Tragic news from France and a shock for the gaming world: One of the five Ubisoft founding brothers died in a serious flight accident. The publisher has already responded with an official statement.
The gaming world is mourning the loss of one of the most influential personalities in European developer history. Like French media and also Ubisoft have now officially confirmed that Claude Guillemot died in a tragic plane crash yesterday Friday evening.
The co-founder of the French industry giant was 69 years old, with the sudden tragedy causing deep consternation throughout the video game industry.
Misfortune shortly before landing
The accident occurred on Friday, June 19, 2026, in western France. Guillemot was reportedly on board his Cessna 421, which was flying from Rennes. Shortly before the planned landing at La Baule-Escoublac airfield on the Atlantic coast, the plane crashed into a field for reasons that are still unclear and immediately caught fire.
As the mayor of La Baule, Franck Louvrier, said in a statement, in addition to Guillemot, a flight instructor from Rennes was also on board. Since the aircraft was already fully ablaze when the rescue workers arrived, the rescue and subsequent identification of the victims was initially difficult, which led to delays in official reports the following day.
Meanwhile, French authorities have launched a judicial investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident. However, both Guillemot and his companion were considered licensed and very experienced pilots.
Ubisoft acknowledges the loss with deep condolences
According to initial reports in the regional daily newspaper West France The sad certainty followed this Saturday with an official statement from the French publisher to the news agency Bloomberg.
A Ubisoft spokesperson said: “Ubisoft has learned with deep sadness of the death of Claude Guillemot, co-founder of the group and chairman of Guillemot Corp., in an accident. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this difficult time. No further statements will be made at this time.”
A life for the gaming industry
Claude Guillemot founded Ubisoft together with his four brothers – Christian, Gérard, Michel and the current CEO Yves Guillemot – in 1986. What started as a small software distributor with its first own titles such as “Zombi” has developed over the past four decades into one of the largest and most influential video game publishers in the world.
Today the company is home to world-renowned billion-dollar franchises like „Assassin’s Creed“, „Far Cry“ and „Rainbow Six“ as well as the birthplace of legendary cult brands like „Rayman“ or „Prince of Persia“.
While Yves shaped the face of Ubisoft, Claude mainly acted in the background as a strategic head. He sat on the board of Ubisoft until the end and, as executive vice-president, was largely responsible for the operational business.
He also served as CEO of Guillemot Corporation, which has made a big name for itself in gaming hardware and accessories with brands such as Thrustmaster and Hercules.
Links to Amazon, Media Markt, Saturn and some other retailers are usually affiliate links. When you make a purchase, we receive a small commission with which we can finance the free-to-use site. You have no disadvantages.
