'Assassin's Creed Red' Sullied With Abuse Allegations From Creative Director

Last week, Ubisoft unveiled the hugely exciting Assassin’s Creed Codename Red. Set in feudal Japan, the RPG is currently in development and is set to be the next premium flagship title in the franchise. It’s now been reported though that developers are exiting the project due to allegations made against Codename Red’s creative director.

As reported by TheGamer, developers from the A Better Ubisoft initiative are requesting not to work on Codename Red as the project is being headed up by creative director Jonathan Dumont. In 2020, Dumont was accused of harassment with reports suggesting Dumont had verbally abused his colleagues and made sexual advances. TheGamer notes that this was often directed towards female employees and new starters.

The anonymous source told TheGamer that Dumont created a “climate of fear.” They continued, “Dumont has been the reason [for] multiple of my colleagues leaving, be it because of sexual advances, belittlement, fear of him, or having seen his behaviour when in a bad mood. His outbursts have created a climate of fear known for years in the studio and failed to be acted on for a long time.”

The source went on to add that Dumont has made efforts to “improve himself,” but his alleged outbursts remain “fresh in the mind of many,” prompting them to want to exit the project. The initiative claims that “nine alleged abusers [are] still employed at Ubisoft today,” criticising the company for “painfully slow” response.

Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot responded to TheGamer stating that Dumont and those also accused has been “cleared or appropriately disciplined.” He added, “Ubisoft takes all allegations extremely seriously. While I can’t comment on specific cases, I can assure you that any team member who has been named in a report and remains at Ubisoft has had their case rigorously reviewed and has either been cleared, or has been appropriately disciplined and given an individualised action plan to support and monitor their progress."