Claude Guillemot, a co-founder of the prominent French video game publisher Ubisoft, has passed away at the age of 69 following a fatal aviation accident in western France.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of Friday, June 19, near the coastal resort town of La Baule. Guillemot was traveling in a twin-engine Cessna 421 propeller aircraft when the plane crashed.
Guillemot was with a flight instructor during the incident. Emergency services confirmed that neither survived the crash. Officials noted that both men were experienced, licensed pilots. An investigation into the exact cause of the accident has been launched by aviation authorities.
In a brief public statement, Ubisoft expressed profound sorrow over the loss of its co-founder and extended its deepest sympathies to his family during this painful period, adding that it would not be issuing further comments on the tragedy.
Guillemot, along with his four brothers, established Ubisoft in 1986. Over the course of four decades, the brothers transformed what began as a modest software distribution operation in Brittany into an international gaming powerhouse. The corporation is globally recognized for developing massive entertainment franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, and Rayman.