Ubisoft co-founder Claude Guillemot dies in plane crash — French publisher established in 1986 became one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world

June 22, 2026 - 01:40

Claude Guillemot, one of the five brothers who founded the French video game giant Ubisoft in 1986, has died in a plane crash. He was one of the key figures behind the company that grew from a small family business into a global entertainment powerhouse, responsible for blockbuster franchises like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Anno, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six.

Details surrounding the crash remain limited, but the news has sent shockwaves through the gaming industry. Guillemot, along with his siblings Michel, Yves, Gerard, and Christian, built Ubisoft from a local distributor of games into a multinational publisher with studios around the world. The company's rise was marked by a willingness to take risks on new intellectual properties and a focus on open-world design that defined a generation of gaming.

Under the Guillemot family's leadership, Ubisoft became one of the largest entertainment companies on the planet, employing thousands of developers and selling hundreds of millions of copies of its games. Claude Guillemot's passing marks the end of an era for a company that has faced significant challenges in recent years, including corporate restructuring and shifting market trends. His legacy, however, remains firmly embedded in the countless hours of gameplay enjoyed by millions of fans worldwide.