Ubisoft Founder's Plane Crash
Ubisoft Co-founder Dies in Plane Crash in Western France Before Landing
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Claude Guillemot, co-founder of Ubisoft and one of the five brothers who built the Assassin's Creed franchise into a global empire, was killed on Friday when his Cessna 421B plane crashed near La Baule Airport in western France, Associated Press confirmed. He was 69. A flight instructor from Rennes was also on board and died at the scene.
The crash happened around 5:50 PM local time as the twin-engine plane began its final approach to the La Baule-Escoublac aerodrome. Witnesses saw the aircraft make an abrupt turn before it lost altitude and slammed into a field, sparking a fire that spread across several hectares, according to Insider Gaming. Sixty-three firefighters and 29 specialized vehicles responded to the scene.
A Cessna, a Sharp Turn, and a Fatal Crash
Guillemot had departed from Rennes earlier that afternoon, according to Newsweek. He was flying to La Baule to attend a weekend gathering of aviation enthusiasts expected to draw more than 100 aircraft. Guillemot was reportedly at the controls when the plane went down. The post-crash fire was so intense that authorities had trouble identifying the second victim — the flight instructor — for hours.
La Baule Mayor Franck Louvrier confirmed the aircraft was on its landing approach when witnesses observed the sudden turn. The French aviation safety agency, the BEA, has opened a formal investigation. Aviation analysts note the Cessna 421B is a complex twin-engine plane. An abrupt maneuver on approach — especially in the 40°C heat reported in the region — is consistent with an engine failure scenario known as a "Vmc roll," a loss of control that gives pilots very little time to respond, according to WPXI.
The Brother Who Helped Build a Gaming Empire in 1986
Claude Guillemot was one of five brothers — along with Yves, Christian, Gérard, and Michel — who founded Ubisoft on March 28, 1986, in Brittany, France. The family started in agricultural supply before pivoting to electronics and software. What followed was one of the biggest success stories in gaming history, producing franchises like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, according to Dayton Daily News.
At the time of his death, Claude held three major roles: Executive Vice-President of Operations at Ubisoft, Chairman and CEO of Guillemot Corporation, and President of the Guillemot Foundation. As EVP of Operations, he was focused on fixing the internal bottlenecks blamed for repeated game delays. Ubisoft said it was "deeply saddened" by his death and offered condolences to his family.
Crash Hits Ubisoft During a Painful Financial Turnaround
The timing could not be worse for Ubisoft. The company reported a €159 million loss for its 2024–25 fiscal year, with net bookings falling 20.5% year-on-year, according to WOKV. Guillemot was one of the key figures tasked with stabilizing operations after costly delays — most notably the troubled rollout of Assassin's Creed Shadows — battered the company's stock.
Just two weeks before the crash, on June 5, 2026, Guillemot Corporation formally voted to separate the roles of CEO and Chairman — both of which Claude held. No replacement has been named. The Guillemot family controls over 90% of Guillemot Corp shares, and analysts warn that losing a key board member could weaken the family's ability to resist pressure from activist investors or outside acquisition attempts, according to WSBT TV.
Industry Mourns a Quiet Pioneer Behind the Scenes
While Yves Guillemot has long been the public face of Ubisoft as CEO, Claude worked largely behind the scenes building the operational backbone of the company. Gaming outlets and industry figures remembered him as a "pioneer" who helped turn a small French startup into one of the world's largest game makers, with titles played by hundreds of millions of people, according to Jonesboro Sun.
The BEA investigation is expected to examine both technical and human factors in the crash. Results from such investigations in France typically take months. For now, Ubisoft faces a leadership gap, a troubled balance sheet, and the loss of one of its founding voices — all at the same time.
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