Ubisoft, known for videogames such as ‘Assassin’s Creed: Unity,’ has a market capitalization of €9.4 billion ($10.6 billion).
Photo: Ubisoft/Associated PressPARIS— Ubisoft Entertainment SA said two more senior executives have left the company amid an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct and inappropriate behavior at the maker of “Assassin’s Creed” and other popular videogames.
The company said in a statement Sunday that Serge Hascoët, chief creative officer and a member of Ubisoft’s executive committee, and Yannis Mallat, the head of Ubisoft’s Canadian studios, have resigned.
Cécile Cornet, who heads human resources globally, has stepped down from her role, according to the statement. An Ubisoft spokesman said Ms. Cornet remains with the company.
Last month, people began to post allegations of harassment and abuse, often anonymously, on social media against a number of prominent male Ubisoft employees. Some of those allegations were followed up by internal complaints, and the Ubisoft spokesman said it hired external firms to investigate them. At least one other executive has stepped down amid allegations of misconduct.
Ubisoft on Sunday said “The recent allegations that have come to light in Canada against multiple employees make it impossible for [Mr. Mallat] to continue in this position.” The company said Ms. Cornet decided to step down from her role because “she believes it is in the best interest of the company’s unity.” Ubisoft didn’t say why Mr. Hascoet resigned.
The three executives didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The shake-up at Ubisoft follows a recent outpouring on social media of alleged incidents of sexual harassment and abuse throughout the $150 billion global videogame industry.
The spotlight currently cast on the gaming industry is in contrast to 2014 when female game developers and journalists faced online attacks for campaigning to expose harassment in the industry, which they dubbed “GamerGate.” The controversy led to incidents in which women, such as game developers Zoe Quinn and Brianna Wu, were threatened and had personal information made public—an intimidating act known as doxing.
In a statement on Sunday, Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot said the videogame giant “has fallen short in its obligation to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace environment for its employees.”
“This is unacceptable, as toxic behaviors are in direct contrast to values on which I have never compromised—and never will,” he added.
Mr. Guillemot, who will take on the role of chief creative officer on an interim basis, pledged to personally oversee a complete overhaul of the way the firm’s creative editorial teams work.
He also pledged to restructure the firm’s human-resources department and to work with a recruitment firm to identify a new head of human resources to replace Ms. Cornet.
Earlier this month, Ubisoft said Maxime Beland, a vice president in the group that oversees development of Ubisoft’s games world-wide, had resigned, adding that the company would continue to investigate allegations against him. Tommy François, another vice president in the unit, was placed on disciplinary leave pending the results of an investigation. An unidentified employee in the firm’s Toronto studio was terminated for “engaging in behaviors that do not align with what is expected of Ubisoft employees,” a company spokesman said.
Messrs. Beland and François couldn’t be reached for comment. A lawyer for Mr. François told French daily Liberation that he denied the allegations and encouraged any would-be victims to file a complaint with judicial authorities.
The company spokesman declined to comment further, saying that the investigations were ongoing.
On July 2, Mr. Guillemot announced six initiatives to improve workplace culture at the company, including hiring an external consulting firm to audit and improve its procedures and policies and hosting a series of employee listening sessions across the world.
Ubisoft has a market capitalization of €9.4 billion ($10.6 billion), putting it behind rivals such as Activision Blizzard Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. and Nintendo Co. It is known for franchises such as “Far Cry” and “Tom Clancy’s The Division.”
—Sarah Needleman contributed to this article.
Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com
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