Ubisoft co-founder Claude Guillemot has passed away at the age of 69 in a plane crash near La Baule.

      **TL;DR:** Claude Guillemot, co-founder of Ubisoft in 1986 and head of Guillemot Corp, has passed away at the age of 69 in a plane crash in western France.

      Claude Guillemot, one of the five brothers who established Ubisoft in 1986, died in a plane crash close to the coastal town of La Baule in western France. He was 69 years old. Both Guillemot and a flight instructor from Rennes lost their lives when their Cessna 421 twin-engine aircraft went down in a field near La Baule aerodrome on the afternoon of June 19.

      French authorities reported that the plane was on fire when emergency responders arrived. An active member of a local flying club, Guillemot had taken off from Rennes en route to an aviation event anticipated to attract over 100 aircraft. The cause of the crash remains unknown, and an investigation is currently in progress.

      Ubisoft has expressed its condolences through a statement, stating they are “deeply saddened to learn of Claude Guillemot’s passing.” The five Guillemot brothers—Claude, Yves, Michel, Christian, and Gérard—founded Ubisoft on March 28, 1986, in the Brittany village of Carentoir. The company began as a software distribution firm and evolved into one of the largest video game publishers globally, known for franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Just Dance, and the Tom Clancy series.

      Claude Guillemot held the position of Executive Vice President overseeing operations at Ubisoft and was part of the company’s board of directors. His brother Yves continues to serve as chairman and CEO of Ubisoft, which employs about 19,000 people across more than 40 studios worldwide.

      In addition to his role at Ubisoft, Claude was the chairman and CEO of Guillemot Corporation, the family’s publicly traded holding company, which owns Thrustmaster—a significant manufacturer of gaming peripherals, including racing wheels, flight sticks, and controllers—as well as Hercules, which specializes in audio and DJ equipment. Guillemot Corp reported revenues of €197.7 million in its latest fiscal year.

      The Guillemot family's influence over Ubisoft has been a frequent topic of discussion in the gaming community. Although they own roughly 11% of outstanding shares, they retain control through the Florange Act in France, which grants double voting rights to long-term shareholders. In 2022, Tencent, the Chinese conglomerate that has aggressively expanded its gaming investments, invested around €300 million in Guillemot Brothers Limited, the family's private holding firm, obtaining a 49.9% economic stake while securing only 5% of voting rights.

      This transaction was generally viewed as a defensive strategy, allowing the Guillemots to preserve their control over Ubisoft while limiting Tencent's influence. Tencent also possesses a direct stake of about 9.46% in Ubisoft and invested €1.16 billion in Vantage Studios, a new Ubisoft subsidiary established in 2025 to manage the company’s major franchises. The possibility of Tencent and the Guillemot family pursuing a complete buyout has been a lingering question for years, with no agreement reached as of June 2026.

      Ubisoft has encountered substantial challenges in recent years, including studio closures, layoffs affecting hundreds of workers, and a corporate restructuring that divided the company into five creative divisions. The successful release of Assassin’s Creed, a franchise that has expanded into film and television, aided in stabilizing the company after a tough 2024, with Assassin’s Creed Shadows exceeding five million players within four months of its March 2025 launch.

      Claude Guillemot’s death arrives at a particularly challenging time for the family business he helped to create. Ubisoft is dealing with pressure from activist investors, an ongoing strategic partnership with Tencent, and a wider contraction in the gaming industry that has resulted in tens of thousands of job losses since 2023.

      He is survived by his brothers and family. French media reported that tributes from the gaming industry and the Brittany business community began pouring in soon after the announcement.