Claude Guillemot, co-founder of Ubisoft and chairman of Guillemot Corporation, has died following a plane crash near the aerodrome of La Baule in Loire-Atlantique, western France. The crash occurred shortly before 6 p.m. local time on Saturday. Two people on board the aircraft were killed.
Ubisoft confirmed the news in a formal statement: “Ubisoft has learned with profound sadness of the death of Claude Guillemot, co-founder of the Group and Chairman of Guillemot Corporation, in an accident. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time. No further communication will be made at this stage.”
The man behind one of gaming's biggest names
Claude Guillemot was one of five brothers who founded Ubisoft in 1986 in Brittany, France. That founding story is a genuine piece of gaming history: a family business that grew from a small software distributor into one of the largest video game publishers on the planet, responsible for franchises like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. If you've ever spent hours in an open-world Ubisoft game, his fingerprints were on the company that built it.
Beyond Ubisoft, Claude served as chairman of Guillemot Corporation, the family holding company that has remained a significant stakeholder in Ubisoft throughout the years of takeover speculation and corporate turbulence the publisher has faced.
The Guillemot family has been at the center of Ubisoft's ownership battles in recent years, with the brothers consistently working to keep the company independent. Claude's role in that effort, largely behind the scenes compared to CEO Yves Guillemot, was still a meaningful one.
What happened near La Baule
The aircraft involved was a Cessna 421, a twin-engined business-type plane. Claude Guillemot was the owner of the aircraft, and a source close to the investigation indicated he was at the controls at the time of the crash. Both occupants of the plane died at the scene.
French authorities are investigating the circumstances of the crash. No further details about the cause have been confirmed publicly at this stage.
A loss that reaches beyond the boardroom
For the gaming industry, this is a genuine moment of grief. The Guillemot brothers didn't just build a publisher; they built an institution that shaped what mainstream gaming looks like today. Titles developed under the Ubisoft umbrella have sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide, and the company's studios span dozens of countries.
Here's the thing: the names behind gaming's biggest companies rarely get the same recognition as the games themselves. Claude Guillemot was never a household name to most players, but the worlds he helped build very much are.
Ubisoft is currently navigating one of the more challenging periods in its recent history, with ongoing questions about its strategic direction and ownership structure. The loss of one of its founding figures adds a deeply personal dimension to that uncertainty for everyone at the company.
For those looking to stay connected to the games that Ubisoft and its peers have built over the decades, our gaming guides library covers everything from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to Rainbow Six Siege, including our full breakdown of Solid Snake in Rainbow Six Siege: Operation Silent Hunt and tips for fixing 007 First Light PC crashes. The games go on, even as we pause to acknowledge the people who made them possible.
