Claude Guillemot, one of the co-founders of video game publisher Ubisoft, died in a plane crash in western France at 69. Ubisoft said it was \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d and offered condolences to his family and loved ones, adding it would not comment further. French media and Bloomberg cited authorities saying Guillemot died on June 19 when a twin-engine Cessna 421 crashed near the coastal resort town of La Baule; two people on board were killed and an investigation has been opened.<\/p>\n
Reports said the aircraft went down near La Baule aerodrome as the area prepared to host an aviation event; Guillemot, a member of a local flying club and an aviation enthusiast, was reportedly traveling to the gathering. He served as executive vice president of operations at Ubisoft and later chaired Guillemot Corporation, the family holding and hardware business behind brands such as Hercules and Thrustmaster. He was one of five brothers who founded Ubisoft in 1986 in Brittany and remained an important shareholder as the company expanded internationally.<\/p>\n
His death arrives as Ubisoft continues restructuring amid wider challenges in the gaming sector. The company is known for franchises including Assassin\u2019s Creed, Far Cry, Rayman, Prince of Persia, Just Dance, Rainbow Six, Watch Dogs, and Rabbids. Authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of the crash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Claude Guillemot, one of the co-founders of video game publisher Ubisoft, died in a plane…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[550,547,548,546,549],"class_list":["post-895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news","tag-aviation-safety","tag-claude-guillemot","tag-plane-crash","tag-ubisoft","tag-video-games"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t