A co-founder of one of the gaming industry's titan developers and publishers has died in a plane crash. As reported by Dexerto, Claude Guillemot, a co-founder of Ubisoft, died on June 19 at 69 years old.
His private plane had departed Rennes in France at around 5:20pm local time. On its final approach to the La Baule-Escoublac aerodrome on the Western coast of France, it tragically crashed. The crash itself occurred at around 6pm.
Witnesses explained they saw the plane suddenly drop in a turn, before smashing into the ground. The resulting fire caused damage to a nearby field.
Guillemot, who himself was an aviation enthusiast, was the one piloting. According to The Gamer, there was also a flight instructor on board who died. He was heading into La Baule-Escoublac in order to attend an aviation festival.
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Claude Guillemot Helped Build Ubisoft Into the Publisher It Is Today
But Claude Guillemot was most well known for being a co-founder of Ubisoft. If you're a fan of video games, you've definitely heard of them - they're the publisher and developer behind hit titles like the Rainbow Six, Assassin's Creed, and Far Cry franchises, among many others.
But Guillemot himself wasn't a public-facing high ranking member - he mostly dealt with the behind-the-scenes stuff, with his brothers, the other founders of the company, taking on more public roles. Claude himself worked on the business and technical sides of Ubisoft.
And that's something that he anchored down up until his tragic death. He remained the executive vice president of operations, and was also a member of Ubisoft's board of directors.
Tributes Have Poured In After the Plane Accident
Tributes have poured in on social media from Ubisoft's fans after the tragic accident.
Commenters were quick to note his role in the legendary rise of the publisher. "Ubisoft built Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Splinter Cell. 5 brothers started it in a living room in 1986. Claude was one of them, from Breton farm boys to the $10B gaming empire. Wild how fast it ends."
Another commenter wrote, "A tragic loss his contribution to the gaming industry will be remembered."
Rest in peace to a true pioneer in gaming.
