Amid ongoing toxicity issues, Ubisoft CEO clarifies controversial suggestion that "to create, you need a little friction"

Update: In a statement to Axios reporter Steven Totilo, Yves Guillemot clarified his statements about the link between game development and toxic work environments.

Quoted on Totilo's Twitter, Guillemot said that "when I spoke of there sometimes being friction, I was thinking of the creative tension that is common and vital in innovative companies like ours, where people have the freedom to challenge ideas and have heated but healthy debates. To prevent this tension from becoming negative or to address it if it does, that's where strong policies, values and corresponding procedures are essential."

Original story: Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is under fire for comments suggesting that toxic behaviour within the games industry is necessary for the creative process.

In an interview with French news site La Presse (translated by 12DOVE), Guillemot was asked whether he believed the well-documented issues of toxicity within Ubisoft had been solved. In response, he said that the company was "progressing at a good pace," having "put systems in place to resolve any problems that may have arisen."

Guillemot was then asked, however, why he believes the issues present at Ubisoft are also found across several other parts of the game development industry. He said these "toxic behaviours" arise "because creating a video game is not easy. There is a 'challenge', from time to time a lot of tension. [...] To create, you need a little friction."

That last comment in particular has drawn significant negative attention, with developers and journalists speaking out against the idea that worthwhile creation requires a difficult or toxic environment. Shadow of the Tomb Raider writer Jill Murray suggested that "if you hold a core value that friction is essential, and believe that toxicity is friction, then you groom and seek leaders who share that value," alluding to accusations levelled at several current and former Ubisoft leaders in recent years.

Elsewhere, journalists are reporting a lack of faith in senior leadership within Ubisoft. Axios' Stephen Totilo said that "I still hear from current and former Ubisoft workers who are frustrated with company leadership," an idea backed up by Kotaku's Ethan Gach, who said that "more than one senior developer has expressed to me that they just don't think Guillemot gets it."

Ubisoft has been publicly addressing toxicity within its studios for some time, but concerns have not been fully abated, with some reports suggesting that developers were attempting to avoid working on the recently-announced Assassin's Creed Red due to attitudes of some project leads.

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