Alleged Ubisoft developers claim that the company either ignores legitimate criticism of its business practices and games or brushes it off as “toxic gamer talk.” They also claim that the company’s DEI policies have led to loss of talent in both technical expertise as well as creativity.

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

YouTuber Legendary Drops reports he spoke with a number of Ubisoft developers and specifically asked one, “How Ubisoft internalizes and discusses general criticism from players and the rest of the industry? Whether that’s its repetitive design, agenda driven content, or predictable games.”

The developer responded, “At a high level, they rarely talk about it, at a project level they brush it off as toxic gamer talk. As Asmongold correctly pointed out in one of his videos, Ubisoft is filled with toxic positivity that prevents growth.

After being asked about Japanese gamers sharing their own criticism of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the developer stated, “The criticism hasn’t been talked about and [Ubisoft] only issued demands that we mustn’t engage with discussion on that topic publicly.”

This is not unheard of. Firewalk Studios and PlayStation engaged in a similar practice with Concord. After significant backlash to the game being showcased during a PlayStation State of Play presentation at the end of May, Firewalk Studios’ Director of IP Kim Kreines eventually addressed it in an interview with VGC nearly a month later.

She told VGC, “Yeah, that trailer. That moment is such a tiny slice of everything that we’ve been working on for years and years. We’re excited for the game and for the IP, [and] for the game to be in people’s hands, the IP to be in people’s minds.”

A screenshot from Concord (2024), Firewalk Studios

She continued, “I’m personally very excited for the IP for folks to delve into the galactic guide if that is something they choose to do, for these vignettes to come out on a weekly basis. You’ll start to fall in love with the depth of the characters. That’s something that you learn week to week. Their personalities will unfold, their relationships will unfold for you, their backstories. None of that is something that you can get in a tiny little slice of it.”

“But that’s a start,” Kreines added. “There’s something there. So I’m glad folks watched it. I’m glad they participated and I can’t wait for them to see more, to see everything that is there.”

Not only did an Ubisoft developer share that the company ignores the criticism it receives to its own detriment, but Legendary Drops also asked about Ubisoft’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in its workplace.

The developer shared, “So far, those initiative had no impact on the team I’m part of, however it’s clear that some topics are taboo. What happened is that now people end up in meeting with HR for trivial stuff (not adding smiley in a message & adding an exclamation point at the end of a message) because some are reporting it for harassment.”

“One of the things that wasn’t in your video is that Ubisoft had some controversy during the MeToo period, letting go manager in high positions and some left on their own before they would be discovered,” the developer added.

A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft

When asked how this changed the editorial direction of the company and its games, the developer stated, “The editorial direction and overall mindset shifted from boys club to ‘safe content.’ Reaching for plain character Kay in Star Wars is the perfect example of this. The idea to have beautiful characters such as in Baldur’s Gate or Uncharted is met with distrust.”

He added, “Safe content also leads to limited opportunity on the gameplay side, even for Star Wars, we had to work with Disney which would have shut down most attempts at depicting a true criminal underworld, with cruelty & drama.

A screenshot of Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft

The developer was then asked, “What has been the message from management to the staff about Ubisoft’s declining sales? What do they believe is the reason behind it?”

He responded, “The fun fact is that they don’t talk much about it. They mainly focus on the fact that they reached their financial objectives. Which are mainly achieved through casual player sales, not the vocal gamer community that are really sick of what you described in your video.”

“Also something to know is that through the years, the number of management floors have increased to ridiculous amount, so communication is often blurry unless they come directly from HQ, and even then, it’s almost entirely corpo bulls**t that isn’t useful in the end,” he added.

Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft

Another Ubisoft developer appeared to corroborate this information and informed Legendary Drops, “Ubisoft, as an employer, shows little regard for its developers. What happens in practice is that they essentially push out senior engineers, promoting junior developers to senior roles after just a few years of experience—oftentimes with experience in just one engine. Meanwhile experienced developers with far broader skill sets are being overlooked.”

“This constant cycle of turnover with inexperienced leaders to a noticeable drop in quality, with more bugs appearing in their games,” the developer continued. “The passionate, dedicated developers leave, while those who are just going through the motions stay behind. This doesn’t just affect the technical quality of their games but also impacts design and creativity.”

“For instance, you’ll find designers working on FPS mechanics who have never played an FPS, or engineers who don’t understand how the mechanics they’re building are supposed to feel. There is a lack of passion and skill across the board, and the results are obvious.”

Key art for XDefiant (2024), Ubisoft

What do you make of these alleged comments from these Ubisoft developers?