Ubisoft Co-Founder Claude Guillemot Dead at 69 After Plane Crash in France
Claude Guillemot, one of five co-founding brothers of French video game publisher Ubisoft, died on June 19 in a plane crash near La Baule in Western France. He was 69 years old.
Guillemot was piloting a Cessna 421 twin-engine propeller aircraft that he owned when it crashed while attempting to land at La Baule aerodrome. The plane carried two people on board—Guillemot and a flight instructor—and both were killed in the accident. According to reports, the aircraft was ablaze when emergency services arrived at the scene, which delayed victim identification.
The crash was first reported by French news outlet Ouest-France. Guillemot served as chairman of Guillemot Corp., the holding company for the Guillemot family’s business interests. Ubisoft released a statement acknowledging the tragedy, expressing that the company was “deeply saddened to learn of the death of Claude Guillemot, co-founder of the group and chairman of Guillemot Corp., in an accident.”
Ubisoft was founded in 1986 by the five Guillemot brothers and has become one of the world’s largest video game publishers, known for major franchises including Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry.