Ubisoft Montréal team lead David Michaud-Cromp has purportedly been suspended by the company for publicly commenting on its newly-announced return-to-office (RTO) policy that will require staff to work on-site for five days a week.
In a statement shared on LinkedIn, Michaud-Cromp said he was suspended for three days without pay for allegedly breaching a “duty of loyalty.” According to his LinkedIn page, the veteran level designer has worked at Ubisoft for over 13 years.
“The measure was presented to me as being related to public comments I expressed regarding the company’s return-to-office policy, and based on an alleged breach of the duty of loyalty,” he wrote. “I am sharing this information for transparency purposes. I take note of the decision and will make no further comment at this time.”
Earlier this week, Michaud-Cromp shared a post that indicated there might be other motives behind Ubisoft’s decision to pivot away from remote work. “So… Ubisoft wanna bring back 5 days in the office… because they ‘believe in collaboration’… but c’mon, we’re not completely stupid… we very well know why you want to go back to 5 days in the office,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
The post contained a link to a video called ‘Why Companies Force People Back In The Office,’ which suggests RTO policies often prioritize appearances over “actual productivity” and are intertwined with a need to justify spending on commercial real estate.
Ubisoft, for its part, said it wants to bring employees together to “strengthen collaboration, including constant knowledge sharing, and the collective dynamic across teams.” It added that in-person working will drive “efficiency, creativity, and success.”
The RTO policy was announced alongside a sweeping restructuring plan that will result in widespread cost-cutting, project cancellations, and studio closures. Ubisoft said the move will allow it to restructure its studio ecosystem around five ‘Creative Houses.’
“When policies change abruptly or unilaterally, it can leave people facing difficult and costly trade-offs”
Speaking to Game Developer about his personal views on RTO policies, Michaud-Cromp explained he isn’t opposed to them “in principle” and said in-person collaboration can “absolutely make sense” for certain teams, roles, or projects.
For instance, he said office hours are useful when handling tasks such as reviews, training sessions, or brainstorms.
He also, however, suggested there needs to be more discussion about how RTO policies are implemented across the industry, especially with regards to the “timing, transparency, and the broader context in which they appear.”
“In many cases, employees made long-term housing or family decisions based on previously stated remote or hybrid work arrangements. Some were even hired under those contexts, often living in different cities from their assigned offices,” he added.
“When policies change abruptly or unilaterally, it can leave people facing difficult and costly trade-offs, such as relocating back to high-cost urban areas, absorbing longer commutes and additional expenses, or reconsidering their continued employment.
“In my experience, a recurring pattern in these situations is that more senior developers are often among the first to leave, largely because they tend to have greater financial stability and stronger re-employment prospects. When that happens, teams can lose a significant amount of experience and institutional knowledge very quickly.”
Once again, Michaud-Cromp stressed there is a “broader industry conversation” worth having around RTO policies, particularly in creative fields like game development “where trust and long-term collaboration matter.”
Game Developer has reached out to Ubisoft for comment.