Following a series of abuse and misconduct allegations against Ubisoft employees, Ubisoft has outlined the "major changes" it will take in the future to prevent these issues occurring again. As revealed during Ubisoft's Q1 2020-21 earnings call, Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot began by addressing the issues with the following quote;

"While Ubisoft’s current performance and business prospects are stronger than ever, we nonetheless face a very serious challenge following the recent allegations and accusations of misconduct and inappropriate behavior within our Group. I am determined to make profound changes in order to improve and strengthen our corporate culture. We already have acted swiftly and firmly, announcing and introducing large-scale initiatives intended to transform our organization. Our overriding aim is ensuring that all Ubisoft employees have a safe and inclusive workplace environment. As a leader in our industry, we have to be intransigent in order to create an exemplary culture where everyone feels respected and valued. This is vital to ensure that all of the talented people who make up Ubisoft feel fulfilled in their jobs."

Following three top executives and the creative director of Assassin's Creed Valhalla stepping down, as well as other employees being removed or resigning, Ubisoft also revealed the major changes it will take, including;

1. A series of investigations will take place by independent external consultants, and a "confidential third-party managed listening and alert platform has been put in place to enable employees as well as external individuals to anonymously report any harassment, discrimination or other inappropriate behavior. This external company will deliver regular reports to Ubisoft's Board of Directors. Additionally, a support and recovery unit has been put in place that is being overseen by an organization "specialized in helping victims of harassment.
2. Guillemot is personally overseeing a "review of the composition and reorganization of the editorial department," and is overhauling the way these teams work together.
3. Ubisoft will be transforming its HR processes in order to "better prevent, detect and sanction inappropriate behavior." In an effort to do this in the best way, it has selected a "leading consultancy firm to perform an external audit." Furthermore, team leads' bonuses will be tied to "their ability to create a positive and inclusive workplace environment," and a harassment awareness-raising campaign among all Ubisoft employees will be in place that will take the form of training modules.
4. Ubisoft has launched a group-wide questionnaire to obtain "their feedback on a totally anonymous basis, and has put in place talking and listening sessions for employees on all of its sites with the aim of addressing their suggestions and concerns and identifying areas for improvement."
5. A Head of Workplace Culture has been appointed and a new Head of Diversity and Inclusion position has been created, and this position will be open to both internal and external candidates. Both of these roles will report directly to Guillemot.

These changes were announced a day after Bloomberg released a wide-ranging report that further detailed Ubisoft's history of internal abuse and sexism and included stories of multiple Assassin's Creed games being scrapped of minimized to do a "perception that games won't sell with a strong male lead." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Following a series of abuse and misconduct allegations against Ubisoft employees, Ubisoft has outlined the "major changes" it will take in the future to prevent these issues occurring again. As revealed during Ubisoft's Q1 2020-21 earnings call, Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot began by addressing the issues with the following quote;

"While Ubisoft’s current performance and business prospects are stronger than ever, we nonetheless face a very serious challenge following the recent allegations and accusations of misconduct and inappropriate behavior within our Group. I am determined to make profound changes in order to improve and strengthen our corporate culture. We already have acted swiftly and firmly, announcing and introducing large-scale initiatives intended to transform our organization. Our overriding aim is ensuring that all Ubisoft employees have a safe and inclusive workplace environment. As a leader in our industry, we have to be intransigent in order to create an exemplary culture where everyone feels respected and valued. This is vital to ensure that all of the talented people who make up Ubisoft feel fulfilled in their jobs."

Following three top executives and the creative director of Assassin's Creed Valhalla stepping down, as well as other employees being removed or resigning, Ubisoft also revealed the major changes it will take, including;

1. A series of investigations will take place by independent external consultants, and a "confidential third-party managed listening and alert platform has been put in place to enable employees as well as external individuals to anonymously report any harassment, discrimination or other inappropriate behavior. This external company will deliver regular reports to Ubisoft's Board of Directors. Additionally, a support and recovery unit has been put in place that is being overseen by an organization "specialized in helping victims of harassment.
2. Guillemot is personally overseeing a "review of the composition and reorganization of the editorial department," and is overhauling the way these teams work together.
3. Ubisoft will be transforming its HR processes in order to "better prevent, detect and sanction inappropriate behavior." In an effort to do this in the best way, it has selected a "leading consultancy firm to perform an external audit." Furthermore, team leads' bonuses will be tied to "their ability to create a positive and inclusive workplace environment," and a harassment awareness-raising campaign among all Ubisoft employees will be in place that will take the form of training modules.
4. Ubisoft has launched a group-wide questionnaire to obtain "their feedback on a totally anonymous basis, and has put in place talking and listening sessions for employees on all of its sites with the aim of addressing their suggestions and concerns and identifying areas for improvement."
5. A Head of Workplace Culture has been appointed and a new Head of Diversity and Inclusion position has been created, and this position will be open to both internal and external candidates. Both of these roles will report directly to Guillemot.

These changes were announced a day after Bloomberg released a wide-ranging report that further detailed Ubisoft's history of internal abuse and sexism and included stories of multiple Assassin's Creed games being scrapped of minimized to do a "perception that games won't sell with a strong male lead." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Ubisoft Forward's second broadcast will come in September, says Yves Guillemot.

Ubisoft Forward's second broadcast will come in September, says Yves Guillemot.

Hasbro is expanding its Power Rangers Lightning Collection with a new addition based on the Shattered Grid comic crossover from 2018: Lord Drakkon. The Shattered Grid series is a crossover between the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Go Go Power Rangers story lines. If you aren't up on your Power Rangers comic lore, Lord Drakkon is Tommy Oliver in an alternate universe where he never joined the Rangers, and instead kept his loyalties to Rita Repulsa. The Lightning Collection is Hasbro's premium Power Rangers collectible line. Think Star Wars Black Series or GI Joe Classified Series, but for Power Rangers. The figure features excellent paint and detailing and includes the shattered trophy helmets of defeated Rangers,, interchangeable hands and sword, and "transforms from Evolution to Evolution as he gains more power, eventually becoming a Black Ranger." Oh, and there are two different matrices of lightning to represent his growing powers. Yes. Lightning is an accessory. Instead of me telling you about it, take a look at the gallery below. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=lord-drakkon-evo-iii-figure-reveal&captions=true"] The Lord Drakkon Evo III figure will be available this September for $49.99 as a Hasbro Pulse exclusive. Last week, Hasbro revealed new Star Wars: Black Series figures based on the Clone Wars animated series, and also revealed a Top Gun x Transformers mash-up coming later this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. Find him on Twitter @sethmacy.

Hasbro is expanding its Power Rangers Lightning Collection with a new addition based on the Shattered Grid comic crossover from 2018: Lord Drakkon. The Shattered Grid series is a crossover between the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Go Go Power Rangers story lines. If you aren't up on your Power Rangers comic lore, Lord Drakkon is Tommy Oliver in an alternate universe where he never joined the Rangers, and instead kept his loyalties to Rita Repulsa. The Lightning Collection is Hasbro's premium Power Rangers collectible line. Think Star Wars Black Series or GI Joe Classified Series, but for Power Rangers. The figure features excellent paint and detailing and includes the shattered trophy helmets of defeated Rangers,, interchangeable hands and sword, and "transforms from Evolution to Evolution as he gains more power, eventually becoming a Black Ranger." Oh, and there are two different matrices of lightning to represent his growing powers. Yes. Lightning is an accessory. Instead of me telling you about it, take a look at the gallery below. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=lord-drakkon-evo-iii-figure-reveal&captions=true"] The Lord Drakkon Evo III figure will be available this September for $49.99 as a Hasbro Pulse exclusive. Last week, Hasbro revealed new Star Wars: Black Series figures based on the Clone Wars animated series, and also revealed a Top Gun x Transformers mash-up coming later this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. Find him on Twitter @sethmacy.

Balan Company, a new Square Enix studio focused on making action games, will reveal its first title tomorrow. Announced on the studio's website, the announcement will come on July 23 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 9pm UK (that's July 24 at 5am AEST). A follow-up tweet from Square Enix adds that the announcement will be a "new title". That timing is suspiciously close to when we'd expect the Xbox Games Showcase to be wrapping up, so it feels like we may see the game as part of Microsoft's event. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/26/square-enix-will-announce-several-new-games-in-july-and-august-ign-news"] There are precious few details about Balan Company right now, aside from the kinds of games it's aiming to make, and that it will bring together both in-house and external developers. This will be one of the 'several' games Square Enix said it would be announcing between July and August. Earlier this year, Square revealed Project Athia, a new game made exclusively for PS5 and co-written by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story co-writer Gary Whitta. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Balan Company, a new Square Enix studio focused on making action games, will reveal its first title tomorrow. Announced on the studio's website, the announcement will come on July 23 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 9pm UK (that's July 24 at 5am AEST). A follow-up tweet from Square Enix adds that the announcement will be a "new title". That timing is suspiciously close to when we'd expect the Xbox Games Showcase to be wrapping up, so it feels like we may see the game as part of Microsoft's event. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/26/square-enix-will-announce-several-new-games-in-july-and-august-ign-news"] There are precious few details about Balan Company right now, aside from the kinds of games it's aiming to make, and that it will bring together both in-house and external developers. This will be one of the 'several' games Square Enix said it would be announcing between July and August. Earlier this year, Square revealed Project Athia, a new game made exclusively for PS5 and co-written by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story co-writer Gary Whitta. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Disney and Target have teamed up to release a brand new collection of merchandise inspired by the adventures of the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme park areas at both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts. The good news is that you won't have to travel to a galaxy far, far away to pick up the Trading Outpost Collection as the new range is going to be exclusively available at Target stores, starting August 30. Pre-orders are also now live at Target.com with shipments expected to commence on the same date. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-galaxys-edge-trading-outpost-collection&captions=true"] StarWars.com punched in the all of the official details about the merchandise collection and shared a preview of six of the items from the new product line-up, which features an exclusive selection of toys, collectibles, clothing items, books, and more from a range of big-name brands. As pictured in our gallery above, the product preview gave us a look at a new Funko POP! R5 Unit, Hasbro Hyperdrive BB Unit, LEGO Resistance I-TS Transport, Hasbro Smugglers Run Millennium Falcon, and two new Black Series action figures in the form of Captain Cardinal and DJ R-3X. This latest transmission comes shortly after Hasbro announced another new wave of six-inch Star Wars: The Black Series action figures inspired by the final season of The Clone Wars, which the company revealed as part of the Walmart Collector Con 2020 promotion. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/06/we-rode-star-wars-rise-of-the-resistance-at-galaxys-edge"] In other toy-related news, we recently were given a closer look at Hasbro's enormous Marvel Legends Sentinel action figure, together with a series of movie-inspired X-Men figures and a Top Gun-inspired Transformer named Maverick. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Disney and Target have teamed up to release a brand new collection of merchandise inspired by the adventures of the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme park areas at both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts. The good news is that you won't have to travel to a galaxy far, far away to pick up the Trading Outpost Collection as the new range is going to be exclusively available at Target stores, starting August 30. Pre-orders are also now live at Target.com with shipments expected to commence on the same date. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-galaxys-edge-trading-outpost-collection&captions=true"] StarWars.com punched in the all of the official details about the merchandise collection and shared a preview of six of the items from the new product line-up, which features an exclusive selection of toys, collectibles, clothing items, books, and more from a range of big-name brands. As pictured in our gallery above, the product preview gave us a look at a new Funko POP! R5 Unit, Hasbro Hyperdrive BB Unit, LEGO Resistance I-TS Transport, Hasbro Smugglers Run Millennium Falcon, and two new Black Series action figures in the form of Captain Cardinal and DJ R-3X. This latest transmission comes shortly after Hasbro announced another new wave of six-inch Star Wars: The Black Series action figures inspired by the final season of The Clone Wars, which the company revealed as part of the Walmart Collector Con 2020 promotion. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/06/we-rode-star-wars-rise-of-the-resistance-at-galaxys-edge"] In other toy-related news, we recently were given a closer look at Hasbro's enormous Marvel Legends Sentinel action figure, together with a series of movie-inspired X-Men figures and a Top Gun-inspired Transformer named Maverick. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.