Do we like Ubisoft?
Makes video games like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six; based in France.
Our score: 3 out of 10. We wouldn't back them right now. They have a court-proven harassment culture, repeated layoffs and closures, and a privacy complaint, and the family still holds control.
Ubisoft began in Brittany, where the five Guillemot brothers founded it in 1986. Yves Guillemot became CEO, and the family has run it ever since. It became one of the biggest names in games, with Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six.
The big drama was the 2020 harassment scandal. In July 2025 a court in Bobigny found three former top execs guilty and gave them suspended sentences. A union rep said it wasn't just three isolated people. Ubisoft itself stayed out of the trial.
Money is tight. Tencent put in €1.16bn for about 26% of Vantage Studios, which holds the three flagship series. The family kept control, and Vantage is co-run by Charlie Guillemot, Yves's son.
Staff have borne the cost. In 2026 Ubisoft closed Winnipeg and Belgrade and cut 51 jobs in Barcelona. Barcelona staff went on strike, and French unions held a strike in February. In October it proposed closing RedLynx.
Privacy groups have also raised concerns. The group noyb filed a GDPR complaint over forced online logins for single-player games. A US judge dismissed a separate tracking-pixel suit. Our score is low because of the harassment record and the layoffs.