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

Claude Guillemot, one of the five brothers who founded Ubisoft in 1986, He died in a plane crash near the coastal town of La Baule in western France. He was 69 years old. Guillemot and a flight instructor from Rennes were killed when their twin-engine Cessna 421 crashed in a field near La Baule airfield on the afternoon of June 19.

French authorities confirmed that the plane was on fire when emergency crews arrived at the scene. Guillemot, a member of the local flying club, had left Rennes and was on his way to an aviation meeting expected to attract more than 100 aircraft to the area. The cause of the accident has not been determined, and an investigation is underway.

In a statement, Ubisoft confirmed the death, saying the company’s “He was deeply saddened to learn of Claude Guillemot’s death.” The five Guillemot brothers, Claude, Yves, Michel, Christian and Gerard, founded Ubisoft in the village of Carentoire in Brittany on March 28, 1986. The software distribution business grew into one of the world’s largest video game publishers, including the Assassin’s Creed, Ci Farlancy and Tom Cried series.

Claude served as executive vice president of operations at Ubisoft and sat on the company’s board of directors. His brother Yves remains chairman and CEO of Ubisoft, which employs about 19,000 people at more than 40 studios worldwide.

Outside of Ubisoft, Claude was chairman and CEO of Guillemot Corporation, the family’s publicly traded holding that owns Thrustmaster, a major manufacturer of gaming gear including racing wheels, flight sticks, and controllers, and Hercules, an audio and DJ equipment company. Guillemot Corp reported revenue of €197.7 million in its most recent fiscal year.

The Guillemot family’s takeover of Ubisoft has been a recurring theme in the gaming industry. Despite owning about 11% of the outstanding shares, the family retains control through France’s Florange Law, which gives long-term shareholders double voting rights. in 2022 Tencent, the Chinese conglomerate that has been aggressively expanding its gaming portfolioinvested about 300 million euros in Guillemot Brothers Limited, the family’s private holding company, and acquired an economic stake of 49.9%, acquiring only 5% of the voting rights.

The deal was widely interpreted as a defensive move, allowing Guillemots to retain control over Ubisoft while limiting Tencent’s influence. Tencent also has a direct stake of about 9.46% in Ubisoft and has invested €1.16 billion in Vantage Studios, a new Ubisoft subsidiary set up in 2025 to manage the company’s biggest franchises. The question of whether Tencent and the Guillemot family would eventually pursue a full buyout has lingered for years, with no agreement reached as of June 2026.

Ubisoft has faced significant headwinds in recent years, including studio closures, hundreds of layoffs and a corporate restructuring that split the company into five creative divisions. Successful launch Assassin’s Creed is a franchise that extends beyond games to film and televisionhelped stabilize the company after a difficult 2024, Assassin’s Creed Shadows surpassed five million players within four months of its release in March 2025.

Claude Guillemot’s death comes at a particularly complicated time for the family business he helped build. Ubisoft is dealing with activist investor pressure, an ongoing strategic partnership with Tencent, and a broader gaming industry contraction that has seen tens of thousands of jobs cut in the sector since 2023.

He is survived by his brothers and family. French media reported that gifts from the gaming industry and Brittany’s business community began arriving hours after the announcement.