A group of current and former Ubisoft employees has responded to the company's appointment of a new chief creative officer, urging him and the company to provide a "meaningful response" to Ubisoft's culture of "systemic discrimination, harassment, and bullying."

The statement was issued by employee group A Better Ubisoft in response to the announcement today that Igor Manceau would succeed Serge Hascoët as the company's chief creative officer, following allegations Hascoët had been a key propagator of toxic company culture.

Manceau, who has been with Ubisoft since 1998, has previously held several leadership roles in Ubisoft marketing, working on franchises such as Far Cry, Rainbow Six, and Splinter Cell. In 2014 he worked as creative director on Steep and followed up in the same role on Riders Republic.

However, as the employee group points out, Manceau's appointment does not appear to be in line with CEO Yves Guillemot's promises to overhaul the company's editorial team. As Guillemot wrote in a letter to employees upon Hascoet's departure:

"I will take on the CCO role temporarily as we work to define and organize the leadership of the Editorial Department. During this time, I will also personally oversee a complete overhaul of the way in which this team works. My goal is to create an inclusive and open culture that embraces more diverse and multidisciplinary expertise."

In its response, A Better Ubisoft points out that "There is no clear expression of the creative process, and there is a shocking lack of diversity in the VPs." The group points out that while Bio Jade Adam Granger's appointment as VP of editorial earlier this year was a step in the right direction, "not much progress has been made beyond that."

"Currently, as it stands, the creative team at Ubisoft is composed of white people who are of uniform cultural backgrounds."

The letter concludes that this leaves the employee group with a "lack of confidence" in the editorial team's future, noting that Patrick Plourde remains VP of editorial "despite the multiple misconduct reports filed against him" and Hascoët's "former right-hand person" is still involved in the recruitment of high-level positions at the company.

Ubisoft's editorial team has historically held a large amount of creative power at the company. It's responsible for advising on elements of all the company's games including design, story, and more, and prior to 2020 was largely responsible for a "cohesive vision" across Ubisoft titles.

However, a 2020 restructuring made an attempt at diversifying power on the editorial team to better differentiate its games, though its powerful influence on the portfolio remained.

Manceau's appointment to said team comes over a year after Ubisoft was at the center of numerous reports of a toxic work culture, harassment, abuse, and discrimination, which resulted in numerous company leaders being fired or otherwise parting ways following investigations.

However, earlier this year, 1,000 current and former Ubisoft employees signed an open letter in solidarity with employees at Activision-Blizzard undergoing their own cultural reckoning, demanding that the company take further action. The group at the time stated that over a year later, it "had seen nothing more than a year of kind words, empty promises, and an inability or unwillingness to remove known offenders."

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Firaxis and 2K showed off nearly 20 minutes of gameplay focused almost entirely on the combat. This is the best look yet at the new tactics system that incorporates environmental attacks and a contentious new card system.

The new gameplay deep dive video showcases the different elements that go into Midnight Suns’ combat system which combines elements of tactics and special hero powers. Plus, a look at how destructible environments can really shape the battle. Check out the video below.

Last week, developer Firaxis revealed that Marvel’s Midnight Suns would involve a card battle system. This system is not like collectible card games like Hearthstone but instead will tie abilities to cards in a deck that can be played to activate. Similar to rogue-lite games like Slay the Spire.

And unlike collectible card games, Firaxis confirmed that there will be no randomized loot boxes though there will be paid cosmetic-only outfits.

Here you can see that there are three different types of ability cards, as well as a ticker for cards played during a turn, how many moves the player has left, a redraw option, an item menu. As Firaxis’ creative director Jake Solomon says during the video, the cards don’t change the XCOM formula too much but add a layer of customization and randomness to the combat.

The gameplay deep dive also included a boss fight between Wolverine and Sabertooth and this segment was the best look at how destructible environments come into play. And these environmental attacks might be more involved than previously suggested.

Throughout the boss fight, Wolverine is seen using everything around him in the level to attack Sabertooth including taking down light poles or throwing debris like cinderblocks. Add in the aforementioned ability cards that include attacks that damage more than one enemy at a time, and you get a sense of how the combat flows during normal encounters and boss fights.

Check out IGN’s extended gameplay reveal for Midnight Suns from last week or our multiple interviews with the developers on gameplay and the comics that inspired them. The gameplay dive from today also showed the social elements of Midnight Suns where you can hang out with your favorite Marvel heroes and connect with them, though not romantically.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Following his comments supporting the Texas anti-abortion law, Tripwire CEO John Gibson has stepped down from the company behind such games as Maneater and Chivalry 2.

Tripwire announced the news alongside confirming that co-founding member and current vice president Alan Wilson will now act as interim CEO. In its statement, Tripwire shared that Gibson's views do not reflect the company as a whole and that "his comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners and much of our broader community."

"The comments given by John Gibson are of his own opinion, and do not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company," Tripwire wrote. "His comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners and much of our broader community. Our leadership team at Tripwire are deeply sorry and are unified in our commitment to take swift action and to foster a more positive environment.

"Effective immediately, John Gibson has stepped down as CEO of Tripwire Interactive. Co-founding member and current Vice President, Alan Wilson, will take over as interim CEO. Alan has been with the company since its formation in 2005 and is an active lead in both the studio’s business and developmental affairs.

"Alan will work with the rest of the Tripwire leadership team to take steps with employees and partners to address their concerns including executing a company-wide town hall meeting and promoting open dialogue with Tripwire leadership and all employees. His understanding of both the company’s culture and the creative vision of our games will carry the team through this transition, with full support from the other Tripwire leaders."

The previously mentioned comments from Gibson were Tweeted out on September 4, with the ex-CEO writing he was "proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat."

"As an entertainer I don't get political often," Gibson continued. "Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of the issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer."

Following his Tweet, developers who have worked closely with Tripwire, including Shipwright Studios - who worked on both Maneater and Chivalry 2 - and Chivalry 2's lead developer Torn Banner Studios, spoke up against Gibson's statement. Shipwright Studios even went so far as to say it was canceling its existing contracts with Tripwire under the "current leadership structure."

The anti-abortion law in question is one that the US Supreme Court recently refused to block and one that forbids the majority of abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. This includes those pregnancies that were from rape or incest. Furthermore, those who sue clinics that are performing abortions could be awarded $10,000 per illegal abortion if found guilty.

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 his comments supporting the Texas anti-abortion law, Tripwire CEO John Gibson has stepped down from the company behind such games as Maneater and Chivalry 2.

Tripwire announced the news alongside confirming that co-founding member and current vice president Alan Wilson will now act as interim CEO. In its statement, Tripwire shared that Gibson's views do not reflect the company as a whole and that "his comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners and much of our broader community."

"The comments given by John Gibson are of his own opinion, and do not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company," Tripwire wrote. "His comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners and much of our broader community. Our leadership team at Tripwire are deeply sorry and are unified in our commitment to take swift action and to foster a more positive environment.

"Effective immediately, John Gibson has stepped down as CEO of Tripwire Interactive. Co-founding member and current Vice President, Alan Wilson, will take over as interim CEO. Alan has been with the company since its formation in 2005 and is an active lead in both the studio’s business and developmental affairs.

"Alan will work with the rest of the Tripwire leadership team to take steps with employees and partners to address their concerns including executing a company-wide town hall meeting and promoting open dialogue with Tripwire leadership and all employees. His understanding of both the company’s culture and the creative vision of our games will carry the team through this transition, with full support from the other Tripwire leaders."

The previously mentioned comments from Gibson were Tweeted out on September 4, with the ex-CEO writing he was "proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat."

"As an entertainer I don't get political often," Gibson continued. "Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of the issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer."

Following his Tweet, developers who have worked closely with Tripwire, including Shipwright Studios - who worked on both Maneater and Chivalry 2 - and Chivalry 2's lead developer Torn Banner Studios, spoke up against Gibson's statement. Shipwright Studios even went so far as to say it was canceling its existing contracts with Tripwire under the "current leadership structure."

The anti-abortion law in question is one that the US Supreme Court recently refused to block and one that forbids the majority of abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. This includes those pregnancies that were from rape or incest. Furthermore, those who sue clinics that are performing abortions could be awarded $10,000 per illegal abortion if found guilty.

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.

The Wire, Lovecraft Country, and Boardwalk Empire star Michael K. Williams has died at the age of 54.

As reported by New York Post, Williams was found in his Brooklyn penthouse today, September 6, and sources have said that "drug paraphernalia was found in the five-time Emmy nominee’s apartment, suggesting the acclaimed 54-year-old actor may have fatally OD’d, possibly from heroin or fentanyl."

A police source confirmed there was "no foul play indicated" and "no forced entry." Furthermore, it was said that "the apartment was in order."

The Hollywood Reporter was given a statement by Williams' rep Marianna Shafran of Shafran PR.

"It is with deep sorrow that the family announces the passing of Emmy nominated actor Michael Kenneth Williams. They ask for your privacy while grieving this unsurmountable loss," Shafran said.

Williams was perhaps best known for his role as Omar Little on HBO's The Wire. In 2016, he spoke to NPR about his struggles with addiction, including during the filming of The Wire, which led him to a church in New Jersey in hopes he could get the help he needed.

“When I came through those doors, I was broken. … This was, I would say, around the … third season of ‘The Wire,’ ” Williams said. "“I was on drugs. … I was in jeopardy of destroying everything I had worked so hard for, and I came in those doors, and I met a man who had never even heard of ‘The Wire,’ much less watched it."

Williams also played Albert "Chalky" White on Boardwalk Empire, Jack Gee on Bessie, and also appeared as a supporting actor in The Road, Inherent Vice, The Night Of, Gone Baby Gone, 12 Years a Slave, and much more.

He received three Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nominations for his performance in Bessie, The Night Of, and When They See Us. He also gained his fifth career Emmy nomination for his work as Montrose Freeman in HBO's Lovecraft Country.

Williams was born in Brooklyn on November 22, 1966, and one of his first acting roles was acquired after he was discovered by Tupac Shakur. He played High Top, the brother to Shakur's Tank.

Williams is survived by his mother.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Wire, Lovecraft Country, and Boardwalk Empire star Michael K. Williams has died at the age of 54.

As reported by New York Post, Williams was found in his Brooklyn penthouse today, September 6, and sources have said that "drug paraphernalia was found in the five-time Emmy nominee’s apartment, suggesting the acclaimed 54-year-old actor may have fatally OD’d, possibly from heroin or fentanyl."

A police source confirmed there was "no foul play indicated" and "no forced entry." Furthermore, it was said that "the apartment was in order."

The Hollywood Reporter was given a statement by Williams' rep Marianna Shafran of Shafran PR.

"It is with deep sorrow that the family announces the passing of Emmy nominated actor Michael Kenneth Williams. They ask for your privacy while grieving this unsurmountable loss," Shafran said.

Williams was perhaps best known for his role as Omar Little on HBO's The Wire. In 2016, he spoke to NPR about his struggles with addiction, including during the filming of The Wire, which led him to a church in New Jersey in hopes he could get the help he needed.

“When I came through those doors, I was broken. … This was, I would say, around the … third season of ‘The Wire,’ ” Williams said. "“I was on drugs. … I was in jeopardy of destroying everything I had worked so hard for, and I came in those doors, and I met a man who had never even heard of ‘The Wire,’ much less watched it."

Williams also played Albert "Chalky" White on Boardwalk Empire, Jack Gee on Bessie, and also appeared as a supporting actor in The Road, Inherent Vice, The Night Of, Gone Baby Gone, 12 Years a Slave, and much more.

He received three Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nominations for his performance in Bessie, The Night Of, and When They See Us. He also gained his fifth career Emmy nomination for his work as Montrose Freeman in HBO's Lovecraft Country.

Williams was born in Brooklyn on November 22, 1966, and one of his first acting roles was acquired after he was discovered by Tupac Shakur. He played High Top, the brother to Shakur's Tank.

Williams is survived by his mother.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A union-conducted employee survey carried out at Paradox Interactive in August has reportedly accused the Crusader Kings creator of creating a "culture of silence" around mistreatment and gender discrimination at the company.

Swedish publication Breakit (as reported by GamesIndustry.biz) reports that just shy of half of the respondents to a union-led survey felt that they had experienced "mistreatment" at the company. The definition of mistreatment in this context has not yet been publicly laid out.

As per Breakit, 44% of the 133 people who took part in the survey answered to say that they had experienced mistreatment at Paradox. The report states that while women made up only around a quarter of respondents, 69% of female employees who took part said that they had experienced abusive treatment during their tenure. Meanwhile, around a third of male employees also said that they had experienced mistreatment.

According to Breakit, the union concluded the report by saying, "Offensive treatment is a systematic and far too common problem at Paradox." The article goes on to say that employees at the company feel that there is a "culture of silence" at the publisher, and very few employees who had experienced abusive treatment felt as though the issue had been handled and solved appropriately at a later stage.

Following the news, Paradox issued a statement to Eurogamer in which it acknowledged that it was "aware of a survey undertaken inside the company" and that the results of the said survey were "obviously not satisfactory". The full statement can be read as follows:

"We are aware of a survey undertaken inside the company on this topic, and of the results, which are obviously not satisfactory. The management team wants to ensure this data is acted upon, but taking immediate, direct action is legally difficult thanks to the informal nature of the survey (and thanks to the results being shared just before we underwent this CEO change, which has been fairly busy for us). We are currently working to reconcile the informal survey with our own internal research, and are eager to take action.

"Paradox is now in the process of bringing in an external, neutral firm to conduct a thorough audit of our processes and a comprehensive employee survey. This will help us advance our efforts towards all of the subjects that we've worked to improve in recent years - harassment and abuse will be paramount among these, but we'll also be examining subjects like unbiased hiring and compensation, ongoing bias awareness, inclusion, and more."

News of the report comes only days after Paradox CEO Ebba Ljungerud stepped down from the company. Her resignation, Paradox said at the time, came due to differing opinions in company strategy going forward. Despite the short time between the two events, the publisher's communications department, Ljungerud herself, and the company's new CEO Frederik Wester all reportedly deny that there is a connection between the two events.

The reported mistreatment of employees at Paradox is the latest in a series of similar cases to affect the industry. Earlier this year, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard with allegations surrounding gender discrimination and a "frat boy" culture at the company. The same agency has also been investigating the results of a gender discrimination lawsuit at Riot Games whilst Ubisoft Singapore has been under scrutiny as reports surfaced that it was being looked into by the country's national watchdog for harassment claims.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

A union-conducted employee survey carried out at Paradox Interactive in August has reportedly accused the Crusader Kings creator of creating a "culture of silence" around mistreatment and gender discrimination at the company.

Swedish publication Breakit (as reported by GamesIndustry.biz) reports that just shy of half of the respondents to a union-led survey felt that they had experienced "mistreatment" at the company. The definition of mistreatment in this context has not yet been publicly laid out.

As per Breakit, 44% of the 133 people who took part in the survey answered to say that they had experienced mistreatment at Paradox. The report states that while women made up only around a quarter of respondents, 69% of female employees who took part said that they had experienced abusive treatment during their tenure. Meanwhile, around a third of male employees also said that they had experienced mistreatment.

According to Breakit, the union concluded the report by saying, "Offensive treatment is a systematic and far too common problem at Paradox." The article goes on to say that employees at the company feel that there is a "culture of silence" at the publisher, and very few employees who had experienced abusive treatment felt as though the issue had been handled and solved appropriately at a later stage.

Following the news, Paradox issued a statement to Eurogamer in which it acknowledged that it was "aware of a survey undertaken inside the company" and that the results of the said survey were "obviously not satisfactory". The full statement can be read as follows:

"We are aware of a survey undertaken inside the company on this topic, and of the results, which are obviously not satisfactory. The management team wants to ensure this data is acted upon, but taking immediate, direct action is legally difficult thanks to the informal nature of the survey (and thanks to the results being shared just before we underwent this CEO change, which has been fairly busy for us). We are currently working to reconcile the informal survey with our own internal research, and are eager to take action.

"Paradox is now in the process of bringing in an external, neutral firm to conduct a thorough audit of our processes and a comprehensive employee survey. This will help us advance our efforts towards all of the subjects that we've worked to improve in recent years - harassment and abuse will be paramount among these, but we'll also be examining subjects like unbiased hiring and compensation, ongoing bias awareness, inclusion, and more."

News of the report comes only days after Paradox CEO Ebba Ljungerud stepped down from the company. Her resignation, Paradox said at the time, came due to differing opinions in company strategy going forward. Despite the short time between the two events, the publisher's communications department, Ljungerud herself, and the company's new CEO Frederik Wester all reportedly deny that there is a connection between the two events.

The reported mistreatment of employees at Paradox is the latest in a series of similar cases to affect the industry. Earlier this year, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard with allegations surrounding gender discrimination and a "frat boy" culture at the company. The same agency has also been investigating the results of a gender discrimination lawsuit at Riot Games whilst Ubisoft Singapore has been under scrutiny as reports surfaced that it was being looked into by the country's national watchdog for harassment claims.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage just got its fifth official release date – but the movie has actually moved two weeks closer to release, and will now hit theaters on October 1.

Just a week after the movie was formally delayed to October 15, Sony has now moved it forward by two weeks. That likely comes down to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' huge success over the Labor Day weekend, which has likely eased fears about the box office performance of comic book movies amid the pandemic.

It's been a tumultuous ride for the Andy Serkis-directed sequel, which has seen multiple delays – even (disproven) rumours that it would be pushed into 2022. Hopefully, this is the last major shift for the movie.

The PG-13 rated sequel brings back Tom Hardy as both Venom and its host, Eddie Brock, and introduces a new origin story for rival symbiote Carnage. We'll also meet Shriek, played by Naomie Harris. Hardy himself was a part of the creation of the sequel's story, which we got a fresh look at it in a recent trailer. Some fans have also been wondering if Venom might make an appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but we'll likely be waiting until December for that to be fully solved.

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.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage just got its fifth official release date – but the movie has actually moved two weeks closer to release, and will now hit theaters on October 1.

Just a week after the movie was formally delayed to October 15, Sony has now moved it forward by two weeks. That likely comes down to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' huge success over the Labor Day weekend, which has likely eased fears about the box office performance of comic book movies amid the pandemic.

It's been a tumultuous ride for the Andy Serkis-directed sequel, which has seen multiple delays – even (disproven) rumours that it would be pushed into 2022. Hopefully, this is the last major shift for the movie.

The PG-13 rated sequel brings back Tom Hardy as both Venom and its host, Eddie Brock, and introduces a new origin story for rival symbiote Carnage. We'll also meet Shriek, played by Naomie Harris. Hardy himself was a part of the creation of the sequel's story, which we got a fresh look at it in a recent trailer. Some fans have also been wondering if Venom might make an appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but we'll likely be waiting until December for that to be fully solved.

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.