E Ink has developed a new touchpad for laptops featuring the same electronic paper technology found in e-readers. It’s not the first company to look at the ever-growing size of laptop touchpads and see the potential of additional functionality, but instead of serving as a second smaller screen for the computer’s OS, E Ink is positioning its touchpad as a dedicated home for AI applications and assistants.

A mockup image shared by the company features a laptop with a touchpad upgraded with a color E Ink screen similar to what’s in use by devices like the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft. Instead of it being an extension of a laptop’s main screen, E Ink envisions its new touchpad as being a separate place where AI-generated text summaries could appear under your hands while working on a document, or you could maintain a constant conversation with an AI chatbot without having to juggle desktop windows.

The idea is reminiscent of laptops that companies like Asus have already released featuring upgraded touchpads that double as secondary displays, but they typically feature  smartphone-sized LCD screens that are often too small to effectively use applications designed for larger computer screens. A full color screen under your hands can also be a distraction and potentially reduce a laptop’s battery life. The use of E Ink screens has expanded outside e-readers to include colorful signage and digital notepads, but the technology is still best suited to displaying text.

Similar to Apple’s now discontinued Touch Bar, E Ink also says the touchpad display could provide quick access to frequently used shortcuts, display notifications or the weather, or provide temporary playback controls without having to sacrifice a laptop keyboard’s row of function keys. It would also help reduce battery anxiety, because unlike LCD or OLED panels, E Ink’s display technology only consumes power when it’s being updated. That’s a big benefit given the higher demands of AI tools on a laptop’s battery life.

What’s not currently known are more in-depth technical specifications. Aside from the touchpad potentially using color e-paper displays, E Ink hasn’t revealed if it will adapt one of its current panels, or if it’s developed an entirely new one with increased resolutions. Today’s announcement specifically references compatibility with Intel-based AI PCs, but E Ink didn’t go into details about whether the touchpad display would be powered by a laptop’s primary OS, or if it would feature its own. The company also didn’t provide a timeline for when these touchpads might start showing up in laptops or which hardware makers may be interested.

If you’re looking for an affordable way to kick off your July 4th weekend, Paramount Plus has a deal worth checking out. Just in time for the July 17th premiere of the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, new subscribers can enjoy two months of  Paramount Plus Premium (normally $12.99 per month) or Plus Essential (regularly $7.99 a month) for just $0.99 per month as part of the Summer Sale. 

Either deal includes all the features of the base Paramount Plus Essential plan, but the Paramount Plus Premium plan offers better value by providing extra perks at the same discounted price. Premium grants access to both Paramount Plus and Showtime, so you can stream Star Trek shows as well as Yellowstone prequels 1883 and 1923, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Chi, Dexter, Billions, and Yellowjackets. The plan also includes a wide variety of acclaimed films, ranging from Love Me, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Gladiator 2 to classics like The Godfather and Pulp Fiction.

Paramount Plus Premium (monthly)

Paramount Plus Premium grants you ad-free access to live sports as well as movies and shows from both platforms, including Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Yellowstone catalog, Star Trek shows, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Twin Peaks, Dexter, and more.

Where to Buy:

• $12.99 $0.99 at Paramount (monthly)

What’s more, Paramount Plus Premium will also let you livestream the upcoming 2025 NFL season, watch 24/7 live news from CBS News, and catch UEFA Champions League matches. And unlike the base plan, Premium is ad-free and allows you to download content to your mobile device for offline viewing, making it perfect for streaming on the go. 

Unfortunately, after the two-month promotion period ends, prices return to normal: $12.99 per month for Paramount Plus Premium or $7.99 for Plus Essential. If you’d rather not pay for either, be sure to set a reminder to cancel.

Whether you’ve still got the original band that came with your Apple Watch, or if you’re hungry for more band color options, Woot has a bevy of bands available at up to 70 percent off their normal prices. The Solo Loop band is the most affordable option, costing just $14.99 at Woot in a range of delightful colors and several sizes. This model typically costs $49 new when purchased directly through Apple, but now you can get three for around that price.

Woot also has Braided Solo Loop bands available, for those who want something that looks a little more sophisticated. One other perk of this band is that it’s breathable, which is a boon if you use your Apple Watch during workouts. These usually cost a pretty penny at $99 each, but they’re $29.99 a pop at Woot in various color schemes. Just make sure you follow Apple’s sizing guide before you commit to a size. Click this link, then select the “Start your measurement” button.

Apple Watch Solo Loop band

Where to Buy:

• $49 $14.99 at Woot

Apple Watch Braided Solo Loop band

Where to Buy:

• $99 $29 at Woot

In terms of compatibility, the 38mm, 40mm, 41mm, and 42mm bands are compatible with watch cases of the same size. Same goes for the 44mm, 45mm, 46mm, and 49mm bands. The Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop bands aren’t compatible with Apple Watch models that came out before the Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch Series 4.

Other deals we’re excited to share with you

• If you have an original Switch, a Steam Deck, or a different handheld gaming system, you’ll need a microSD card to expand its internal storage. Today you can do that on the cheap, as Lexar’s 512GB microSD card is $26.99 at Amazon. It’s normal to see prices for this amount of storage sell for around $40, but this is a particularly great price ahead of Prime Day 2025.
• Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses are pretty cool, but at $299, they are a tad expensive outside of a sale. If you’d like to try out smart glasses — ones without a built-in camera — then perhaps you’ll be interested in Amazon’s bundle, which includes its latest Echo Frames glasses and a Echo Spot speaker for $129.99. The glasses are currently $129.99 alone, so you’re getting the capable bedside speaker for free in this bundle — if you have Amazon Prime, that is.
• It’s been a couple of weeks since I last shouted from the rooftops that the LG B4 48-inch OLED TV is a great value at Best Buy. It bears repeating that you can get this great TV for $549.99, which sports a 120Hz refresh rate, four HDMI 2.1 ports, and unbeatable picture quality. If LG’s C-series OLEDs are out of your price range, you’re not really missing out on much by opting for the B4 instead. The C4 and C5 are brighter, but for some, the premium may not be worth it when something as good and affordable as the B4 exists.

On Monday, the long-running indie rock band Deerhoof made an announcement: it was pulling its music from Spotify.

The impetus was Spotify founder Daniel Ek's newest investment in Helsing, the German defense group that makes AI and drones. Helsing raised 600 million euros in its most recent funding round, which was led by Ek's venture capital firm Prima Materia. "Helsing is benefiting from a surge of investment in defence groups, as a highly charged geopolitical environment spurs nations all over the world to increase military spending and the war in Ukraine triggers a rethink of battlefield technology," the Financial Times wrote of the inve …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The tragedy of a niche product is if it sees any success, two things will happen. First, rivals big and small will copy its ideas. Then, to combat that existential threat and appease investors, there'll be an appeal to the larger mass market. A handful of niche products survive the transition to the mainstream. Most don't. (See: Nest, Mirror, VSCO, Vine, Birchbox, etc.) It's a tale as old as products, and where we currently find Whoop.

Whoop is a fitness tracker, but it differs in a few key ways. It doesn't have a screen, focuses heavily on sleep and recovery from physical strain, and notoriously relies on a subscription model. A few years …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Arrowhead Game Studios’ Helldivers 2 will make the jump to the Xbox Series X and S consoles on August 26th, costing $39.99. This is the first PlayStation-published title to launch on Xbox. The title will ship with cross play between all platforms.

The cooperative PvE third-person shooter was an unexpected hit when it first launched simultaneously on PlayStation 5 and PC in early 2024. It soared in popularity on Steam, where it earned an “overwhelmingly positive” rating, which flipped to “overwhelmingly negative” when Sony introduced (then swiftly reversed) a decision to require a PSN login for PC players. Xbox’s press release makes no mention of a PSN login, so it likely won’t be required here.

Helldivers 2 is a gem of a game that’s high on hijinx. What initially seems like a serious sci-fi title often gives way to funny, emergent moments, thanks in part to its Strategem system, which requires you to input complex button combos while facing down swarms of enemies. There are a variety of missions you can take on against aliens, robots, and a newer Illuminate species. And, since it’s a live-service title, the lore and the stakes are always evolving (and the developers often troll players). It’s a fun world to be immersed in, even if you’re just grinding the free battle pass for weapon upgrades.

My former Polygon colleague Cass Marshall wrote some incredible Helldivers 2 coverage, which have the power to convince just about anyone that they were missing out on a good time. I mean, just look at these headlines below.

Correction, July 3rd: The post originally said that the game first launched in 2023, but it debuted in 2024.

At 468-pieces it’s no where near as elaborate as Lego’s buildable Pac-Man machine, but this 6-inch tall Arcade Machine set will only set you back $39.99 when it launches on August 1st, 2025.

At this scale Lego wasn’t able to make this arcade machine playable like Pac-Man is, but it still managed to include some fun details. On the outside the machine features a generic Space game with tiny controls, matching cabinet artwork, a marquee, and a coin slot that actually accepts coins.

Opening the arcade machine reveals a miniature gaming room inside with a minifigure, several tiny consoles, a TV, and lots of decor highlighting other Lego sets, including the Galaxy Explorer sitting on a shelf. You’ll also find an even smaller arcade machine inside featuring an online puzzle game called Junkbot that was originally available to play on Lego’s website back in 2001.

Apple's AI capabilities have been less than impressive to date, but there's one new feature coming with iOS 26 that's actually really handy: adding stuff to your calendar with a screenshot.

I've been testing this feature out for the past few weeks in the developer beta, and I'm pleased to report that it works, easily making it my favorite Apple Intelligence feature so far. That's admittedly a low bar to clear - and it's not quite as capable as Android's version - but it's a nice change of pace to use an AI feature that feels like it's actually saving me time.

Maybe adding things to your calendar doesn't sound all that exciting, but I am a …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Samsung may have inadvertently given us a first look at its upcoming “multifold” device in the latest One UI 8 build update. Some animations spotted by Android Authority show what the trifold Samsung flagship might look like, including the dual-hinge folding mechanism, display layout, camera setup, and NFC location.

The device is speculated to be called the “Galaxy G Fold,” though Android Authority notes that it’s labeled as the “Multifold 7” in the One UI 8 animation files. Samsung first teased the new foldable at its Unpacked event in January, alongside a basic illustration of what appears to be a triple-screen phone that aligns with the design in the leaked animations.

The leaked design shows a three-panel device with a large triple-camera setup on the rear, located on the right-hand panel when fully unfolded. Animations indicate that the NFC chip will be housed in this panel. The central panel appears to be the cover display, with a front-facing camera that can be used when the device is folded shut. When fully unfolded the front-facing camera is on the right side — the same panel that houses the rear triple-camera on its reverse.

One animation notably reveals how the device will likely fold, showing two differently-sized hinges, with the left-hand display folding inwards, suggesting the right-hand display is designed to sandwich over the top. Another animation warns users not to fold the right-hand panel first, as the camera module will prevent the display from folding flat, and the left-hand display will be unable to fully fold without potentially damaging the device.

That’s different from the Z-shaped folding mechanism used by the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design, which launched last September as the first commercially available trifold phone. The Mate XT folds in such a way that it’s possible to use one, two, or all three display panels at once, making it more versatile than Samsung’s apparent design, though it leaves part of the panel exposed at all times, so it’s more vulnerable too.

This may not be the final design for Samsung’s upcoming foldable, however, and there’s very little information available about the product, so take these leaks with a pinch of salt. We may get some official details next week if Samsung unveils the device at its next Unpacked event on July 9th, when it’s also expected to reveal the latest generation of its Z Fold and Z Flip devices.

In a 92-minute interview with Tucker Carlson on Monday, RFK Jr. drilled down on his vision for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Artificial intelligence - arguably, a uselessly vague umbrella term - came up multiple times. (As did conspiracy theories and disinformation on vaccines and autism, the medical establishment, and covid-19 deaths.)

As the head of HHS, Kennedy said his federal department is undergoing an "AI revolution." He implored viewers to "stop trusting the experts," as highlighted by Gizmodo, and, presumably, put their trust into AI instead of decades of scientific consensus.

He referenced that AI tools …

Read the full story at The Verge.

It's that time again: for a third year running, the summer is looking pretty great for streaming some science fiction. There's just something about cool fictional futures that's a good fit for hot summer days spent indoors, and it seems the various streaming services agree. It's been a pretty good year so far for the genre, with the return of Severance, Andor, and Black Mirror. And that momentum looks like it will continue through the next few months; we've already seen strong debuts for Murderbot and Ironheart, while other shows like Alien: Earth and The Institute are on their way, as well.

Here are some series to keep an eye on.

Murderb …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google is giving Workspace users a way to access “Gems” — customizable versions of its Gemini AI assistant that specialize in specific tasks — without opening the Gemini app. Gems are now available directly in the side panel of Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drive, and Gmail, allowing users to access custom chatbots they’ve created or a selection of pre-made offerings without switching between apps.

“Gems can help you further leverage the power of Gemini in a way that’s customized to your needs more efficiently by minimizing repetitive prompting,” Google said in its announcement.

Gemini users can curate versions of the chatbot to be an “expert” in particular tasks they regularly require, such as brand-tailored copywriting or revising for exams. Users can also upload their own files into Gems to provide them with task-specific context and resources. Otherwise, Google provides pre-made Gems for things like text editing, writing code, creating sales pitch ideas, and more.

According to Google, some examples of how Workspace users can utilize Gems include:

• Leverage a copywriting Gem to create posts and content tailored to your target audience, pre-loaded into the Gem.

• Create a Gem that helps with sales interactions that is grounded on information for a specific company, prospect, or industry. 

• Leverage an “assistant gem” tailored to your job role to help provide more relevant summaries for you and content for internal communications.

• Leverage a Gem designed to help pressure test content from a certain persona (e.x C-Suite or CEO) to help you create the most compelling message.

Gems were previously only available in the Gemini app. Custom Gems can’t be created directly in Workspace apps, but users can do so by either heading to gemini.google.com/gems/create or tapping the “Create a new Gem” option in the Workspace side panel. Workspace capabilities like @-mentioning and accessing files/folders are supported by both custom and pre-made Gems.

The Gems update is available to all Google Workspace users who can access Gemini in Workspace app side panels. It started rolling out on July 2nd, but Google says it may potentially take “longer than 15 days” to appear.

Racist videos that appear to be created with Google’s AI video generation tool Veo 3 have raked in millions of views across TikTok, according to findings from the nonprofit media watchdog Media Matters. The AI-generated videos uncovered by the organization are filled with racist tropes, many of which target Black people.

Media Matters determined that the videos — one of which received 14.2 million views — were generated with Google Veo 3 because of the “Veo” watermark in the corner of the clips. Some users also listed hashtags, captions, or usernames pertaining to Veo 3 or AI, according to Media Matters. Each clip found by the organization lasted just eight seconds, or was “composed of multiple clips each lasting no more than 8 seconds,” which tracks with Veo 3’s eight-second limit.

Veo 3, launched by Google in May, allows users to generate AI video clips and audio with just a text prompt. On its website, Google says it will “block harmful requests and results.” TikTok’s rules similarly state that “hate speech and hateful behavior has no place on TikTok,” and that the platform “will not recommend content that contains negative stereotypes about a person or group with a protected attribute.”

“We proactively enforce robust rules against hateful speech and behavior and have removed the accounts we identified in the report, many of which were already banned prior to the report publishing,” TikTok spokesperson Ariane de Selliers said in a statement to The Verge.

The Verge found some of the videos highlighted by Media Matters were also on YouTube but with fewer views, while Wired also discovered similar, racist AI-generated videos on Instagram. Other videos found by Media Matters contain antisemitic content and racist depictions of immigrants and Asian people.

Google didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.

Update, July 2nd: Added a statement from TikTok.

Microsoft’s layoff of roughly 9,000 employees is continuing to have downstream effects at the company’s subsidiaries. Aftermath reports that as many as 100 developers at Blizzard have been impacted, and as a result the studio is winding down development on its mobile tower defense game Warcraft Rumble.

In an announcement, Blizzard wrote that while the game will not be abandoned entirely, the company will cease development on any new content. “Moving forward, we’ll continue supporting Rumble with updates focused on regular, systemic in-game events and bug fixes, but no new content. ”

Blizzard continued, saying Rumble, “struggled to find its footing relative to our ambition for its long-term success.” And while its developers worked to respond to player feedback that, “ultimately wasn’t enough to put the game on a path to sustainability.”

Warcraft Rumble was the first mobile focused game in the Warcraft Universe. It launched in 2023 after nine years in development and was originally one of two mobile games Blizzard was working on, the other being Blizzard’s take on Pokémon Go. That game was never officially announced by Blizzard and cancelled sometime in 2022. Warcraft Rumble joins a handful of other Blizzard games in development stasis along with Starcraft II and Heroes of the Storm.

Earlier today, Xbox also announced that it was cancelling the Rare-developed Everwild, as well as the Perfect Dark remake, while shuttering The Initiative, the studio making it.

A mandatory update for Google’s mid-range Pixel 6A phones is coming next week that is meant to reduce the risk of the battery overheating on some devices. According to a support page post, Google is issuing the mandatory Android 16 update starting July 8 to all Pixel 6A devices. However, only users with “Impacted Devices” will see any effect on their battery.

Announced earlier this month, the update will reduce the battery capacity on affected phones after they reach 400 charging cycles, Google’s Alex Moriconi told The Verge. The move comes after at least two people reported their Pixel 6As catching fire. 

Google says affected users will get a notification when the phone has completed 375 cycles, giving them a heads-up that the new battery management features will be activated soon. Once these management tools are in effect, the battery won’t last as long between charges. 

According to Google, users may see other changes, “like reduced charging performance or short-term changes to how the battery-level indicator on your phone shows your battery capacity as your phone learns its revised battery capacity.” It’s not clear why some Pixel 6A phones are affected and others aren’t, but if yours is, Google is offering free battery replacement — you can check here to see if you’re eligible. 

The company has already dealt with a similar issue on the Pixel 4A, offering owners a free battery replacement or a $100 credit towards a new phone. It currently has an extended repair program for battery swelling issues on the Pixel 7A.

On July 2nd, Microsoft announced sweeping layoffs affecting as many as 9,000 employees, and they had a big impact on the company’s Xbox studios. Microsoft canceled Perfect Dark from The Initiative and closed the studio. Rare’s Everwild, announced in 2019, was canceled, too. And Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios will lose more than 70 employees.

“We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a memo to employees. “We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.”

A rumor was circulating that Spencer was planning to retire after Microsoft launched its next generation of Xbox, but the company tells The Verge that Spencer isn’t retiring as the chief of Xbox “anytime soon.”

Here’s all of our coverage of the layoffs.

• Blizzard is winding down support for its Warcraft mobile game
• The president of ZeniMax Online Studios is leaving.
• Microsoft’s Xbox cuts have hit key areas.
• Phil Spencer isn’t retiring as the chief of Xbox ‘anytime soon’
• Microsoft cancels its Perfect Dark and Everwild Xbox games
• Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport developer hit hard by Xbox cuts

There's always a reason why universal USB-C ports don't "just work" like you'd expect. In the early days, it was incompetence or naiveté. Later, manufacturers often cheaped out. But in the case of Nintendo's Switch 2, it appears to be intentional.

With the Nintendo Switch 2, it should be easy to plug your new, more expensive console into video glasses or TVs when you're traveling away from home. USB-C makes it so. But Nintendo has intentionally broken the Switch 2's compatibility with those devices, using a new encryption scheme and some form of dedicated encryption chip, two accessory manufacturers tell The Verge.

I haven't yet found pr …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft says that Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming CEO and the head of Xbox, isn’t retiring “anytime soon.” The company has responded to rumors of Spencer’s retirement, which have spread online today following Microsoft’s major layoffs.

“Phil is not retiring anytime soon,” says Kari Perez, head of Xbox communications, in a statement to The Verge. The denial comes after Call of Duty leaker GhostOfHope claimed “Phil Spencer will be retiring from his role as CEO of Microsoft Gaming after the launch of the next generation Xbox” and that Xbox president Sarah Bond would be taking over as CEO of Microsoft Gaming.

While Microsoft’s comment doesn’t address the rumor fully, it makes it clear Spencer isn’t retiring imminently. Separately, Microsoft communications chief, Frank Shaw, took to X to claim that at least part of the rumor was made up.

Spencer originally assumed leadership of the Xbox division in 2014, a promotion from his role as the boss of Microsoft Studios. As the boss of Xbox, he’s overseen many big initiatives, including the launch of the Xbox Series X / S, a huge push into Xbox Game Pass, acquisitions of major companies like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax Media, bringing more Xbox games to platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

While Spencer isn’t retiring anytime soon, Microsoft is continuing its big cuts today that have affected Xbox studios and employees. Perfect Dark and Everwild have been cancelled, while Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios will be letting go of more than 70 staffers. Zenimax Online Studios also reportedly canceled a new MMORPG codenamed Blackbird that had been in the works since 2018.

Banks are facing renewed pressure to protect their customers from scams on Zelle, the payment network owned by JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Capital One, and other big banks. In letters to the banks, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) asked them how often their customers report Zelle scams that originate from social media.

Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase over claims they “rushed” Zelle’s launch in 2017 and failed to protect customers from “widespread fraud,” which resulted in more than $870 million lost to scams. In an attempt to protect its customers, Chase began blocking Zelle payments over social media, where scams often show up, last February. The CFPB dropped its Zelle lawsuit in March after President Donald Trump’s administration began dismantling the agency.

“Banks, including JPMorgan Chase, have historically failed to protect consumers from Zelle fraud and scams,” the letters state. “According to the CFPB’s lawsuit, for example, since Zelle was created, the banks that run the payment service have not meaningfully improved their ability to detect and prevent fraud or increased their reimbursements to customers defrauded on Zelle to match the increase in fraud rates.”

Without the support of the CFPB, the three lawmakers are now taking matters into their own hands. They asked the banks that own Zelle, which they claim is “associated with significant scams and fraud,” if they have noticed any broader trends of fraud on the payment platform, such as whether they come from social media or another source. The lawmakers are also pressing the banks for their policies on reimbursing customers who fall victim to scams on Zelle and other peer-to-peer payment networks. The banks have until July 14th to respond.

“Zelle is leading the fight against scams and fraud and has industry-leading reimbursement policies that go above and beyond the law,” Zelle spokesperson Eric Blankenbaker said in a statement to The Verge. “The misguided attacks by the previous leadership of the CFPB would have emboldened criminals, cost consumers more in fees, stifled small businesses and made it harder for thousands of community banks and credit unions to compete.”

Update, July 2nd: Added a statement from Zelle.

A court in France has sentenced three former Ubisoft executives for sexual and psychological harassment. Serge Hascoet, Tommy Francois, and Guillaume Patrux each received fines and suspended prison sentences for actions that were discovered as a part of a yearslong investigation into sexual harassment and bullying at the game publisher.

According to The Guardian, Hascoet, Ubisoft’s former chief creative officer, allegedly commented that a female employee’s mood could be improved if someone were to have sex with her in order to “show how to calm her.” Francois, Ubisoft’s former editorial vice president, was additionally convicted of attempted sexual assault as well as sexual harassment related to an alleged incident where he tried to forcefully kiss a female employee at a party while colleagues held her down. Patrux, a former game director, was alleged to have thrown furniture in open-plan office space, throwing other objects at employees, and drawing swastikas on a colleague’s notebook.

Investigations into Ubisoft began in 2020 as a part of the #metoo movement in video games. Current and former employees took to social media in June 2020 to describe harmful incidents and attitudes at the Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed developer that spanned decades. An internal survey conducted at that time reported that out of 14,000 employees surveyed, 25 percent had seen or experienced workplace misconduct, while 20 percent said they did not feel safe or respected at the company.

In the aftermath, several Ubisoft executives, including Hascoet, resigned, while others, including Francois, were fired. In 2023, five former employees, including Hascoet and Francois, were arrested by French police following an investigation into the company.

According to French newspaper Le Monde, Francois blamed company culture at Ubisoft for his behavior, saying he was a part of a culture that was “everywhere, in every department” and that he didn’t think it was “abnormal.”

The Verge has reached out to Ubisoft for comment.