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.
Ubisofts 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 Ubisofts July meeting, an angry shareholder took the opportunity to take Guillemot to task.
First, they asked him about Assassins 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 Ubisofts 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 Guillemots response were in French, with the English translation provided by the meetings 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?"
< img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zql0K6XA6rU/hqdefault.jpg" >Ubisoft CEO asked about "woke" Assassins Creed content and whether he supports "stop killing games"