Ubisoft Promotes 20-Year Veteran To Chief Creative Role Amid Frat House Reports

Following reports about Ubisoft's alleged toxic, frat house culture, the French publisher has announced the appointment of a new Chief Creative Officer who will be responsible for working with the company's studios to "include diverse perspectives and sensibilities." However, a Ubisoft workers' advocacy group has expressed some concerns.

Igor Manceau, a 20-year veteran at Ubisoft who most recently worked as creative director on Riders Republic, will be the new Chief Creative Officer, reporting to CEO Yves Guillemot. Manceau will also join Ubisoft's Executive Committee.

Serge Hascoet was Ubisoft's previous Chief Creative Officer. He was called out for abusing his significant influence over staff and encouraging a toxic work environment. Guillemot stepped into the role in the interim.

The Chief Creative Officer role is a big and important one at Ubisoft. The publisher said Manceau will be in charge of "defining and nurturing Ubisoft's overall creative vision and guiding the creative direction of its games so that they are accessible, irresistible, and enriching for all players."

"Manceau will work closely with stakeholders in all the company's studios to include diverse perspectives and sensibilities that will feed the creative spirit of the group," Ubisoft said.

Manceau will work closely with Ubisoft's Chief Studios Operating Officer, Virginie Haas, and Chief Portfolio Officer Sandrine Caloiaro in his new role. They will work together to "organically grow Ubisoft's owned franchises and identify opportunities to create new titles that can succeed in new or emerging game genres."

Regarding Manceau's own personal journey at Ubisoft, he started with the company in 1998 on the business marketing team before getting promoted to director of editorial marketing for Ubisoft's Montreal studio in 2003. In 2006, he moved to a new team that came up with concepts for casual games and then he became a creative consultant on the Assassin's Creed series, among others. He moved to Ubisoft Annecy in 2014 to become the creative director on Steep and held the same role for Annecy's Riders Republic, which releases in October.

"It is a real honor for me to lead and support the passionate and incredibly talented group of people responsible for the creative direction of Ubisoft’s games," Manceau said in a statement. "We have some of the best creative minds in the industry at Ubisoft, and I'm looking forward to partnering with them to increase our games' focus on innovation, quality and differentiation, so that we're continuing to deliver truly memorable, entertaining, and enriching experiences for our players."

Guillemot said Manceau is "one of the most experienced, innovative, and well-respected creative directors at Ubisoft and in the video game industry at large."

A Ubisoft workers' advocacy group, A Better Ubisoft, responded to the news of Manceau getting promoted. The group said it looks forward to working with Manceau to promote change, but it also acknowledged the "shocking lack of diversity" among Ubisoft's executive teams. "Currently, as it stands, the creative team at Ubisoft is comprised of white people who are of uniform cultural backgrounds." You can read the full statement below.