Manceau, formerly creative director of Steep and Riders Republic at Ubisoft Annecy, will take on this new role which sees him “defining and nurturing Ubisoft’s overall creative vision and guiding the creative direction of its games so that they are accessible, irresistible, and enriching for all players”, the company said in a statement last night. The key post had been left vacant for more than a year, since the July 2020 departure of Serge Hascoët, who was named in various reports of misconduct and inappropriate behaviour during last summer’s firestorm of allegations. Ubisoft said Manceau would now work with Ubisoft’s creative teams and “closely with Virginie Haas, chief studios operating officer [and] Sandrine Caloiaro chief portfolio officer”, perhaps suggesting a more collaborative approach. A Better Ubisoft, the employee group which recently issued an open letter with a list of demands to company boss Yves Guillemot signed by more than 1000 staff worldwide, cautiously welcomed Manceau in a statement it published simultaneously with the public announcement of his promotion. The group said it hoped Manceau’s new role being filled meant it would “finally see a meaningful response” to its requests, and that Manceau would work to “repair the damage done by his predecessor”. Finally, A Better Ubisoft pointed to the ongoing “shocking lack of diversity in [Ubisoft’s] VPs”, something it says Manceau’s promotion does not remedy. “We can only trust that his application and appointment were done so under intense scrutiny due to the actions of his predecessor,” the group’s statement noted.
