Michel Ancel (48) is considered a brilliant designer of video games. He created the Rayman series and the game Beyond Good & Evil for Ubisoft. With the new games Beyond Good and Evil 2 and WiLD, he made headlines. Now he is surprisingly stepping down. His departure is unappetizing. People wanted to destroy him and his project with false information, he says after his departure.
This is Michel Ancel: The Frenchman is now 48 years old, he developed his first game at the age of 17. In 1995, the first Rayman was released. He became famous with this “jump’n run” series.
His masterpiece was delivered by Ancel in 2003 with “Beyond Good & Evil”, an action-adventure that is cultishly revered by some. Ancel had been with Ubisoft in France for a long time. Over the decades, he built a reputation as a creative mind with his own style like few designer legends in the video game industry.
Recently, he had 2 projects in development:
- Beyond Good & Evil 2 – a fantastically looking, futuristic game with animal-human hybrids, that seemed to set new standards in creating a video game world. It was presented at E3 2017.
- Wild – a kind of shamanistic video game experience, where players can turn into animals. It also seemed like someone had pressed an ambitious artistic vision into a game. Breathtaking concept art that invited to dream has been circulating for several years.
That was the departure: Almost two weeks ago, Michel Ancel announced that after more than 30 years he is now quitting video games to devote himself to his second passion, the wilderness.
Fans should not worry, WiLD and Beyond Good & Evil 2 are in good hands. Great teams are working on them.
Insider article portrays Ancel as a toxic hothead
This was the attack: A major French daily newspaper deals with the scandals surrounding Ubisoft: There was said to have been a sexist atmosphere. They have now directly linked Ancel’s departure to the scandal at Ubisoft.
It was said that Ancel had developed a “toxic management style”. Ubisoft confirmed that an investigation into him is underway as part of the large, internal “investigation” at Ubisoft.
It is said by the French daily newspaper (via liberation):
- Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been in development for 7 years – and the development is hell.
- Ancel constantly changes direction. This leads to exhaustion, depression, and burnout among the team.
- Ancel confirmed in an interview how difficult the development of Beyond Good & Evil 2 is. It is a large project that exhausts him as well.
- The designer has informed the medium that he is voluntarily leaving Ubisoft now.
The picture the article paints is that of a toxic, unpredictable manager who tyrannizes his employees. There is about a quote from a source:
He can explain to you that you are a genius, that your idea is wonderful, and then he tears you apart in a meeting. He tells you that you are nothing but a piece of crap and your work is worthless and then he doesn’t speak to you for a month.
Article excerpt about Michel Ancel
Fake News – Enviers want to destroy him, says Ancel
This is how Ancel reacts now: He firmly defends himself on Instagram against the article about him. He calls the description of the circumstances of his departure “fake news.” He has some issues with the image that others portray of him:
- Some envious people are said to have gossiped about him out of anger.
- The news has come across as if it were connected to the events of sexual harassment at Ubisoft – such accusations are a disgrace.
- He is not toxic at all, but always respected his employees. He does not manage the project, but only contributes ideas. Important managers would handle that. Journalists should talk about them.
- He quit his job out of exhaustion, and there are no other reasons. He did not try to escape his responsibilities. He is participating in the investigation because he still believes in truth and justice.
- The article from the daily newspaper contains “false information that comes from some few people who want to destroy him and his project” (via instagram).
- He sharply criticizes the daily newspaper: They should have taken more time with their reporting and should have questioned him regarding the allegations.
Fans react in shock to the development. One writes to him: As a farewell, he could have at least left them one last Rayman.
The French publisher Ubisoft is considered the software company in Europe. However, Ubisoft has been shaken by serious accusations against some of the company’s managers for several weeks now. Over the years, a toxic atmosphere is said to have developed. The head of Ubisoft has now announced a change in culture and some key employees have been dismissed.
An insider report provided insight into the company culture problems:
Insider report paints a bleak picture of Ubisoft – sexism as a system
