Ubisoft “deeply troubled” by allegations of abuse of Assassin's Creed Support Studio

A recent video report detailing alleged mental and physical abuse at an outside support studio has been responded to Ubisoftwho calls it “deeply disturbing”. While the abuse didn't surface at Ubisoft itself, the supporting studio did some work Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Unfortunately, abuse in the video game industry is not a new topic, with reports of harassment, mental and physical abuse, and other issues emerging over the years. Reports and complaints of things like bullying have emerged, leading game developers to consider, for example, suicide. Unfortunately, it seems that another similar report has now appeared.

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Rather than there being abuse directly within Ubisoft, YouTube channel People Make Games' video delved into a situation involving an external support studio. It is claimed that the commissioner of the game development team at Indonesian studio Brandoville was extraordinarily toxic and abusive towards those who worked there. Commissioner Kwan Cherry Lai, specifically the wife of Brandoville's CEO, reportedly subjected employee Christa Sydney to mental and physical abuse, forced religious worship, severe sleep deprivation over the course of four days, and even forced Sydney physically harming herself while filming it. Ubisoft issued a response to Eurogamer regarding the video, saying that the company is “deeply troubled” by the news and condemns abuse of any kind.

Other workers at the studio have come forward with similar allegations, including Kwan Cherry Lai taking part of their salary to “help” them with expenses, or overworking a pregnant employee, who ended up giving birth prematurely. Their child later died in hospital.

History and destiny of Brandoville Studio

Brandoville was founded in 2018, based in Indonesia, and shut down in August 2024. Reports of abuse date back to 2019. During those years, the studio reportedly assisted game developers with some major releases, including which The Age of Empires 4 and the imminent Shadows of Assassin's Creed. Since then, these claims have started to be investigated in Indonesia and police are reportedly seeking to question Kwan Cherry Lai. However, People Makes Games notes that she has since claimed to be in Hong Kong, so it remains to be seen whether Indonesian police can locate her.

It is currently unknown whether Sydney and the other alleged victims of abuse will find justice. Both in the United States and elsewhere, reports of poor working conditions, abuse, and sexual harassment in the gaming industry continue to occur. It's clear that more needs to be done to protect employees, whether they're being abused by internal employees or experiencing abhorrent things like death threats from the Internet.