Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has sent a memo to the company’s global staff regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a heartfelt and emotional note wherein Guillemot commends his teams for their effort and contributions during this trying time.
“We are now in a pandemic, with far-reaching effects on our daily lives,” Guillemot said in the memo, which was obtained by Kotaku. “At this exceptional juncture, it is essential that we take special care of ourselves and our loved ones. The health and well-being of Ubisoft team members is our primary concern, and we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that all of you are safe and get the right support through these demanding changes.”
Like numerous other game developers, Ubisoft is allowing its employees to work from home in an attempt to stay safe and healthy.
Guillemot also remarked in his note that he hopes Ubisoft’s global teams will learn from the company’s studios in China. “The experience of our Chinese friends give us hope in showing that responsible behaviour and pro-active public health measures can lead us out of the crisis,” he said.
In the note, Guillemot also speaks about how he does not expect the outbreak to have a meaningful impact on Ubisoft’s bottom line. He said Ubisoft has “sufficient cash reserves” that it can draw from during this time of struggle.
Guillemot also reflected on how he’s proud to work in an industry that can help people distract themselves from problems in the world and stay connected to friends during a time of “social distancing.”
“Our core business–video games–enables us to offer a meaningful contribution to all those who currently seek enjoyable ways of spending their time within the confinement of their homes,” Guillemot said.
You can read Guillemot’s full message below.
Ubisoft is not the first gaming company to comment on the impact of COVID-19. Take-Two, the parent publisher of Rockstar Games, said recently that Take-Two is unlikely to experience a meanginful business impact from the outbreak. However, Take-Two chief Strauss Zelnick does believe the global financial market could take a “real hit” due to the virus.
Take-Two is allowing its development teams, including Rockstar Games, to work from home for the foreseeable future due to the virus.
Yves Guillemot COVID-19 Statement:
Dear everyone,
We are now in a pandemic, with far-reaching effects on our daily lives. At this exceptional juncture, it is essential that we take special care of ourselves and our loved ones. The health and well-being of Ubisoft team members is our primary concern, and we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that all of you are safe and get the right support through these demanding changes. In particular, we have been encouraging all of our collaborators to work from the safety of their homes since the end of last week.
Across Ubisoft, people are going above and beyond to adapt to this unprecedented event. My warm thanks go to both your local and global management teams, who have done such remarkable work in implementing the required preventative measures, in line with recommendations from national authorities and the World Health Organisation. I also want to commend the proactivity of our teams who have gone to great lengths to provide us with solutions to work from home under the best possible conditions, thus ensuring the continuity of our operations.
As for the potential impact of the pandemic on our business, not only do we have sufficient cash reserves to take us through the storm, and Ubisoft’s international scope and our collaborative spirit also put us in a position to redeploy some our activities away from affected regions if needs be. Moreover, our core business – video games – enables us to offer a meaningful contribution to all those who currently seek enjoyable ways of spending their time within the confinement of their homes.
This is an unforeseen challenge that requires all of us to be even more caring, thoughtful, agile and resilient. Everyone has a role to play, and this includes taking the necessary precautions to protect ourselves and people around us. I believe we can learn a great deal from our teams in China, who have faced the same trials a few weeks before us: the experience of our Chinese friends give us hope in showing that responsible behaviour and pro-active public health measures can lead us out of the crisis.
We will continue to provide you with regular updates as we move forward. Your local managers and I are also available should you have questions or concerns. In the meantime, please take care of yourself.
Yves
