Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says recent trends toward, uh, good games, have resulted in an increase in online "bashing" that could potentially pose a business risk to the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher.
In a newly published investor presentation, Guillemot lays out what he sees as a "high" "risk factor" stemming from "a highly competitive environment where players are very sensitive to the quality and content of games."
"The success of a video game depends as much on the efficiency of its development process as on its launch," he adds.
In a list of "specific and material risks to which [Ubisoft] is exposed," Guillemot categorizes various factors including "failure in the development and launch of a video game," "toxicity in games and services," and "bashing," as either moderate or high risk factors. Online bashing, specifically, is one of those rated as a "high" business risk.
"Ubisoft is exposed to risks of damage to its reputation resulting from online bashing, understood as massive, sometimes virulent and organized campaigns of criticism against its products, teams or public statements," says Guillemot. "These campaigns may occur on social media, content distribution platforms or in certain specialized media, particularly following strategic decisions, technical issues affecting games or statements perceived as controversial by certain segments of the public.
"The changing perception of the video game industry as a cultural and artistic medium is also leading to an increase in criticism based on ideological or societal considerations, sometimes to the detriment of technical or gameplay aspects. This trend increases the risk for publishers such as Ubisoft of being exposed to controversy relating to social, moral or identity standards associated with their productions."
The context around Guillemot's statements isn't explicitly clear, but it is implicitly very gross and stupid. The company's most recent tentpole release, Assassin's Creed Shadows, took unwarranted heat from a certain corner of the internet for its duo of Black samurai and female protagonists.
Again, it's unclear if this movement is what Guillemot is referring to here, but it's worth noting that he was pressed on the allegedly "woke" element of Ubisoft games by a shareholder (via Game File), and he didn't take the bait. "We wanted to showcase characters with heroic journeys," was his response.
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