Offices Ubisoft Montpellier were recently evacuated in response to a bomb threat. While no one was injured, the threat raised questions and likely left Ubisoft employees shaken.
This kind of terrifying moment is something that has unfortunately happened repeatedly in the gaming industry, including in the past elsewhere at Ubisoft. In 2020, a similar scenario played out when news broke of a hostage situation at Ubisoft Montreal. This incident turned out to be a hoax, but apparently created a lot of fear and tension.
Splinter Cell remake by Ubisoft Toronto Studio hit with layoffs
Ubisoft Toronto is facing a difficult transition as internal shifts leave fans questioning what the studio's future might look like.
Ubisoft Montpellier faces a bomb scare
It has now been announced that on February 19 in France, Ubisoft Montpellier, known for developing games such as Raymanhad to be evacuated due to a bomb threat. An email was sent to state police claiming an explosive device was located somewhere in or near the building, prompting law enforcement to arrive on the scene and set up a security perimeter. Nearly 500 Ubisoft office employees were evacuated, along with several hundred others from nearby buildings. Bomb specialists and firefighters combed Ubisoft's offices but found no explosives.
Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.
Start
Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.
Easy (5) Medium (7) Hard (10)
Since then, Ubisoft employees have returned to the Montpellier studio, according to a spokesperson for GameSpot. It's unclear whether the hoaxer could still pose a threat to the building, or whether it was essentially a slapstick prank in which a fake crime is reported to get the police to show up at the scene of an unsuspecting victim. People working at Ubisoft Montpellier and the surrounding buildings were probably shaken by the threat, but luckily no one was hurt.
Unfortunately, this sort of thing has become all too common in the gaming industry. Big names like Nintendo, Capcom, Insomniac Games have faced threats against the studio itself or individual developers who worked for them, leading to the cancellation of gaming events and frayed nerves. With the relative anonymity of the internet, some have started to shyly make threats when things don't work the way they want in games. For example, artist Laura Bailey received death threats because players were angry with her character Abby The last of us part 2while studios and developers have received threats for everything from not releasing updates fast enough to games not being as “good” as the individuals making the threats expected.
In some cases, studios have threatened legal action against those making the threats, while others have seen the suspects brought to justice. In the case of Ubisoft, the hostage hoax scenario at Ubisoft Montreal resulted in the accused being sentenced to three years of community service and mandatory mental health care. In another case, it was eventually arrested after Nintendo was forced to cancel a live event in 2024 to protect its employees and attendees from potential danger.
Gamers aren't immune to this kind of thing either, swats happen all too often, especially with streamers. These incidents have seen streams interrupted by police suddenly swarming their homes or offices, leading to some streamers developing PTSD. In worst-case scenarios, a slapping incident has resulted in the victim being killed by law enforcement. In one such case, the victim was not even remotely involved in the initial incident leading to the slap and lost his life as a result of the so-called prank. In this case, an arrest was made and the perpetrator was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
It remains to be seen whether the police will be able to find the person who threatened the fake bomb.
Source: Midi Libre
