Today, Activision Blizzard employees are staging a walkout following a lawsuit alleging discrimination and abuse at the company. Now, former and current employees at Ubisoft – another company which has come under fire for alleged discrimination and abuse – have signed an open letter in solidarity with Activision Blizzard workers demanding change across the industry.
“It has been over a year since the first revelations of systemic discrimination, harassment, and bullying within Ubisoft came out,” the employees write in the open letter. “At the time, you acted surprised to hear of these acts going on within your own company and we gave you the benefit of the doubt. However, we have seen nothing more than a year of kind words, empty promises, and an inability or unwillingness to remove known offenders. We no longer trust your commitment to address these issues at their core. You need to do more.”
According to Axios, nearly 500 current and former employees have signed the letter so far, including employees at Ubisoft studios in Europe, North America, and Asia.
Ubisoft management acknowledged that “we must do better” in response to the allegations last year, and promised a series of investigations (one of which confirmed that 25% of Ubisoft employees have witnessed or experienced misconduct first-hand) and changes at the company. In today’s letter, employees say that it hasn’t been enough.
The letter from Ubisoft employees concludes: “We propose that Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, and other industry-leading publishers and developers collaborate and agree to a set of rules and processes for handling reports of these offences. This collaboration must heavily involve employees in non-management positions and union representatives. This is essential to ensure that those who are directly affected by these behaviours are leading the change.”
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
You can read the statement in full above, courtesy of journalist Stephen Totilo.
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