the game since its launch were confused as to why this hadn't been a priority since the beginning.