🚨 UBI EX-DEV’S WILD RANT: “DEI SAVED US! Gamers are SPREADING CONSPIRACIES to SABOTAGE Ubisoft!” 😡 As 200+ LAYOFFS Hit & Prince of Persia AXED… They BLAME YOU Not WOKE FIASCO! Backlash EXPLODES – End of Ubi? Unbelievable Insider Fury! 👇🔥
A former Ubisoft game designer has ignited fresh controversy by vehemently defending the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, dismissing gamer accusations as “misinformation” and “conspiracies” while the French gaming giant reels from stock plunges, game cancellations, studio closures and impending layoffs.
Kensuke Shimoda, who worked as a game designer at Ubisoft Osaka, broke his silence in a statement translated and shared by GamesRadar+ and TheGamer on January 26-28, 2026. “Without quoting anyone, I’m stunned that there are still people spreading misinformation like ‘DEI is the reason why Ubisoft’s stock price fell,'” Shimoda wrote. He insisted: “As a former employee I would like to make clear [that] internal DEI advocates didn’t have much influence […] DEI only improved things (better workplace, environment, expanding into Southern American and Middle Eastern markets etc.).”
Shimoda pinned Ubisoft’s woes on “‘Big Business Syndrome,'” a decline in marketing and creativity, warning that scapegoating DEI would spell doom: “If Ubisoft were to use DEI initiatives as a scapegoat, it’d be over for them.” His comments, amplified across X and Reddit, come as Ubisoft’s shares hover near €4.20 – a 60% yearly drop and 93% over five years – following the January 21 “reset” that axed six games, shuttered Halifax and Stockholm studios, delayed seven titles and targeted €200 million in cuts.
Gamer ‘Conspiracies’ vs. Internal Reality
Shimoda’s defense frames widespread gamer sentiment – echoed in viral YouTube rants and X threads – as baseless plots. Critics on r/KotakuInAction and anti-woke channels lambasted flops like Star Wars Outlaws (underperformed despite reviews) and Skull & Bones (€700M+ development black hole) as DEI-driven “girlboss” misfires, with review bombs cited as backlash, not causation.
Claim
Gamer View
Ex-Employee Counter
DEI Impact
Hired unqualified talent, forced “woke” designs (e.g., Outlaws’ Kay Vess backlash)
“Only improved things”; minimal influence
Stock Crash
Poor sales from agenda-pushed games
“Big Business Syndrome”; not DEI
Review Bombs
Organic response to bugs, repetition, politics
“Misinformation” conspiracies
Cancellations
DEI projects scrapped (e.g., post-Civil War AC)
Strategic shifts to open-world<Grok:render type=”render_inline_citation”>
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An anonymous ex-dev on Reddit echoed: Prince of Persia remake’s axing stemmed from “internal challenges” and a pivot to “large, open-world experiences,” not politics. A shelved Assassin’s Creed about a former slave vs. KKK was deemed “too political” by execs who “don’t play games.”
X erupted: Posts from @GamesRadar (2.4K views) and @thegamerwebsite mocked the irony amid layoffs; @Pirat_Nation highlighted Shimoda’s blame-shift. YouTubers like Doctor Disaster titled: “DEI IMPROVED Ubisoft!? ExDev Calls Gamers ‘Conspiracy Theorists’.”
Ubisoft’s Broader Turmoil
The timing couldn’t be worse. Unions threaten February strikes over 200 Paris redundancies, full RTO and “liar” execs. Internal Slack leaks roast CEO Yves Guillemot for flops; devs eye exits. Fiscal 2026: €1B loss forecast, €650M write-downs.
Past scandals fuel distrust: 2020 sexual harassment probes, Skull & Bones’ decade-long debacle, Outlaws’ launch bugs and “choppy” Star Wars brand per Guillemot. Review bombs hit Origins amid 2025 bugs; Shadows faces Yasuke backlash.
Defenders Dig In, Critics Fire Back
Shimoda’s stance aligns with Kotaku chats where devs blame leadership envy of Elden Ring, not inclusion. Pro-DEI voices on ResetEra call bombs “homophobia”; fans counter with sales data: Competitors like Larian (BG3, “woke” success) thrive on quality, not mandates.
Analysts: Ampere’s Piers Harding-Rolls sees reset as “desperate”; if Shadows (delayed March 2026) flops, buyout rumors intensify post-rejected Tencent bid.
Ubisoft Flop
Cost/Issue
Gamer Blame?
Skull & Bones
€700M+, decade dev
Repetitive grind
Star Wars Outlaws
Underperformed
“Ugly” protag, bugs
Avatar Frontiers
Low sales
Formulaic open-world
XDefiant
Shutdown
Live-service fail
Will DEI Defense Save or Sink Ubisoft?
Guillemot’s “Creative Houses” bet on quality; four new IPs loom. But as ex-devs defend “improvements,” gamers wishlist rivals like Knight’s Path (200K+). Shimoda’s plea: Focus inward.
With strikes brewing and talent fleeing, Ubisoft’s 2026 hinges on delivery – not deflection. If “conspiracies” prove prophetic, the empire crumbles.
