Ubisoft held its annual shareholders meeting in Paris on July 10, and as reported by Stephen Totilo at Game File, one shareholder took the opportunity to ask CEO Yves Guillemot about his views on the ‘Stop Killing Games’ petition.
The petition, which calls for game companies to allow games to remain playable after official publisher support has ended, had surpassed a million signatures ahead of the shareholder meeting, prompting a response from Video Games Europe.
Ubisoft’s shutdown of the online racing game The Crew in early 2024 caused particular consternation, resulting in a class action lawsuit in California in November 2024. Ubisoft filed for a dismissal of the case in April this year.
During the Q&A portion of Ubisoft’s July meeting, an angry shareholder took the opportunity to take Guillemot to task.
First, they asked him about Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, which stars the real-life 16th-century African samurai Yasuke. The questioner said “there’s been a lot of controversy regarding that game”, adding that “Ubisoft has been accused and criticized for this woke-ist trend”.
“So, woke or no woke?” he continued. “How do you explain Ubisoft’s deteriorated reputation, which may actually challenge the foundations of your organisation? Or are you going to backtrack or backpedal on that leftist political agenda? Is there room for the entertainment world for that kind of stance?”
(Note the questions and Guillemot’s response were in French, with the English translation provided by the meeting’s official translator.)
Second, the questioner brought up Stop Killing Games, citing The Crew specifically. He asked: “So, do you support that petition? At the end of the day, when players buy an Ubisoft game, do they own it? Or is there a chance that they might no longer be able to play the game years later?”
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Guillemot responded to the first question by pointing out that Yasuke was someone who existed in real life. “And showcasing that character has been extremely successful. And that is why we decided to tell that story.”
In regards to the second question, Guillemot noted Ubisoft provides information on how long a game can be played, and that players are forewarned when a game is about to be discontinued.
“You provide a service, but nothing is written in stone and at some point the service may be discontinued. Nothing is eternal. And we are doing our best to make sure that things go well for all players and buyers, because obviously support for all games cannot last forever.”
“But that’s an issue that we’re working on. That’s something that the industry at large is working on, to minimise impact on players. But clearly that’s something you need to factor in.”
“Nothing is written in stone and at some point the service may be discontinued”
Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft
He continued by pointing out that software tools can become obsolete or unavailable over time. “And that is why we release a new version. And so we have version two and then version three. But clearly this is a far-reaching issue, and we are working on it.”
The full shareholder meeting is available online, and includes responses from Guillemot to various other questions. On Ubisoft’s recent misconduct scandals, Guillemot said the “company was not found liable for any of the claims” and “we are keeping a very close eye on this to make sure it will not happen again.”
Three former Ubisoft executives were given suspended sentences in July after being found guilty of sexual and psychological harassment.
On being asked whether Ubisoft would explore developing AA games, Guillemot said that they would test the market. “The initial investment will be rather limited, and this means we get to develop more different kinds of games. And this will help diversify our portfolio, indeed.”
