The French video game union, Syndicat des Travailleurs·ses du Jeu Vidéo, that organized Ubisoft employees to strike earlier this month recently declared that “it is vital to move away from the belief that single people are essential to the realization of a project.”

A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

In a post to the union’s website titled “Employee health must come before the myth of creative genius,” the union section of Ubisoft Montpellier addressed an alleged internal leak that claims that a former Ubisoft employee who left the company while it was conducting an internal investigation on him is now working as a consultant on a project that is in the “exploration phase.”

The union claims the “situation raises serious questions about the safety of workers, particularly in the face of psychosocial risks.” It then encouraged Ubisoft employees who might be at risk to contact the union so that they can “put in place the necessary measures to preserve you health and safety.

A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft

However, the union then shared, “the major issue is not the return of a particular person, but the trust that we can all place in Ubisoft’s internal reporting processes, especially in cases where these do not include any staff representatives. What guarantees do we have that tomorrow, other people implicated will not work with Ubisoft again through similar mechanisms?”

“It seems to us more than urgent to review these procedures, and for Ubisoft to make firm commitments on the prevention of cases of harassment and to stick to them,” the union added.

Finally, it concluded, “It is vital to move away from the belief that single people are essential to the realization of a project. More than ever: games are the result of the collaborative work of workers, and not the work of one or two ‘talents’.”

Key art for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (2024), Ubisoft

Clearly, the union like other institutions should follow the simple rule of innocent until proven guilty. However, that does not appear to be the case given it is already posing questions about removing any employees from the company if they happen to come under investigation.

As was very clearly witnessed by millions of people across the globe during the #MeToo movement, accusations should not lead to ruin. The truth should be pursued first and foremost.

A screenshot from Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2024), Ubisoft

Furthermore, there is a distinction between people working on a project and having a creative vision. For example, when creating buildings there is usually a small team of architects that have the creative vision, but in order to implement that vision there are a plethora of other jobs and work that is required.

Obviously, it requires a team to create, but there are specific individuals that have the creative vision for the building and help the other workers know what they are working towards. That does not take away or devalue the work of others, it’s just a simple reality that certain individuals do indeed have a creative vision.

A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft

What do you make of the employee union’s statement?