Beyond Good & Evil and Rayman creator, Michel Ancel, has said that his departure from the games industry had nothing to do with Ubisoft’s ongoing investigations.
Last weekend, French newspaper Liberation published quotes from developers who had worked under Ancel, accusing him of toxic behavior and poor management. Although Ancel confirmed that he was under investigation at Ubisoft at the time of his departure, he called Liberation’s report “fake news” and denied the allegations levied against him. However, the timing of his departure raised suspicions, especially because a number of high-profile executives recently “resigned” from Ubisoft amid investigations into misconduct.
In a follow-up statement, Ancel has said that he was simply exhausted from making games, and pointed out that he didn’t just leave Ubisoft, he also left his own studio, Wild Sheep (where WiLD has been in development since 2014).
Ancel claimed that he is working to disprove Liberation’s report, and criticized the publication for not awaiting the results of Ubisoft’s investigation.
Part of his statement reads:
Today, every information is a product even the real pain of people in big companies. I left video games because I was exhausted, this is not a way for me to escape any responsibilities. Like many other people, I participate to the independent investigation because I still believe in truth and justice. I ask Liberation to question itself about the violence of its methods. Real stories of real people are not a product.
Ancel further claimed that many others left because they were “exhausted, sad, and frustrated” as well, but he didn’t specify if he’s talking about Ubisoft or the games industry in general.
[Source: Michael Ancel (Instagram) via Games Industry]
