«You are going to cry the first few times»: what's going on at the Ubisoft studio responsible for the Trackmania series?
Article by Aurore Gayte. September 10, 2020. Original article in French: follow the link.
According to a survey of a dozen company employees, the studio director performs for years to have a total control over the employees, without any intervention on the part of Ubisoft. Screams, the pressure is unbearable, overtime work, and the inability to complain to the HR or representatives of the CSE... The studio's management has been blamed by numerous employees and former employees that Numerama has spoken to.
«We were informed about serious violations of labor laws, as well as moral harassment against individuals». August 24, 2020, on the Twitter account of the trade union «Solidarity», Industry Computer and Video Games, was a call to witness is published, inviting the employees of the studio referred to come and express themselves. The call was retweeted hardly a hundred times, so the general public hardly noticed it.
However, it is concerned with Nadeo, the French studio behind the iconic Trackmania franchise, whose releases have been distributed in several million copies around the world. And that studio, since 2009, became is the property of Ubisoft, a French publisher of the video games. The call to witnesses is accompanied by a short message, as a warning: «These acts must come to an end».
What's going on in Nadeo?
The fear of speaking
Not everyone liked the public announcement of the trade union. «It was very suspicious. We are afraid that there may be retaliation», - explains Anthony, a former employee who has agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. «I was very careful at first». «When the article appears, I am afraid that Florent will write to me and ask if I have spoken. Everyone is afraid of him», - says Martin*, another former Nadeo employee. «I was very scared when I saw the witness call before I told myself that I should be free [of this past]», - tells the story of Beatrice, also a former employee. Jules, who still works at Nadeo, speaks of his willingness to «stir up this anthill» out of «respect for all those whose stories made me aware of the problem».
📢 Appel à témoignages au sein de l’entreprise Nadeo concernant du harcèlement moral et le non respect du droit du travailhttps://t.co/8eSXLW3AWC pic.twitter.com/ZFUN9nQYaj
— Solidaires Informatique Jeu Vidéo (@SolInfoJeuVideo) August 24, 2020
Yet, while Ubisoft has been challenged in recent months by its unprecedented management and after a wave of layoffs of several of its top managers, there are still many employees who are «too scared to talk to journalists», - says John*, one of members of union, who collected testimonies from many employees. Everyone who agreed to talk to us expressed the hope that breaking the silence can finally change everything.
Many of the stories that we have collected fit into the legal definition of moral harassment, defined by the labor code as «repetitive actions that can lead to a deterioration in working conditions, which leads to: infringement of the rights and dignity of the employee, deterioration of physical or mental health or threat to his professional growth». Moral harassment in a company can be classified, according to the Ministry of Labor website, according to the following criteria: «criticism, bullying, insults hidden in the closet», «refusal to communicate» or «excessive workload» of the worker.
Numerama has collected and published ten testimonials, from employees who are still in Nadeo, or from former employees who are still haunted by the destructive stories that took place in Nadeo. They all told us about the same behavior and practices from management, about similar signs of depression and psychological exhaustion. They all talked about how Florent Castelnerac, Nadeo's founding director, manages his studio and his staff.
«World champions»
«There is a kind of cult around sacrificing everything for the sake of work», - said Lisa*, who has now left the company. «When Florent finds out that I previously worked on weekends, he was very happy and congratulated me». But the director of the studio it doesn't seem enough. «He also chided me for not working enough anyway, when I already work from 8 to 10 working hours a day in the office, and when I return home, I still continue to work. I've worked hard all my life and it was never enough anyway for him. He rebuked me that I never ask him to give me a job on the weekend to improve my professional skills», - Lisa continues her thought. «If he sees that you are working a legitimate working day without overwork, then you will be in the center of his attention», - adds Martin.
The founder of Nadeo takes his employees to extremes with his altruistic intentions. He asks them all the time to become «world champions». «He has an obsession with that assertion», - Beatrice explained. «He wanted me to work hard. He said that anyone can become a «world champion», - says Quentin*, - «But if you don't work on weekends, you cannot become one of them». «And he wants everyone to become «world champions» - John confirmed, - «He puts a lot of pressure on employees to take overtime». «Anyone can become a world champion, but it takes a lot of work. My goal is to find my champions» [quote by Florent, according to employees].
«He told me: «Today you are level 40, but I want you to be level 112. How do we use the time we have to change that?», - Beatrice* recalls, - «Relying on the level of self-confidence is terrible». «He made me think I was not good enough, both personally and professionally. While the truth was that no one was ever good enough. No one was the «world champion», - Lisa continued. «The worst thing is that in order to justify his cruel and humiliating actions with his employees, he claims that he is acting in their interests, for their good», - Martin said.
Having contacted Numerama, Florent Castelnerac agreed to answer our many questions. He insists that he «rarely imposes overtime», and he did so only «for a few days in recent years, and only if the person agreed [...] and had no other planned things to do». The studio director, in particular, defends himself, citing research conducted by the consulting firm «Great Plate to Work», the overall result of which points to a «trust index» of 92%, a good result. «Nadeo's integrity is rated solid at 100%», - he said, - «What's appreciated first when people ask regularly is the quality of studio culture». The company employees we interviewed tell a different story.
«This is a public lynching»
«As soon as the elevator door opened and I saw him coming out, the next second a shot rang out in my head. When he entered the office, I prayed that he would not inadvertently start talking to me», - Antoine recalled. The studio director is also known among employees, his ability to change their minds overnight and tell the employee to start all work from scratch. «Basically, he made me repeat the same task 6 times in 6 months», - Martin's voice was filled with discernible disappointment. «I wasted a lot of time. Every time I had to start all the work from scratch, it was very demoralizing», - added Martin.
Those who refuse know that they run the risk of being subjected to tantrums from Florent. «He doesn't like being denied», - adds Roman. Called into his thin-walled office, and sometimes right in the middle of the studio, some of the employees receive a stern reprimand from him. «He yelled at my colleague for about 20 minutes. Everybody heard it. This is a public lynching, an example for other employees of what could happen to them if they started to refuse him», - Martin said. «There is no door in Florent's office. All conversations are very audible, and Florent Castelnerac knows this very well», - Jules clarified. Roman recalls: «Everyone could hear him yelling at the entire studio like «this is impossible, this sucks, you have to leave». It could last 30 minutes, an hour... Then after that, religious silence reigns in the office».
Those who refuse know that they run the risk of being subjected to tantrums from Florent. «He doesn't like being denied», - adds Roman. Called into his thin-walled office, and sometimes right in the middle of the studio, some of the employees receive a stern reprimand from him. «He yelled at my colleague for about 20 minutes. Everybody heard it. This is a public lynching, an example for other employees of what could happen to them if they started to refuse him», - Martin said. «There is no door in Florent's office. All conversations are very audible, and Florent Castelnerac knows this very well», - Jules clarified. Roman recalls: «Everyone could hear him yelling at the entire studio like «this is impossible, this sucks, you have to leave». It could last 30 minutes, an hour... Then after that, religious silence reigns in the office».
«He manipulates you»
If the humiliations are not public, i.e. they happen in private, they become even more rude. Florent Castelnerac is in the habit of locking himself up for hours alone with an employee in the studio kitchen. From these «kitchen meetings», as their colleagues call them, they come out «morally killed», with «tears in their eyes», sometimes «crying», - numerous witnesses describe these episodes to us. All the people we talked to explained to us that they had at least once encountered this phenomenon, which is considered almost «bullying». For 3, 4, or even 5 hours, the manager interrogates employees, «turns their brains are inside out», аs the staff describe it to us. Any excuse is suitable for these meetings. «I noticed that you are no longer laughing at my jokes, I feel that something is wrong with you», - the manager once told Quentin a preemptive tone. As soon as he feels the slightest doubt about his work on the part of the employee, the director takes him aside. «He won't let you go until you say «yes» to him», - says Quentin. «Ultimately, if you do not want him to pester you and you stop living in hell, you should constantly report your obedience to him», - Antoine concluded.
At Numerama, the head of Nadeo justifies this behavior with an interest in the lives of his employees. «I believe that when people are interested in the life and future of other people, encouraging or talking about them honestly, sometimes emotions take over», - he writes to us. He explains that he has already touched on topics like «sick parent» or past harassment on social media. And when this happens, especially in sensitive people, I often cry with them». This has been confirmed by some of our witnesses.
At Numerama, the head of Nadeo justifies this behavior with an interest in the lives of his employees. «I believe that when people are interested in the life and future of other people, encouraging or talking about them honestly, sometimes emotions take over», - he writes to us. He explains that he has already touched on topics like «sick parent» or past harassment on social media. And when this happens, especially in sensitive people, I often cry with them». This has been confirmed by some of our witnesses.
«The king of computer games»
An engineer by training, 45-year-old Florent Castelnerac has always had a passion for video games. However, after graduation, he went to work in the cinema. Hired by Duran Duboi, he was responsible for creating tools for special effects for animated films. The devices they developed with his team (including some of his fellow students he hired) also allowed them to create graphics for video games. They start work, pioneered by sailing enthusiast Duran Duboi, and release Virtual Skipper in 2000. Shortly thereafter, Nadeo's studio was founded by the same team that is still the heart of that studio. Trackmania, their flagship racing franchise, hit store shelves in 2003 and quickly met with success. The game has become a cult game that has gathered a strong community of online players around it. During the release of the last game on July 1, 2020, the French streamer ZeratoR, with over 900,000 subscribers to his account, organized a live stream.
Florent Castelnerac enjoys a certain popularity among players who know him under the pseudonym «Hylis». He deals with communication with players by posting major announcements on his Twitter account. He is close to the community, does not hesitate to strike up a conversation with them on social networks. «The face of Trackmania is he», - concluded Martin. He is also recognized as one of the most influential creators of the French video games. In 2009 he was recognized by Technikart magazine as one of «100 people who pull the strings in culture, media and politics». He was introduced there as the «King of Computer Games», ranking 68th, three points above Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet. «At the head of Nadéo, a small and medium-sized business in France that specializes in video games, Florent Castelnerac was successful in 2003», - says a paragraph dedicated to him, which ends with a phrase still true more than 10 years later: «In 2009, no one has yet dared to contradict him».
Very tall, slender, shoulder-length hair, the creator of Trackmania exists for the sake of his game, so he must have control over all stages of production: design of locations, appearance of cars, UX... «He is so obsessed with his work that it loses his balance», - Antoine remembered. «He really is a passionate person who cares for his child, personally carrying him», - said Yules. «He does not listen to people» «He works around the clock», - adds Antoine. And he expects the same motivation, the same dedication to his games from Nadeo employees.
Florent Castelnerac enjoys a certain popularity among players who know him under the pseudonym «Hylis». He deals with communication with players by posting major announcements on his Twitter account. He is close to the community, does not hesitate to strike up a conversation with them on social networks. «The face of Trackmania is he», - concluded Martin. He is also recognized as one of the most influential creators of the French video games. In 2009 he was recognized by Technikart magazine as one of «100 people who pull the strings in culture, media and politics». He was introduced there as the «King of Computer Games», ranking 68th, three points above Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet. «At the head of Nadéo, a small and medium-sized business in France that specializes in video games, Florent Castelnerac was successful in 2003», - says a paragraph dedicated to him, which ends with a phrase still true more than 10 years later: «In 2009, no one has yet dared to contradict him».
Very tall, slender, shoulder-length hair, the creator of Trackmania exists for the sake of his game, so he must have control over all stages of production: design of locations, appearance of cars, UX... «He is so obsessed with his work that it loses his balance», - Antoine remembered. «He really is a passionate person who cares for his child, personally carrying him», - said Yules. «He does not listen to people» «He works around the clock», - adds Antoine. And he expects the same motivation, the same dedication to his games from Nadeo employees.
«Do you think that your father will be proud of you?»
All ten testimonials we received highlight the same tactics of belittling the performance of some employees. Lisa, for whom employment at Nadeo is her very first job, recalls receiving «a lot of comments about being a junior». «80% of your work has to be thrown into the trash bin», «if I wanted to make things beautiful, I would not come to you». He also compared me to other employees in order to humiliate me». Martin recalls: «Every time Florent Castelnerac wanted to talk to me, it was painful. Is he in a good mood? Is he planning to break me mentally, insult me?».
«There was a lot of moral harassment during these meetings», - says Louis, who also explains that Florent Castelnerac was not shy about pushing his employees on very personal topics. A manifestation of this behavior may be questioning the employee about his relationship with his parents: could they justify poor performance [in Florent's opinion]. Co-founder Nadeo directly asked another employee: «Do you think your father would be proud of you?». During a conversation with Lisa, he «tried to pull skeletons out of the closet of my personal life in order to make me mentally break down. He talked about my family, about my complexes, about my self-confidence. At the end, he made me read a poem by a co-worker who had suicidal thoughts and asked if he had spoken to me?», - she said.
In front of another employee, he begins to play the piano - an instrument present in the room - while this employee decides about his future in the company. «He no longer had a job for me at Nadeo and wanted to abolish my position, I had to do something else», - Martin recalled. «This is a method of destabilization. Sometimes he took out his notebook and began to draw in front of me, as if I did not bother him at all, while I was talking to him about important matters».
Although there has never been any physical abuse of people, Martin talks about a form of verbal abuse. Quentin remembered being called a «jester» several times, as had some of his colleagues. In Numerama, Florent Castelnerac said that «I did not remember these events, and it was unexpected to hear, because I categorically avoid judging people and, rather, talk about their actions when problems arise. This is the principle. But if I did, I'm sorry about it».
«There was a lot of moral harassment during these meetings», - says Louis, who also explains that Florent Castelnerac was not shy about pushing his employees on very personal topics. A manifestation of this behavior may be questioning the employee about his relationship with his parents: could they justify poor performance [in Florent's opinion]. Co-founder Nadeo directly asked another employee: «Do you think your father would be proud of you?». During a conversation with Lisa, he «tried to pull skeletons out of the closet of my personal life in order to make me mentally break down. He talked about my family, about my complexes, about my self-confidence. At the end, he made me read a poem by a co-worker who had suicidal thoughts and asked if he had spoken to me?», - she said.
In front of another employee, he begins to play the piano - an instrument present in the room - while this employee decides about his future in the company. «He no longer had a job for me at Nadeo and wanted to abolish my position, I had to do something else», - Martin recalled. «This is a method of destabilization. Sometimes he took out his notebook and began to draw in front of me, as if I did not bother him at all, while I was talking to him about important matters».
Although there has never been any physical abuse of people, Martin talks about a form of verbal abuse. Quentin remembered being called a «jester» several times, as had some of his colleagues. In Numerama, Florent Castelnerac said that «I did not remember these events, and it was unexpected to hear, because I categorically avoid judging people and, rather, talk about their actions when problems arise. This is the principle. But if I did, I'm sorry about it».
The team was cut in half
In 2009, when Nadeo was acquired by Ubisoft, the studio remained under the management of Florent Castelnerac: Christine Burgess-Quemar, the number 2 very influential person at Ubisoft, became its sole executive. Yves Guillemot, CEO of the group, became CEO of the studio, but never took part in its management. In fact, nothing has changed for the team: the studio remained in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, almost an hour away by transport from the Ubisoft headquarters. Aside from the company name on their payrolls, there has been no revolution for employees: they are not eligible for Ubisoft's annual salary increase policy, incentive plans, or corporate committee membership.
«We have our own special advantages, which I think are more significant, which sometimes date back to the acquisition of the studio and which we have kept: extra days off, possible remote work, weekly overtime [apparently referring to cash incentives], etc», - defends his position Florent Castelnerac, referring, in particular, to «the annual increase, such benefits as games, bonuses and others». However, the Solidaires union speaks of very small increases, and several witnesses have confirmed to us that they were severely underpaid. «Nadeo has always been a very isolated company. Ubisoft seemed like an inaccessible paradise», - Antoine recalls. Apart from a few game posters created by the studio, there are practically no decorations. «We felt like we were in a temporary employment agency, it was so harsh».
Trackmania Turbo - the «cursed game»
The unexpected takeover of Nadeo by the Ubisoft in October 2009 for an estimated price of 5 to 10 million euros did not particularly please its founder. «He constantly criticized Ubisoft for their game management, marketing and studio hierarchy», - Antoine continues. «He hates working with Ubisoft», - says Beatrice. In response to this question, Florent Castelnerac told us that he «would be very surprised» if he criticized Ubisoft's management like that.
However, Ubisoft's management especially harshly criticized by him in 2014, when «Ubisoft forced Nadeo to produce the game, Trackmania Turbo, with some of its employees», - Luis recalls. The group sent a renowned artistic director to manage the creative side and two other people to help him, while Florent Castelnerac was in charge of the technical aspect of the game. «He took it very badly. When he saw that he no longer had control, he went mad with rage, there were clashes with the Ubisoft team. Florent said: «this is a intellectual property rape, what are you doing». He came out saying: «deal with this without me» and for 6 months he never showed up at the office again, he did not respond to messages», - recalls Martin.
The production of Trackmania Turbo is described by our witnesses, who were in their posts at the time, as a real «war» between the director of Nadeo and Ubisoft. Martin calls this period «the constant battle of hell». Quentin says: «For Florent Castelneraс, Trackmania Turbo has become a cursed game». «He said that Ubisoft ruined his game, that he didn't want to do it», - explains Louis. For his part, Florent Castelnerac admits that he «had the opportunity to criticize the games that we have released».
«HR was afraid of him»
Faced with the inappropriate attitude and behavior of their supervisor, some employees do not know what to do. They don't have access to Ubisoft Group HR and feel even more helpless because they hesitate to speak to the studio's HR manager as she doesn't inspire confidence in them. Roman explains that he never went to her to talk to her about his problems. «We knew that if we talked to her, she would tell Florent everything, and then we would have to talk to him one on one. But I think she was afraid of him too». John also believes that she is «under the control of Florent Castelnerac, and he scares her. Anything you say will be communicated to him. She would never oppose him». Employees are deprived of the opportunity to receive support from her. «When I told HR about this, she advised me to become tougher and get used to it», - Lisa recalls bitterly. «I don't know if her attitude towards all employees was the same, or if she was just helpless in the face of our complaints». Numerama tried to contact her, but the HR manager did not want to answer our questions. These remarks, unfortunately, echo those that Numerama had already uncovered earlier in a major investigation published in July 2020 about HR dysfunctions in many parts of the Ubisoft group, accused of not protecting victims and turning a blind eye to the actions of managers. with problematic behavior.
The same problem concerns representatives of CSE Nadeo. «The three CSE members are loyal to Florent Castelnerac and are very close to him», - warns Martin. «If you are going to talk to them, he will find out about it within a day and you will be punished for it». After the Solidaires call for witnesses, one of the CSE members also contacted the union to express his surprise that he had never heard of such stories or heard employees complain about them.
«You will cry the first few times, and then everything will be fine».
The rest of the Nadeo hierarchy doesn't seem to be ready to help.
AP, director of public relations and very close to Florent, told the employee who came out in tears after the «kitchen talk»: «You will cry the first few times and then everything will be fine». Two witnesses from the scene told us that they heard this phrase. Some staff members also recall that she «played down» the conflict all along. Contacting Numerama, AP said she was «shocked» by the witness call initiated by Ubisoft, including «how we were attacked. I am sad that employees could be unhappy in some situations [...] what we have always strived to do at Nadeo is to create a stimulating and positive work environment». She also explains that she has never heard employees complain about poor management or moral harassment. «I have never played down the complaints of Nadeo employees», - she says. «I am overly sensitive to everyone's well-being and try to always put myself in their shoes». She also denies having ever seen an employee cry over the moral pressure in Nadeo. She admits that she «was present in heated discussions, but denies the existence of controversy when two people insult each other or violently «swear», talking in a rude manner».
AP reportedly tried to calm Florent Castelnerac shortly after publishing a call for witnesses from Ubisoft in late August 2020, exclaiming, «Who initiated this? We will not allow 3-4 people to do this, perhaps this is just a misunderstanding. We will reply that the players know who you really are [in a positive way], they will support you», - says another source, still in the position of developer Nadeo.
Bypassing the Nadeo hierarchy and contacting Ubisoft DRH directly also seems impossible. The employee directory is only available on the intranet, which is difficult for Nadeo employees to access. If Ubisoft's own email address isn't activated, it's even more difficult. «This is an octopus, there are so many departments that you don't know who to contact. And you are also afraid that after that you will be called a traitor», - Beatrice wondered.
«I was afraid to try to leave the company»
«Because of his management, people have only one desire: to leave. The rest have either resigned themselves to their fate, or they are very close to Florent Castelnerac», - explains Martin. Some of them say they had difficulty getting fired from the studio, especially because of the studio manager. «There is an almost sectarian dogma: the people of Nadeo should stay with Nadeo», - Jean argues, - «If you apply for employment elsewhere, he will be furious and ask why you want to leave». After signing the letter of resignation, Louis had to spend the last two months of work in Nadeo, being in the corridor. «My desk was literally moved to the corridor, next to the elevator. Officially, this was done to make room in another office». A kind of punishment that, unfortunately, employees are used to.
Again, the HR manager is not very helpful to staff wishing to leave the studio. «When I tried to quit, I applied for a job at Ubisoft», - says Beatrice. «HR saw that I was applying and told Florent Castelnerac everything. He called me into his office and made me feel guilty for almost 3 hours». Internal mobility management at Ubisoft is a regular, well-established process where the HRs of the respective studios collaborate on hiring. But this is not the case for Nadeo. «There is no collaboration between the HRs of Ubisoft and Nadeo divisions», - Jean says. Employees must take care of themselves on their own. «When I told Florent Castelnerac that I wanted to move to another Ubisoft studio, he told me that he would not help me. Even HR refused to give me any contacts at first, so as not to offend him», - says Luis.
«He knows the bosses of other studios, I'm afraid he will tell them something bad about me», - said Antoine, who no longer works in Nadeo. «It may be paranoia, but game development is such an unstable industry that you have to be in the shadows».
French studio Nadeo single-handedly summarizes many of the problems unfortunately common in the video game industry in France. Toxic management, protected by an «HR wall». An managing director whose behavior has never been questioned because he is considered a visionary creator. An ubiquitous crunch culture. Many unreliable contracts and very few CDI... The perfect combination to side with employees all held on to their positions apprehensively.
The influence of the Nadeo on ex-employees remains relevant for a long time. Exhaustion, psychological and physical consequences of staying in Nadeo for former employees remain tangible long after they leave. Psychological and physical exhaustion, loss of self-confidence... «I had a very long period of depression, I was convinced that I was no longer worth anything», - says Antoine. «I thought I would never find a job in this industry». «You feel constrained», - Jules confirms. «I feel myself gradually being crushed. I don’t believe in what I’m doing anymore». Roman, who has stayed at Nadeo for many years, reassures that among those who left, «some have decided to leave the [video games] industry entirely».
Update September 10, 2020 at noon: Following the publication of our article, Florent Castelnerac posted a message on Twitter. He announces that he will share positive feedback on Nadeo «by internal request».
Suite à la demande interne de pouvoir faire des
— Hylis #Trackmania (@Hylis1) September 10, 2020
témoignages aussi positifs pour Nadeo, je posterai ici
ces messages. Et de manière anonyme ou non selon
leur choix.
Mes réponses aux citations
— Hylis #Trackmania (@Hylis1) September 10, 2020
Read: https://t.co/TZ0XgDmsBg
📢 Florent Castelnérac
— Solidaires Informatique Jeu Vidéo (@SolInfoJeuVideo) September 11, 2020
Le renvoi !https://t.co/hjU3fnVeFN pic.twitter.com/6XgvXaZqPZ
* All names of employees and former employees have been changed to protect their identity.
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