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French gaming giant Ubisoft is parting ways with its creative director and two other senior executives following an internal investigation into claims of sexual harassment and other workplace abuse, the company has announced.

In a statement published Saturday, Ubisoft said its chief creative officer Serge Hascoet - the man responsible for shepherding the company’s blockbuster franchises, including Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry - has resigned effective immediately.

The director of Ubisoft´s Canadian studios, Yannis Mallat, is also leaving immediately, because ‘recent allegations that have come to light in Canada against multiple employees make it impossible for him to continue in this position,’ the company said.

Cécile Cornet, the firm’s global head of human resources, also vacated her position believing it to be ‘in the best interest of the company’s unity’.

‘Ubisoft has fallen short in its obligation to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace environment for its employees,’ its chief executive and co-founder, Yves Guillemot, said of the investigation's findings.

‘This is unacceptable as toxic behaviours are in direct contrast to values on which I have never compromised – and never will.’

Ubisoft said its chief creative officer Serge Hascoet - the man responsible for shepherding the company’s blockbuster franchises, including Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry - had resigned effective immediately

Ubisoft launched an internal investigation last month after disturbing allegations of sexual assault in the workplace began circulating online

Guillemot added he’s ‘committed to implementing profound changes across the company to improve and strengthen our workplace culture.’

Hascoet joined Ubisoft in 1987, the year after Guillemot founded the company with his four brothers. Ubisoft had previously described Hascoet as its ‘creative leader’ whose ‘unique vision has infused every game released by the company.’

His departure comes in the wake of an internal probe launched last month after allegations of sexual misconduct at the company surfaced online.

Hascoet’s name was mentioned frequently among the series of disturbing claims. In a report published in French newspaper Libération, Hascoet is painted by Ubisoft employees as a toxic figure who was ‘even valued for his toxicity, his misogyny, his homophobia and … his libidinous behaviour’.

In one allegation Hascoet is accused of once acrimoniously replying to a female Vice President’s criticisms by referring of her to colleagues as a ‘bad f***’ that was ‘hindering his creativity and that someone should open her mind by 'f***ing her from behind' and 'sharing her around until she gets it.’

In another alleged incident, Hascoet ‘reportedly blocked a woman in the elevator and put himself against her, making groaning sounds and looking her in the eyes.’ He then reportedly encourage his collaborators in the editorial team to do the same, to the point it became a ‘signature move’.

Other employees claimed that Hascoet had been known to drug employees ‘without their knowledge’, including members of top management, by handing out cakes laced with marijuana.

The former chief creative officer also allegedly used a homophobic slur during a works dinner. The source said Hascoet had forced his creative directors to drink until they were sick, shouting ‘You’re a f****t if you don’t drink.’

The director of Ubisoft´s Canadian studios, Yannis Mallat, is also leaving immediately, because ‘recent allegations that have come to light in Canada against multiple employees make it impossible for him to continue in this position,’ the company said

Liberation first reported on the alleged misconduct on July 1, then again in an updated article on July 10. In the wake of the first article, employees remarked that the apparent toxic work environment had intensified at Ubisoft.

‘Since your revelations, the situation here has gotten worse,’ a source told the outlet. ‘[Leaders] are convinced this is detrimental to their freedom. They call it a 'witch hunt.' On top of everything, as women, we became a threat.’

The article describes other hostile conditions enabled by Ubisoft HR, particularly a definition of workplace harassment code of conduct that was updated in 2015 to remove the example of a manager sexually harassing a reporting employee.

A source who oversaw the code of conduct’s creation said HR management declined to include the idea that a manager could possibly be a harasser because it was ‘deemed too pessimistic and employees might think it can happen.’

‘The people in charge of handling employees and their career paths in the company are not trained to handle harassment. They don't know how to listen to victims. Worst than that, they were never told to consider people's well-being before the business. Never. Never, never,’ the source said.

Another employee, who began working at Ubisoft immediately after graduating from college, also described a ‘toxic’ work environment.

‘It was so bad, I focused on my own survival,’ the source said. ‘I feel bad to have belonged to this toxic team, where in meetings we would give nicknames to colleagues, calling an eccentric game designer "the moron".

‘Basically, as soon as something was deviating [from the established tone], the stance was to pretend the person was abnormal.’

The source described how one female member of the team was described as ‘a slut, a crazy woman that we should ignore.’

‘Ubisoft has fallen short in its obligation to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace environment for its employees,’ its chief executive and co-founder, Yves Guillemot, said of the investigation's findings.

 Ubisoft Toronto co-founder Maxime Beland resigned earlier this month amid a slew of sexual assault and misconduct claims

Earlier this month, Ubisoft Toronto co-founder Maxime Beland also announced his resignation amid a slew of sexual assault and misconduct claims.

The most prominent of the allegations stemmed from an incident in which Beland is said to have choked a female co-worker at a company party back in 2014.

Beland was also accused of making ‘demeaning’ jokes towards female coworkers that would end in solicitations for oral sex.

Vice Presidents Tommy Francois and Andrien "Escoblades" Gbinigie were also suspended.

An investigation conducted by Kotaku concluded that Ubisoft executives perpetuate ‘an overall workplace culture that undervalues women’s contributions, normalizes sexism and harassment, and makes excuses for the worst offenders while complaints about them go unheeded.’

Ashraf Ismail, the creative director of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, stepped down from the company last month amid allegations about his personal life

Ashraf Ismail, the creative director of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, stepped down from the company last month amid allegations about his personal life.

‘I am stepping down from my beloved project to properly deal with the personal issues in my life. The lives of my family and my own are shattered. I am deeply sorry to everyone hurt in this,’ Ismail tweeted.

Ubisoft has 18,000 employees worldwide and is the latest video game company to face sexual harassment allegations.

The global game industry has been dogged by criticism over its treatment of women in both games and real life.

The fallout was encapsulated in the ‘gamergate’ controversy if 2014, which saw critics of the way women were depicted in games receive death and rape threats, prompting calls to reform the industry’s culture.

Ubisoft’s internal probe remains on-going with 20 or more other employees also being investigated by external auditors.

‘These should lead to terminations,’ Liberation reported.