Ubisoft Responds to Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Its Team Members

Following multiple sexual misconduct allegations against Ubisoft team members, the video game company has issued a statement committing to take "any and all appropriate disciplinary action" against those guilty of abuse. The full statement from Ubisoft is as follows;

"Concerning recent allegations raised against certain Ubisoft team members: We want to start by apologizing to everyone affected by this – we are truly sorry. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive and safe environment for our teams, players, and communities. It is clear we have fallen short of this in the past. We must do better." "We have started by launching investigations into the allegations with the support of specialized external consultants. Based on the outcomes, we are fully committed to taking any and all appropriate disciplinary action. As these investigations are ongoing, we can't comment further. We are also auditing our existing policies, processes, and systems to understand where these have broken down, and to ensure we can better prevent, detect, and punish inappropriate behavior." "We will be sharing additional measures that we are putting in place with our teams in the coming days. Our goal is to foster an environment that our employees, partners, and communities can be proud of –one that reflects our values and that is safe for everyone."

There has already been at least one major change at Ubisoft, as creative director Ashraf Ismail has stepped down from his role on Assassin's Creed: Valhalla following allegations of engaging in extramarital affairs. Ubisoft product and brand manager Andrien Gbingie was also accused of manipulation, emotional abuse, and rape. Gbinigie has denied these allegations in a now removed post on Medium.com. Ubisoft's Stone Chin was said to use "his position within Ubisoft's public relations team to prey on multiple women, with many claiming his behavior has been an 'open secret' for some time." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst.