In reality, Shimoda contends that these initiatives only served to benefit the organization by “fostering a better workplace environment and enabling expansion into diverse markets such as South America and the Middle East.”
While he defends the company’s culture, he does not shy away from its genuine operational flaws. He attributes the recent creative and marketing stagnation to “Big Business Syndrome,” a common ailment in large corporations. This manifested as a lack of upward mobility for talent and a critical shortage of senior leadership with expertise in modern sectors like mobile gaming and free-to-play (F2P) business models.
Furthermore, Shimoda highlighted the logistical friction inherent in a French-centric company going global. He noted that managing a vast network of international offices from a non-English-speaking headquarters created unique organizational hurdles that contributed to the current situation.
I won’t quote them directly, but I’m amazed people are still spreading the lie that ‘DEI focus’ killed Ubisoft’s stock. As a former employee, I can say: DEI advocates didn’t have that much power… January 25, 2026
Shimoda warned that if Ubisoft chooses to ignore these systemic management issues and instead uses DEI as a “scapegoat,” it could spell the end for the legendary publisher. “If they focus on the wrong problems, I expect it’s truly over for them this time.”
This is a position Shimoda has maintained for a while, having previously clarified last May that the perception of Ubisoft “leaning” excessively into DEI is simply a narrative not grounded in the reality of the company’s daily operations.
As his latest comments suggest, there is a major gap between actual corporate DEI policies—which focus on workplace health—and the online discourse that labels any game featuring diverse protagonists as “DEI-driven.” For Shimoda, failing to recognize the difference between healthy workplace evolution and business mismanagement is the real danger Ubisoft faces.
In other news, the team behind the Prince of Persia remake has finally addressed the project’s cancellation after years of development: “We understand the community’s frustration.”
Source: gamesradar.com
