A new report from Bloomberg revealed that "Assassin's Creed" titles were originally going to give female protagonists much larger roles. Developers were reportedly told that female protagonists 'don't sell.' Amidst the allegations, Ubisoft talked about diversity, highlighting various characters in its games as examples.
Bloomberg investigated several reports of harassment, toxicity and abuse within Ubisoft. The report outlined the culture of misogyny and machismo reflected on the kind of games it produced. Additionally, the report revealed that "Assassin's Creed Syndicate" was initially set to feature an even split between protagonists' Evie and Jacob Frye.
Ubisoft executives reportedly meddled in the project, which resulted in a more skewed balance in favor of Jacob Frye. It can be observed that in "Assassin's Creed Syndicate," the split of roles between the twins is 60/40 in favor of Jacob. The same pattern surfaced in "Assassin's Creed Origins" again, which showed how Bayek, was killed off early in the game only to be replaced by his wife, Aya.
In the final title, Aya's role was hugely reduced, making few appearances in ship combat segments while Bayek became the game's primary leak. The report also highlighted another instance in "Assassin's Odyssey," which reportedly originally intended to feature only Kassandra as the game's player character. According to the report, former Chief Creative Officer Serge Hascoët and unnamed people in the company's marketing department, said that video games with women leads would not sell. As a result, Kassandra's brother Alexios was introduced as an alternative lead.
Over the past few weeks I've talked to more than 40 current and former Ubisoft employees about sexual misconduct and abuse allegations. Their accounts make one thing clear: Ubisoft has known about these problems for years. My new story: https://t.co/MFIfbOewZ0 — Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) July 21, 2020
Serge Hascoët is believed to be the creative force at Ubisoft, and he could reportedly make, break or change any game to his liking. Liberation, a French newspaper, accused the now-resigned-executive of masculinity, toxicity, and homophobia. The publication also revealed that he allegedly drug people with marijuana-infused food without their knowledge.
Following Hascoët's departure from the gaming studio, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has exerted effort to drain the swamp. In recent Q1 earnings, the gaming studio detailed net bookings and announced that the next Ubisoft forward event would be September 2020. The CEO also addressed the allegations of harassment within the company claiming that the 'vast majority' of their personnel and teams behave in a 'respectful manner.'
Guillemot said that "While Ubisoft's current performance and business prospects are stronger than ever, we nonetheless face a very serious challenge following the recent allegations and accusations of misconduct and inappropriate behavior within our Group." Frédérick Duguet, the company's CFO, also shared a list of different Ubisoft game characters, noting the company's positive elements of diversity.
