Ubisoft has appointed Igor Manceau as its new Chief Creative Officer after its former CCO Serge Hascoet resigned from the company back in 2020 after reports of sexual harassment and abuse. Ubisoft employee group A Better Ubisoft has criticized the new promotion for not following up on Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot’s initial promise of a “complete overhaul” of the editorial department’s leadership, and having a single Creative lead.
Manceau originally joined Ubisoft’s business marketing team back in 1998, and later became director of editorial marketing in 2003. He would go on to work on the marketing of franchises such as Far Cry and Rainbow Six, before launching his own team as well as working as a creative consultant on a few Assassin’s Creed titles. In 2017, he became creative director for Riders Republic which is releasing later this year.
Though Guillemot states that Manceau “is one of the most experienced, innovative, and well-respected creative directors at Ubisoft and in the video game industry at large,” A Better Ubisoft thinks otherwise. In an official statement on Twitter, the group noted that the appointment demonstrated a “shocking lack of diversity in the VPs,” as well as lacking a “clear expression of the creative process.”
We have the following statement in response to the appointment of Igor Manceau as CCO of Ubisoft.#EndAbuseInGaming #ABetterUbisoft pic.twitter.com/J1dnVzpMWT
— ABetterUbisoft (@ABetterUbisoft) September 7, 2021
Specifically, the group notes that Yves had initially promised to create “an inclusive and open culture that embraces more diverse and multidisciplinary expertise.” While the company also hired Bio-Jade Adam Granger earlier this year, A Better Ubisoft stated that “not much progress has been made beyond that” and revealed the company was meant to hire two additional VPs. Additionally, they highlight the fact that the creative team is “composed of white people who are of uniform cultural backgrounds,” in stark contrast to Guillemot’s promises of diverse leadership.
A Better Ubisoft concludes “This leaves us with a lack of confidence in the future shape of the editorial team. With Patrick Plourde continuing to remain in his role as VP Editorial despite the multiple misconduct reports filed against him, whilst Serge ascoet’s former right hand person is still involved in the recruitment of high-level creative positions.”
[Source: Twitter via Gamesindustry]
