Why one video game studio is protecting its coders from harassment

The dev team signs a poster before receiving a copy of the new Assassin's Creed Shadows at the Ubisoft Quebec Studio in Quebec City, Quebec, on March 20, 2025. — AFP

Sometimes companies take a risk and release products they know are going to be somewhat controversial, or at least polarising – Tesla’s ugly/iconic/imaginative/insane Cybertruck may be a perfect example. Sometimes companies release a product or service that later finds unexpected disfavor among consumers.

But this month, one video game developer company, Ubisoft, released a title that it expected to be so divisive that the company built up an entire team dedicated to fending off online harassment of its staff, even before the software went on sale.